New Jersey residents petition to rescind land ordinance threatening Episcopal church

Joanne Gwin, one of the petition drive organizers, watches July 21 as Robert and Monica Coughlin sign the petition to rescind the Toms River Council’s eminent domain ordinance aimed at Christ Episcopal Church. Photo: Mary Frances Schjonberg/Episcopal News Service

[Episcopal News Service – Toms River, New Jersey] Voters here could ultimately decide the fate of Mayor Daniel Rodrick’s plan to seize Christ Episcopal Church’s property by eminent domain if a petition drive that began July 21 is successful.

The petition to rescind the eminent domain ordinance, which the town council is due to consider for final approval on July 30, calls for a referendum on Rodrick’s plan to acquire the 11-acre Christ Church site and five other properties. The other properties are near each other along the Toms River, a 12-minute walk from the church property.

Philip Brilliant, one of the organizers and a member of Congregation B’nai Israel in Toms River, told Episcopal News Service that when he heard about Rodrick’s plan and saw how upset people were, he knew something needed to be done. He and others successfully led two recission petition drives in 2024 after the council took actions “that were against the people’s wishes,” he said.

Philip Brilliant, another petition drive organizer, talks to signers on July 21 outside the Toms River, New Jersey, town hall. Photo: Mary Frances Schjonberg/Episcopal News Service

“When I sat there and looked at what was happening and everybody up in arms, I was like, ‘we have to get together,’” Brilliant said. He approached Christ Church’s leaders and other interfaith clergy and lay people he had worked with in the past.

Organizers delayed a planned July 21 launch of a concurrent petition to recall Roderick as mayor because they had not yet received the legally required notice from Stephen Hensel, the town’s clerk, that Rodrick had filed a response to the petition. Brilliant said he confirmed that Rodrick has filed his response and is waiting to receive the notice sent to him on July 17 by certified mail.

If successful, the two questions could go to the voters during two separate elections because the state laws governing the petition drives vary.

Should the eminent domain ordinance pass, organizers will have 20 days to collect at least 3,079 signatures from eligible Toms River residents. That’s a number equal to at least 15% of the entire vote cast in the last general election. Assuming organizers gather enough verified signatures, the ordinance would be suspended, and council members would have 20 days to decide whether to repeal it. If they refuse, the referendum could go to voters either during a special election or as part of the next general election in New Jersey on Nov. 4.

The second petition asks for a special election for voters to decide whether to recall Rodrick, at which time voters would also pick his replacement. The organizers must gather a minimum of 18,713 signatures from eligible town residents within 160 days of the drive’s start.

The recall petition says that Rodrick’s pursuit of eminent domain against Christ Episcopal Church “reflects a disregard for community values and property rights.” It is the second reason cited after the organizers’ objections to changes Rodrick made to police department funding and staffing.

Other reasons include having no plan to help the growing number of unhoused people in the town, shutting down a local emergency medical service, cutting municipal building code enforcement services, closing the municipal animal shelter, and a “complete lack of transparency at council meetings and blatant disrespect to residents.”

The 160 days end on Dec. 28, well past this year’s general election. Organizers do not want to wait until the next general election on Nov. 3, 2026, Brilliant said. If organizers collect enough verified signatures, a recall election would be held within 60-90 days. Hensel, the town clerk, notified the organizers that a special election would cost $227,186.03, an average $4-6 per household.

– The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is a freelance writer who formerly was a senior editor and reporter for Episcopal News Service.