Another year has come and gone and the headlines for 2007 weren’t so very different from those of 2006.
Easily at the top of the headline list was the fate of the Beach Theatre. The ups and downs of the efforts of the Beach Theatre Foundation (BTF), formed in March and headed by advertising mogul Steve Jackson, dominated the headlines from early March straight through to December. The fate of the Washington Street Mall was also up in the air most of the year. In between there were any number of assorted controversies – what to do about tents on the beach; what size should Convention Hall be; what to do about feral cats; should Lyle Lane be opened or closed during band concerts and of course, let’s not forget the great beach-tag caper of 2007. So let’s take a closer look at some of the stories that made 2007’s headlines.
The Beach Theatre Foundation finally took possession of the Beach Theatre Oct. 1 and acquired a lease/purchase agreement from Frank Investments, owners of the property, something which no other group had been successful in achieving. However, while the Franks were negotiating with BTF, they were also pursuing, and received, demolition permits from the Historical Perseveration Commission (HPC). Should BTF fail to find a developer for the Beach Theatre Complex within the 12-18 month time period of the agreement, Frank Investments has the go-ahead to demolish the 1950s historic structure and make way for a renovated retail area and two stories of residential condominiums. The Franks’ plan does not include a movie theatre.
In addition to the Franks, BTF was simultaneously negotiating with the city and the state’s Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for a $100,000 Small Cities’ loan to help the group seal the deal with the Franks. Problems with the group’s eligibility for loan plagued BTF for months. City Council approved new guidelines for the revolving loan program in early September delaying the vote to loan $100,000 to the Beach Theatre Foundation (BTF). Just when everything seemed to be in order and as the clock was ticking on the time in which an agreement with the Franks had to be in place, DCA officials still were not convinced BTF had sufficient collateral to secure the loan. A property assessment of the Beach Theatre Complex fell far short of the $12 million price tag the Franks have put on it and DCA officials balked at lending the money. Members of the foundation spent the last weekend of September scrambling to secure $100,000 in personal guarantees from sympathetic residents to put the final requirement on the collateralization of the loan. BTF finally deposited the $100,000 check on Oct. 1 and finalized an agreement with the Franks that same week. The Beach Theatre opened their doors to the public during the New Jersey State Film Festival’s annual event Nov. 17. The theatre is open for business Friday, Saturday and Sunday and one Thursday a month for a La Scala Opera series which is shown in Theatre Number One as a High Definition offering.
What to look for in 2008? Will BTF be successful in finding a developer for the Beach Theatre Complex, who is willing to lease or sell the historic movie theatre back to the foundation or will we be looking at more beachfront condominiums come 2009?
One of the hottest topics for 2007 ironically involved tents used to shelter tourists from the heat. Residents rose up in arms in early February at the prospect of hotels – Congress Hall and the Montreal Inn in particular – erecting what they maintained would be an endless row of tents from one end of the beach to the other, obstructing their view of the ocean and impeding on what they considered the rights of all residents to enjoy the beach. It was in the summer of ’06 that Congress Hall erected 11-foot tents on the beach in front of the historic hotel – allegedly without first securing the necessary permits.
The controversy spilled over to this year and it was standing room only in early April for a public hearing on the proposed introduction of an ordinance regulating the height of the tents. But the hoteliers took issue at the 8-foot height restrictions. The result was a compromise, passed just before the Memorial Day weekend restricting the height of tents to 9 feet and limiting how many can be placed on the beach and the distance between them, to take effect this coming summer. The result of the compromise? No one was happy – not the hoteliers and certainly not the residents who objected in the first place.
What to look for in 2008? Shorter tents.
Will the Washington Street Mall finally get the re-do it’s been looking or not? That was the question for most of 2007. The fate of the mall captured headlines beginning in January when retailer Pierce Herbst proposed to City Council a plan to fund the scaled back renovations project. You’ll recall that in 2006, voters shot down in an August referendum a $5 million bond ordinance to renovate the mall which has not been received a face lit since its inception in 1971. The 2007 project comes with a price tag of $3.2 million (it cost $3.8 million in 1971). Herbst’s plan called for the placement of kiosks or RMUs (Retail Merchandising Units) in the center of the mall. The city would benefit from the rental of the kiosks to interested merchants. It didn’t take long, however, for members of the Washington Street Mall Merchants Association to rail against the proposal as being an unwelcome addition to the mall. The plan was subsequently shot down as being logistically impractical by the city’s Revitalization Committee. City Council passed the bond ordinance May 17 and crossed their fingers hoping no one would oppose it this year. The current project even received the endorsement of the Cape May Taxpayers Association.
But hold the phone – this is Cape May. The newly formed “Concerned Taxpayers Association” (NOT to be confused with the Cape May Taxpayers Association) sued the city in June over the mall bond seeking to force the Washington Street Mall merchants to pay for the sidewalk portions of shopping area. Who were these “concerned” taxpayers? They did not reveal themselves until later. As it turns out, the organization is led by B&B owners, Jay Schatz of The Abbey and Larry Meuntz of Alexander’s Inn and Restaurant. At a Sept. 27 hearing, the taxpayers group told a Superior Court judge that the mall merchants should pay for the sidewalks. On Oct. 11 the judge ruled against the taxpayers’ group, dismissing the lawsuit. Work on the mall began in early November and the work is expected to be completed by early May.
What to look for in 2008? A newly renovated mall. Plans include brick pavers, new street lights, fountains and planters filled with any number of new trees and shrubs including Red Maple, Chinese Elm, Flowery Cherry and a selection of hydrangeas. Don’t look for the Concerned Taypayers to go away just because the lawsuit was dismissed. According to Schatz, they are regrouping and gaining in momentum looking, it would appear, to challenge the Cape May Taxpayers Association.
In politics, City Manager Lou Corea took the heat over a couple of different issues, not to mention the negotiation of his contract at the beginning of the year. In February City Council renewed Corea’s contract for three more years with a salary increase which averages 3.8 percent. His current salary of $107,610 increased this year to $111,062. But the raise and renewal came with stricter reins on the city manager. He will be required to meet with and consult with council members on a regular basis. Controversy ensued in 2006 when, unbeknownst to council, members of the Cape May Beach Patrol were summarily fired about a week to 10 days earlier than was customary. These new restrictions are expected to prevent such incidences from occurring in the future.
But the city manager found himself under the microscope again in September as he defended the “beach tag sting” perpetrated against LeMer Hotel owner Gus Andy. The headline in The Press of Atlantic City read: Slick detectives in Cape uncover alleged beach-tag caper. La Mer cited for transferring seasonal passes among guests during summer. Several years ago City Council passed an ordinance outlawing the practice of accommodations owners buying beach tags in bulk and offering them as an amenity to their guests. The accommodations’ owners challenged the ordinance in court and have been subsequently shot down. Corea defended the city’s beach-tag restriction stating that if the accommodations’ industry violates beach-tag laws, taxpayers will have to cover the lost revenue to operate city beaches.
September was a rough month for Corea, next he came under fire for closing Lyle Lane during concerts in Rotary Park. Since the concert series’ inception 13 year ago, Lyle Lane has always been closed to traffic on Wednesday and Saturday nights. Corea maintained it hurt business and diminished parking on the very nights and times when parking was most in need. Protests were especially vocal from residents of the Victorian Towers retirement center but their protests fell on deaf ears. Corea maintains the street will remain open and that some people just don’t like change.
What to look for in 2008? Don’t look for Gus Andy to go gentle into that good night. Accommodations’ owners are bitter about the beach tag restriction ordinance and have never forgiven the city for imposing the dreaded room tax levy. This might be just the “sting” their looking for to go back to court.
As for Lyle Lane, this is one in which Mayor Jerry Inderwies and City Manager Lou Corea are locking horns. It’ll be interesting to see who wins.
So with all this controversy brewing over here in Cape May, what was going on in West Cape May? It seems the small borough was quietly but effectively moving to change with the times beginning with a meeting of borough officials, the planning group Rhodeside and Harwell and residents to discuss the changes. At the heart of the issue are plans for creating a vision for West Cape May’s commercial/historic district which will create “a real community” and one which is pedestrian friendly and encouraging to small businesses. Prospective changes include much needed traffic patterns, (especially at the intersection of Park, Perry and Myrtle, near the CVS); the widening of Park Boulevard and the creation of bike lanes – in July the borough commission approved making an application to the state Department of Transportation (DOT) for a $180,000 bikeway grant to create bicycle lanes on both sides of Park Boulevard and install a sidewalk and curbing on the west side of the street. West Cape May also hopes to buy 25 acres along Cape Island Creek to create an approximately 100-acre public park, with walking trails and kayak launches.
Other changes include the formation of the West Cape May Taxpayers Association in September. West Cape May’s newly formed Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) moved into high gear with a survey identifying more than 200 structures worth saving. Construction techniques, old maps and archived newspaper articles helped two historic preservation consultants compile the list. And the results of their work were presented at a gathering at West Cape May’s Borough Hall at the end of November. Additionally, a mural by West Cape May resident Doug Flanagan depicting the finds was also unveiled.
The story which received the most headlines in West Cape May this year centered around the borough’s plan to ease budget woes with the sale of two liquor licenses – one for packaged goods and one for restaurant use. The move was supposed to appear on the November ballot as a referendum but an alleged “clerical error” in the clerk’s office put “a cork” in the vote.
An on-going story which has plagued most shore towns and has been particularly vexing to West Cape May is the issue of affordable housing in an escalating real estate market. In October of 2006 the borough’s planning board and developers of a proposed 70 townhouse-unit plan for Sixth Street each maintain the other side walked out of negotiations regarding the density of the zoned area. The board turned down Sixth Street Partner’s proposal in an 8-0 decision because the project allegedly greatly exceeds the density requirements for the zone. In 2006 the developers, Sixth Street Partners, filed a builder’s remedy suit maintaining that the borough has not done enough to provide affordable housing. They have offered to provide such housing in their proposed project. Under the old regulations, WCM was obligated to come up with 23 such units by the year 2014. However, changes in the state’s affordable housing law this past year did not make the lawsuit go away.
What to look for in 2008 in West Cape May? Residents and officials will have to wait until at least spring now since it was determined that a special election to put forth the referendum would be cost prohibitive.
Look for a consolidation of resources in 2008 including a merger with Cape May City’s court system.
In April Borough commissioners hired an attorney specializing in affordable housing cases to fight the on-going battle against Sixth Street Partners. Look for some kind of decision regarding this controversial issue. At year’s end Mayor Pam Kaithern said the borough solicitor provided her with details of updated recommendations from the Coalition on Affordable Housing also known as COAH. Among the recommendations – an extension to 2018 to comply with state regulations and a reduction in the previous requirement of one affordable housing unit for every eight market priced units would be reduces to one for every four market priced units. Additionally the borough is looking for some creative ways to comply including apartments atop garages. The borough is also looking into loosening the rules to allow more residential uses on top of commercial businesses.
A new landscape for West Cape May may not materialize in 2008, but certainly it looks as though plans for a new and improved borough will be underway.
All in all it’s been a very good year for West Cape May.
Not to be left behind, Cape May Point is also looking to preserve its past. Historic preservation is a vital aspect to the borough’s Master Plan. In another kind of preservation, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has reserved up to $500,000 to create additional gabions, wire mesh containers filled with rocks placed at the dune line, as part of the Shore Protection Stabile Funding Program for 2008. And there will be a new administrator for Cape May Point in 2008. Borough commissioners at year’s end were considering the hiring of an administrator to coordinate the affairs of all departments, negotiate employee contract and be responsible for public bidding and contracts.
What to look for in 2008 in Cape May Point? The creation of a Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) and a survey of significant structures.
What to look for in the island landscape in 2008? Other than the change in the Washington Street Mall which will greet tourists this coming season, the focus for 2008 will affect the beachfront landscape. A decision on what Convention Hall will become must be made in 2008 or the city faces the loss of Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) funding.
Look for a big, huge hole in the ground where the Coachman’s Motor Inn and Rusty Nail restaurant used to be. Demolition work will begin sometime after the first of the year to make way for the more upscale Ocean House.
Visitors and resident alike will be pleased to see the completion in the spring of the Sea Mist. There was much concern that she would never come back to her wedding cake beauty again when the much photographed wedding cake house was stripped down to its bare bones this past summer.
New for 2008? Wifi. All the shore communities seem to be geeked up on WiFi access and look for Cape May to find a way for this happen in 2008.
A park for pooches is in the stars on Lafayette Street probably within the first quarter of the year.
So that’s the year-end wrap up. Stay tuned to this Dot Com frequency for weekly headlines in the coming year. Meantime, stay well and prosper.
