Keansburg

Coined the “Gem of the Bayshore,” the Borough of Keansburg consists of 0.95 square mile located on the Raritan Bay. With over two miles of beachfront, Keansburg contains the longest stretch of publicly accessible waterfront in the Bayshore region. Commercial activity is primarily located in the borough’s downtown and waterfront areas, with the main attractions being Keansburg Amusement and Runaway Rapids Waterpark.

Originally known as Waackaack – the Lenape term for “land of plenty” – and later as Granville from the importance of grain producing farms in the region, the Borough was incorporated as Keansburg in 1917. It was named in honor of former U.S. Senator John Kean who played a key part in the town obtaining its first post office. Developed as a summer resort destination, steamboat service, railroad access, and Route 36 brought tourists from New York City to the Bayshore community for decades. The Keansburg Amusement Park is one of the oldest amusement parks in the state.

• State Route 36 traverses the borough on its southern border. The NJ Transit 817 bus route serves Keansburg, and residents are able to access two nearby train stations in Middletown and Hazlet.

• Safe Routes to School Rating: Silver

Sources:  www.keansburgnj.gov ;  Bayshore Regional Strategic Plan (2006) 

Master Plan:

• 2015  Master Plan Reexamination Report 

Studies:

•  Borough Wide Stormwater Master Plan 

•  A More Resilient Keansburg 

• In 2018, a 186-unit mixed-use mixed-income rental apartment complex on Beachway Avenue was completed. The project includes commercial space and a public plaza overlooking Raritan Bay. The project received funding from the Fund for Restoration of Multifamily Housing program, which was created in response to Superstorm Sandy. The program provides developers with low interest loans to finance the construction of affordable housing.

• In July of 2020, Keansburg adopted a redevelopment study and a preliminary investigation report for a 15-acre area located at the northern end of Carr Avenue, which was significantly damaged by Sandy. Rebuilding initiatives have included repairing the borough’s police station, beach replenishment, waterfront dredging, and building earthen levees. The redevelopment plans indicate the construction of 700 luxury apartment units, 45,000 square feet of restaurant, entertainment and retail space, and 1,000 parking spaces to Carr and Beachway avenues. The County turned over jurisdiction of the northerly section of Carr Avenue to the Borough, thus allowing redevelopment in this area to closely follow the existing, narrow road configuration.  In addition, Keansburg welcomed several new restaurants and a brewery to its waterfront district.

• In 2017, Keansburg submitted its Municipal Public Access Plan, which is pending approval from NJDEP.

• In 2018 Keansburg completed Bay Walk boardwalk improvements using an Open Space Trust Fund matching grant from the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners. 

• Due to Keansburg’s flat topography, the storm surge from Superstorm Sandy breached the protective dunes along Raritan Bay causing significant flooding and damaging approximately 1,500 properties. Keansburg reexamined its Master Plan in 2015 to facilitate recovery and promote resiliency to future storms. The report recommended several updates and revisions to the 1998 Master Plan.

• In the fall of 2020, graduate students from the  Bloustein School at Rutgers University  completed the “A More Resilient Keansburg” report that is intended to help the Borough develop a municipal resilience plan. The report includes a flood risk assessment highlighting the areas in Keansburg most at-risk to flooding, a social vulnerability assessment, as well as an evaluation of whether Keansburg’s vulnerable populations face different risks from coastal flooding as compared to the community as a whole. $3.2 million in disaster relief funding has been allocated for flood control re-evaluation for projects in Keansburg and its neighboring communities.

• In February 2023, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announced the initiation of the Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook Bay Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) Feasibility Study and invited the public to attend a public scoping meeting.  The study will focus on measures including, but not limited to, beach renourishment, dune and beachfill profile changes, potential structural and non-structural measures to reduce risk of damages from coastal storm events, including hurricanes and nor’easters, and modifications to the existing project to provide improved erosion control and storm damage prevention in the project area. The USACE plans to prepare a National Environmental Policy Act document that will assess the impacts of the  proposed project.  

• Community Rating System (CRS) Classification: 7
• Sustainable Jersey Participation Status: Registered

Sources:  Sustainable Jersey ,  Federal Emergency Management Agency 

• Average Residential Taxes: $6,029
• Median Home Value: $238,625
• Net Valuation: $827,247,205

Source:  New Jersey Department of Community Affairs - Property Tax Tables 

• Residential: 343.7 acres (60.8%)
• Commercial: 43.6 acres (7.7%)
• Industrial: 1.3 acres (0.2%)
• Farmland: 0.0 acres (0.0%)
• Vacant / Undeveloped: 42.8 acres (7.6%)
• Other*: 133.7 acres (23.7%)

*Other contains the following property classes: Unknown, Public Schools, Other School Property, Public Property, Church & Charity, Cemeteries, Other Exempt, Railroad Class I, Railroad Class II

Residential contains the following property classes: Residential, Apartments

Source:  Monmouth County Tax Board ; Compiled by the  Monmouth County Division of Planning