Berkeley Township, New Jersey


Berkeley Township is a township in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, extending from the Jersey Shore westward into the New Jersey Pine Barrens. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 43,754, the highest ever in any decennial count and an increase of 2,499 from the 2010 census count of 41,255, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,264 from the 39,991 counted in the 2000 census.
Berkeley Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 31, 1875, from portions of Dover Township. Sections of the township were taken to form Seaside Park, Seaside Heights, Beachwood, Ocean Gate Pine Beach, South Toms River, and Island Beach. The township was named for John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, one of the founders of the Province of New Jersey.
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History

Army officer Lt. Edward Farrow began buying up woodland in the 1880s with the idea of building a retirement community for former Army and Navy officers. Farrow built a railroad station, shops and even a resort hotel called The Pines with the idea of attracting people. But only 11 people ever built houses in what Farrow called "Barnegat Park," and eventually he went bankrupt.
In the 1920s, Benjamin W. Sangor purchased the area, intending to create a resort town catering to wealthy urban vacationers. Between 1928 and 1929, about 8,000 lots were sold in Pinewald, a "new-type, residential, recreational city-of-the sea-and-pines." It was to contain a golf course, recreation facilities, and estate homes.
The developers immediately began construction of the Pinewald pavilion and pier at the end of Butler Avenue. The Royal Pines Hotel, a $1.175 million investment facing Crystal Lake, was built on the site of an earlier hotel dating back to the days of Barnegat Park. It was the focal point of the new community. The hotel was also used as an asylum, then later a nursing home now known as the Crystal Lake Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.
The hotel was constructed by Russian architect W. Oltar-Jevsky in the early 1920s. Al Capone may have frequented its halls, perhaps even venturing beneath the lake in tunnels especially designed for smuggling alcohol during Prohibition. One newspaper article interviewed an unidentified man who claimed that "in the early 1930s the then Royal Pines Hotel was frequented by society's elite who, for $1.90 a drink, consumed prohibition liquor under the watchful eye of men who had guns strapped under their coats." In 1929, during the Great Depression, this resort community also went bankrupt.
In September 2014 residents of the South Seaside Park neighborhood of Berkeley Township submitted a petition to move from the township and become a part of the borough of Seaside Park, arguing that the neighborhood was away from the township's municipal offices and that there were minimal social connections with the rest of Berkeley Township. In 2025, the New Jersey Supreme Court approved the petition and agreed that South Seaside Park may leave the township and join Seaside Park borough.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 54.25 square miles, including 42.72 square miles of land and 11.53 square miles of water.
The township is located in the central part of Ocean County along the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay, which is part of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Approximately 72% of the township's land area is within the federally designated Pinelands National Reserve and 38% is within the State's Pineland Area, which is within the Pinelands National Reserve. Toms River forms the northern border of the township, Cedar Creek and Lacey Township form the southern border. The barrier island, on which South Seaside Park and Island Beach State Park are situated, is the township's eastern boundary.
Holiday City-Berkeley, Holiday City South, Holiday Heights and Silver Ridge are unincorporated communities and census-designated places located within Berkeley Township. The four CDPs are parts of Silver Ridge Park, an age-restricted adult planned community with separate communities, each with its own homeowners association and amenities.
Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located wholly or partially within the township include Barnegat Park, Barnegat Pier, Bayville, Benders Corners, Berkeley Heights, Crossley, Double Trouble, Dover Forge, Glen Cove, Glenside Park, Good Luck Point, Holly Park, Manitou Park, Pelican Island, Pinewald, River Bank, Silver Ridge Park, Silver Ridge Park West, South Seaside Park, Stony Hill, Union Village and Zebs Bridge.
The township borders the Ocean County communities of Barnegat Light, Beachwood, Island Heights, Lacey Township, Manchester Township, Ocean Township, Pine Beach, Seaside Heights, Seaside Park, South Toms River and Toms River; The township completely surrounds the borough of Ocean Gate.
The township is one of 11 municipalities in Ocean County that are part of the Toms River watershed.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted people, households, and families in the township. The population density was. There were housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup was % White, % Black or African American, % Native American, % Asian, % Pacific Islander, % from other races, and % from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were % of the population.
Of the households, 12.2% had children under the age of 18; 45.8% were married couples living together; 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present and 43.3% were non-families. Of all households, 39.3% were made up of individuals and 30.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.63.
11.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 15.3% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 43.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 61.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 81.5 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 78.6 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that median household income was $43,049 and the median family income was $58,230. Males had a median income of $54,959 versus $40,935 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $28,168. About 5.2% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census there were 39,991 people, 19,828 households, and 12,174 families residing in the township. The population density was. There were 22,288 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the township was 97.10% White, 1.30% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.33% of the population.
There were 19,828 households, out of which 11.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 29.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.99 and the average family size was 2.52.
In the township the population was spread out, with 11.4% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 14.7% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 52.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 66 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $32,134, and the median income for a family was $40,208. Males had a median income of $41,643 versus $28,640 for females. The per capita income for the township was $22,198. About 3.4% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Since July 1, 1983, Berkeley Township has been governed within the Faulkner Act, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the Mayor-Council system of municipal government plan D, as adopted based on direct petition. The township is one of 71 municipalities statewide that use this form of government. The governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the seven-member Township Council, which has three members elected at-large and one member elected from each of the four wards. The mayor and the members of the Township Council are elected to four-year terms of office on a partisan basis in staggered elections held as part of the November election in odd-numbered years, with the respective terms commencing on January 1; the mayor and the three at-large seats come up for election together every four years, with the four ward seats up for election two years later.
, the Mayor of Berkeley Township is Republican John A. Bacchione, whose term of office ends December 31, 2027. Members of the Berkeley Township Council are Council President Angelo Guadagno, Council Vice President Michael Signorile, Douglas E. Bowens, Keith A. Buscio, James J. Byrnes, Sophia Gingrich and L. Thomas Grosse Jr..
In September 2020, the Township Council appointed Michael Signorile to fill the seat running through December 2021 that had been held by Judy Noonan until she resigned from office as she was moving out of the township. Signorile served on an interim basis until the November 2021 general election, when he was elected to serve the balance of the term of office.
In January 2015, the Township Council selected Anthony DePaola from among three candidates recommended by the municipal Republican committee to fill the at-large seat that expiring in 2015 that had been held by Robert G. Ray, who had resigned earlier that month.
In November 2012, James J. Byrnes and Kevin M. Askew won the remaining 14 months on unexpired terms of office. Byrnes had been appointed to the Ward 1 seat to fill the vacancy of Karen Davis following her resignation from office, while Askew had been appointed to fill the vacancy of Carmen F. Amato Jr. in Ward 2 after he had taken office as the township's mayor.

Federal, state, and county representation

Berkeley Township is located in the 2nd and 4th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 9th state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 2011, there were a total of 30,403 registered voters in Berkeley Township, of which 8,348 were registered as Democrats, 7,946 were registered as Republicans and 14,095 were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 14 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 73.7% were registered to vote, including 83.6% of those ages 18 and over.

Education

The Berkeley Township School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. As of the 2019–20 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 2,479 students and 201.5 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 12.3:1. Schools in the district are
Bayville Elementary School with 499 students in grades Pre-K–4,
H. & M. Potter Elementary School with 629 students in grades Pre-K–4,
Clara B. Worth Elementary School with 663 students in grades Pre-K–4 and
Berkeley Township Elementary School with 574 students in grades 5–6.
Students in public school for seventh through twelfth grades attend the schools of the Central Regional School District, which serves students from the municipalities of Berkeley Township, Island Heights, Ocean Gate, Seaside Heights and Seaside Park. Schools in the district are
Central Regional Middle School with 842 students in grades 7 and 8 and
Central Regional High School with 1,568 students in grades 9–12. The high school district's board of education is comprised of nine members, who are directly elected by the residents of the constituent municipalities to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year. Seats on the high school district's board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with Berkeley Township allocated five of the board's nine seats.

Media

The Asbury Park Press provides daily news coverage of the township, as does WOBM-FM radio. The township provides material and commentary to The Berkeley Times, which also covers news from Beachwood, Ocean Gate, Pine Beach and South Toms River as one of seven weekly papers from Micromedia Publications.
WOBM-FM radio started broadcasting from Bayville in March 1968. The station relocated to studios in Toms River in 2013.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by The Ocean County Road Dept., by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.
The Garden State Parkway is the primary access route, with two exits, exit 77 and exit 80 serving the township. U.S. Route 9 runs through the eastern-middle part of the municipality while Route 35 passes through briefly and ends at the park road for Island Beach State Park. A small section of Route 37 also passes through Berkeley Township, near its junction with Route 35.

Public transportation

NJ Transit offers local bus service between the township and Atlantic City on the 559 route.
Ocean Ride service is provided on routes OC1, OC2, OC7 and OC8.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Berkeley Township include: