Current OC News

“My clients don't want to sue the city,” McCrosson said. “They just want to develop the buildings they've been planning for years. The city pulled the rug out.”

Likewise, Ralph and Rachelle DiClemente are suing the Zoning Board for failing to act on their application for 1159 Asbury Ave. within the 120-day deadline.

A special committee composed of City Council and Planning Board members is examining the Central Business zone, which stretches from Sixth to 11th streets on Asbury Avenue.

Council reinstated a parking requirement in this zone this year. But Perillo and council have different ideas about how to encourage a thriving downtown.

“Both the mayor and council are trying to revive the downtown,” Council President Jack Thomas said. “We disagree about the approach. Council believes we should have more residency downtown. We know from studies the more people who live downtown, the more people shop downtown. That's across the whole country. We believe baby boomers will want to live downtown.”

“They were shrinking the commercial space and increasing residential units,” Perillo said. “City Council, the Planning Board and I are united in feeling that these applications are not what we want to see happen.”

Perillo, who has experience as a land-use lawyer, said the city had the right to interrupt development, albeit temporarily, to craft the changes.

“Courts in my experience have been very reluctant to award default approvals,” he said. “If you let people proceed, the buildings they construct will be there for decades. These mistakes will be there for a long time.”

Parking shortage hampers Ocean City zoning
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Wednesday, October 11, 2006

OCEAN CITY — City Council's efforts Tuesday to make downtown zoning more business-friendly were repeatedly foiled by a parking shortage.
Council is revising its zoning rules for the Commercial Business zone, which includes most of the downtown. In a workshop meeting Tuesday, parking was a recurring theme.

The city's consultant, Taylor Design Group, said the downtown will face increasing parking problems under existing zoning unless the city intervenes.

Council wants to preserve downtown businesses, which have been under increasing residential development pressure. The downtown requires ground-floor commercial space, typically a mix of restaurants and retail stores.

“The only reason someone would put a store underneath (now) is because they have to do it,” Council President Jack Thomas said.

In a letter to council Monday, Mayor Sal Perillo said residential development was incompatible with the downtown's small retail lots.

“The core problem with excessive residential development in the downtown is that it is competing with commercial uses for valuable ground floor space and … scarce parking,” Perillo wrote.

“In Ocean City we are trying to squeeze a supersized duplex … on a 30-foot lot with a retail store on the first floor. It just does not fit.”

Consultant Michelle Taylor said the city would need to find as many as 873 parking spaces if the downtown were rebuilt to at highest density. The numbers were the subject of some dispute.

Councilman Keith Hartzell, who lives and owns several properties downtown, disputed the worst-case scenario, noting that many of the properties were untouched during the island's latest building boom. He noted the unlikelihood of all of the affected properties being rebuilt immediately.

“This document makes it look like all three blocks (between Seventh and 9th streets) are coming down and we have a 500-space deficiency,” Hartzell said.

But council is looking at changes to zoning in the top floors and what impact those changes will have on parking.

One solution proposed Tuesday was to force city employees to park at the Transportation Center or at Fifth Street instead of the busy lot behind City Hall.

Council also considered banning all new commercial offices from the downtown for fear employees in them would take up valuable public parking.

Hartzell, president of Main Street Ocean City, said studies have shown that seasonal residents who live downtown spend far more in just six months than employees who work downtown spend in a year.

He said parking is only a major problem for customers and businesses alike two months of the year.

Besides, he said, the downtown has several vacant offices.

“We don't see the benefit of professional offices in a retail area. It's not appropriate for those three blocks,” Hartzell said.

Taylor strongly disagreed. She said imposing any limits on property use would hamstring the downtown.

“You need to open your mind. Open more and restrict less,” she said.

Councilman Scott Ping said the current real-estate market favors residential construction over commercial space. He suggested council let the market dictate the use.

The draft ordinance is available online at www.ocean-city.nj.us/

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:MMiller@pressofac.com

Foreclosure trend not catching on in southern N.J.
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Friday, September 22, 2006

The U.S. real estate market is showing another sign of heading south, while this region remains reluctant to follow.
As home prices skyrocketed the past couple of years, economists worried that buyers might not be able to keep up with their big mortgage payments if the economy slowed.

They repeatedly warned that buyers using adjustable rate mortgages, often sold with artificially low initial "teaser" rates, might find themselves in the hole if (or when) interest rates went up.

Now that house prices have started dropping in many areas of the nation and rates have risen a little, the watch is on for signs of distress among homebuyers. Nothing impairs one's ability to consume, and keep the economy growing, like taking a bath on one's biggest purchase.

The first alarm bells have sounded.

Last week, the Mortgage Bankers of America reported that foreclosures on adjustable-rate mortgages rose 29 percent to a four-year high in the second quarter of this year from the previous quarter.

Foreclosures are recorded when a lender tries to seize property for nonpayment of the loan or the overloaded borrower simply walks away from it.

RealtyTrac, which maintains a national database on foreclosure properties, reported the same day that they increased 24 percent for all loans just from July to August.

How far this trend goes will depend on a confluence of factors, including stagnating household incomes and rising expenditures on energy, property taxes and insurance. If energy prices and interest rates moderate, we probably won't see a lot of people losing their homes.

In southern New Jersey, an increase in distressed homeowners is even less likely.

RealtyTrac's figures for the region show that foreclosures in Atlantic County actually fell 19 percent from the first to second quarters of this year. In Cape May County, the drop was 18 percent, in Cumberland County 48 percent, and in Ocean County the decline was 37 percent.

Economist Richard Perniciaro, director of the Center for Regional and Business Research at Atlantic Cape Community College, said strong demand for housing in the region is keeping the market in better shape than most.

"The people who are buying are people who have been coming here all their lives and they didn't look anywhere else," he said. "So we have a pretty sure flow of demand, and that will only get bigger as the boomers retire. New Jersey might have the most Baby Boomers of any state."

Home prices in the region were up 15 percent in the second quarter, a smaller increase but still an increase, he said.

"What really would cause our market to falter would be if people wait six or eight months to buy," Perniciaro said.

But even that would be temporary.

"People just want to be here," he said. "They've planned for 10 years to buy into here."

Five-year job to cost $400 million
Heavy construction to start next month
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Thursday, September 21, 2006

OCEAN CITY — Work finally began this month on the new Route 52 causeway, the most expensive road or bridge project ever undertaken in southern New Jersey, after years of delays and much anticipation.

Construction crews began clearing a staging area and set up an on-site office on Garrets Island near the Ocean City side of the causeway. Several heavy trucks and a mammoth crane bearing an American flag were poised at the water's edge Wednesday.

The 2.5-mile-long causeway project is expected to cost $400 million when both phases are complete.

The new causeway will have four wide lanes, an emergency shoulder and a separate walking and bicycle path. It will have a boat ramp, fishing piers and places to fish from the bridge.

“It's good to see the project begin. The sooner it begins, the sooner it will end,” Ocean City Mayor Sal Perillo said. “It's not just the amount of money but the amenities the state is building into the project.”

“Heavy construction will start in early to mid-October,” said Erin Phalon, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

The first half of construction calls for rebuilding the 1.2-mile-long interior portion of the new causeway from Garret's Island across Rainbow Island to Elbow Island. The second half of construction will replace the two exterior drawbridges with fixed spans, rebuild the Ocean City Welcome Center and eliminate the Somers Point traffic circle.

The completion date is Memorial Day 2011.

The Route 52 causeway is a major link between Somers Point and Ocean City, and Atlantic and Cape May counties.

“There's no question over the next four years there will be disruptions and inconvenience,” Perillo said. “We'll work through it.”

The old causeway is scheduled to remain open throughout construction. On Wednesday, one of the two northbound lanes was closed. Phalon said that lane closure was temporary.

Meanwhile, Perillo said the city was advised that the causeway will see more lane closures later this year to repair the southern drawbridge that tends to expand in hot weather.

“It's a good feeling to see that crane,” said Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic. “The important issue is to ensure that as construction takes place, we deal with other hazardous traffic conditions in southern New Jersey.”

Van Drew said he would push for new ramps at Exit 20 and the reopening of the Beesleys Point Bridge.

Cape May County Engineer Dale Foster said he is most concerned about keeping the old causeway open through the five-year construction schedule. Any prolonged causeway closure could stress the 34th Street Bridge to Ocean City.

Vibrations from pile-driving on the new Ocean City-Longport Bridge forced the closure of the old Ocean City-Longport Bridge more than a year earlier than planned and created miserable traffic jams on the island.

For this project, the state moved the new causeway farther from the old spans to prevent a similar problem. But Foster said that might not be enough.

“The existing bridges are still in poor shape. They still have to survive a few more years. Something could happen to them that is not construction related. Like old age,” he said.

The city plans to take advantage of the construction to dump dredge spoils.

NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel said construction might affect which lanes buses may take on Route 52 but will not interrupt passenger schedules or require detours.

“The level of coordination that has taken place between NJ Transit and the DOT has been very robust,” he said.

A public meeting on the project is scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Dawes Avenue School in Somers Point.

The official ground-breaking will take place next month, Phalon said.

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:MMiller@pressofac.com

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Slower housing market means fewer demolitions

By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712

Published: Thursday, September 7, 2006
Press of Atlantic City

OCEAN CITY — As tourists stow their beach bags for another year, Ocean City is getting ready for the launch of its second industry: teardowns.

Builders say they are seeing a dramatic slowdown in home construction on the island, reflecting a national trend. That could spell fewer demolitions, new homes and jobs on the island this fall.

“Our busy season usually starts in the fall. I hate to say it, but it's not going to be half as busy as past falls,” said Mark Tietjen, manager of Peter Lumber in Ocean City.

The New Jersey Builders Association said the number of home starts is down 15 percent statewide over last year.

“The slowdown is gaining momentum,” trade group spokesman Patrick O'Keefe said. “The watchword in new home construction is inventory management. Builders are not starting units unless they have firm commitments of sale.”

Tourism still fuels Ocean City's economy. Everything from local politics to demolition is geared to the vacation season. But the building trades are a crucial part of the city's job base, particularly in the fall and winter.

“It's very important. I go into Wawa at 7 a.m. in the winter, and if 30 people are in line, 25 are in the building trades,” Tietjen said. “It's a big part of Ocean City.”

Ocean City builder Halliday Leonard has seen its workload drop off considerably. The company had 80 jobs lined up last fall. It has fewer than 20 planned for this fall.

“I haven't seen this kind of slowing in 16 years,” builder Scott Halliday said. “We're seeing a steep decline in the number of homes under contract or demolished.”

“They're doing 30 percent of the volume of a year ago. I think that's consistent with the information we're getting with building permits,” Mayor Sal Perillo said.

“In the housing market, you have people … betting that by the time the property is completed, it will be worth significantly more than when they started construction,” he said.

But these speculators no longer make up a substantial part of the new construction market.

“They're all owner contracts, not speculator contracts,” Halliday said.

As a result of the slowdown, his building company plans to give fewer jobs to subcontractors.

“We're going to do a lot of the work ourselves, keeping the work in-house,” Halliday said.

And with more investment homes lingering longer on the real-estate market, the city likely will see fewer demolitions, O'Keefe said.

“I think all of that will act as a depressant on the demolition and construction of new units on the island,” he said.

The city lifts its yearly summer ban on demolition Monday. Ocean City was second only to Camden in the number of property demolitions in 2005, according to state figures.

Meanwhile, city officials are watching the construction business as well. Booming property values collectively slowed the city's annual tax-rate increase. The city now has more than $7 billion in property value.

Traditionally, about 25 percent of the city's properties are demolished every 10 years, Council President Jack Thomas said.

“If we're behind on construction starts for 2006, the buildings may not become new ratables until 2008,” Council President Jack Thomas said. “I'm concerned about 2007, but I'm really concerned about 2008.”

But it's not all bad news. Companies such as Peter Lumber expect to get a boost from home remodeling this winter.

“When new construction slows down, remodeling business picks up,” Tietjen said. “The new construction guys go to work in home remodeling. That will keep us going.”

And a buyer's market might encourage more year-round residents to move to Ocean City, said Joann DelVescio, director of the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“We want to make it enticing for people to come and vacation here. But we want to continue to make it a place where they want to raise their families, too,” she said.

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press: MMiller@pressofac.com

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Ocean City in court to stop public vote on spending limit

By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Published: Friday, August 25, 2006

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE — Ocean City took a group of taxpayers to court Thursday to thwart their efforts to curb city spending.

The taxpayers want to put a public question on the ballot to tie spending increases to the federal cost of living adjustment. The town of Bogota enacted a similar limit, but until Thursday, the concept's legality was never challenged.

Residents Pete Guinosso, Jim Tweed and Joe Somerville collected enough signatures to put their idea on the ballot. The city responded by suing them.

Ocean City Solicitor Gerald Corcoran predicted chaos akin to this year's state government shutdown if the court allows the spending controls. In oral arguments Thursday before Superior Court Judge Joseph Visalli, Corcoran said the city could not pay pensions, employee benefits or debt service under the proposed spending cap.

In 2007, the city's pensions are expected to cost taxpayers $806,000 more.

"Will there be less police, firefighters and lifeguards?" Corcoran asked

Defense counsel Frank Corrado, who represents the taxpayers, said the city just wants to keep the tax-revenue geyser flowing. The city is spending $52 million this year — 25 percent more money than five years ago.

The city's biggest expenses are for salaries and wages with its eight unions.

“The city seems to take the position that it is entitled to enter into these (contractual) agreements. There's a certain arrogance in that. Don't bother us with participatory democracy. We're too busy spending your money,” Corrado said.

A group of residents collected enough signatures to put their idea — the Taxpayer Protection Ordinance, or TP — on the ballot for a public vote. Under their proposal, city spending would be tied to the Social Security Administration's Cost of Living Adjustment, which was 4.1 percent for 2006.

If the City Council wanted to spend more than that in a given year, the city would have to ask the public through a referendum.

Visalli took issue with wording of the ordinance for being ambiguous when it came to existing debt and multi-year contracts.

“People don't know that. People might think next year we don't have to worry about a 20 percent increase,” Visalli said.

Corrado suggested that could be clarified in an explanatory statement that accompanies all public questions.

Corcoran said the ordinance as written is too vague. Corcoran said residents already have the ability to challenge bond ordinances through initiative and referendum. In Ocean City, voters struck down an ordinance to buy the former Fourth Street lifesaving station.

“That's the correct way to do it,” Corcoran said.

Better yet, voters can elect new representatives, he said.

Corrado noted that the City Council might never have to go to the public for a referendum on the budget if it decides to hold the budget within the annual cost of living increase.

“Mr. Corcoran has outlined a parade of horribles that will ensue if the TPO is approved,” he said. “It is an illusory claim.”

Visalli said he would issue his opinion within 10 days.

The defendants and Councilman Roy Wagner watched the lawyers from the gallery.

“I don't think the world will end if we put this on the ballot,” Somerville said after the court session. “This is the leading issue in New Jersey, reducing costs. The city acts like, ‘What are you talking about reduced costs?'”

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press: MMiller@pressofac.com

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Sands of Time

Labor Day's still weeks away. Savor summer while it's still here
August 1, 2006
by Daniel McQuade - PhiladelphiaWeekly.com

When you hit the circle, you know you’re almost at Ocean City.
The circle is MacArthur Circle in Somers Point, N.J., home to a couple cheap motels and the Wal-Mart-sized Circle Liquors. Ocean City is dry, so there are plenty of liquor stores just over the bridge. They’re all packed just before closing.

Originally known as Peck’s Beach, Ocean City was founded by four Methodist ministers in 1879, who built a Christian retreat on the island. It’s a town rooted in simple, restrictive Christian tradition.

Ocean City businesses couldn’t open on Sundays until the ’80s. Men used to have to swim with their shirts on. Games of chance are still banned on the beach—which requires tags.

Ocean City’s reliance on tradition has made it the most family-friendly resort in South Jersey, a place that combines the boardwalk of Wildwood with the upscale beach houses of Avalon. Last year the Travel Channel named it the best family beach in the country.

The crowd in Ocean City is young, wholesome and largely Philadelphian. The shirts for sale on the boardwalk bear the names of familiar high schools: North Penn, Council Rock, Neshaminy and the Prep.

Jersey shore resorts have a familiar sameness to them that makes them feel like variations on the same repeated themes: the nicer one, the family one, the trashy one, the one for twentysomethings.

But Ocean City makes you feel like you’re 5 years old, like you should be excited about seeing a guy dressed up in a Mr. Peanut costume or about riding in the bumper boats.

You pass bronzed fathers carrying their daughters past the arcade, sunburned 16-year-olds trying to make sure their parents aren’t embarrassing them, families walking back from the beach, all of them struggling to hold towels and plastic buckets.

You see pairs of teens walking by, wearing “God Needed a Driver” Dale Earnhardt shirts. You see 15-year-olds running in the center lane of the boardwalk—reserved for runners during the day—wearing shirts comparing “terrorists” to “abortionists.”

All this, for some reason, makes you smile and shake your head. And you remember your own times at the shore as a kid, digging holes in the wet sand until you hit the water, getting into arguments over Frisbee games, spending all your dimes playing skee-ball, making out under the boardwalk.

Every trip down the shore is a mix of old memories and new ones, as you miss the people you spent other trips down the shore with, while figuring out how to make this time just as exciting as the other ones.

But the best times down the shore are the ones you don’t overanalyze, the ones when your whole mind and body are consumed with the task at hand—playing on the beach, swimming in the ocean, bullshitting with your friends in a pizza parlor, nervously waiting in line for a roller coaster, trying to convince a girl to go home with you.

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