Recap of Nov 7, ‘22 Wildwood Planning and Zoning Meeting
Submitted by Kathy Fulginiti
The City of Wildwood Planning & Zoning board meets the first Monday of every month at 6 pm in the City Hall Commissioner’s Meeting Room, 4400 New Jersey Ave, Wildwood NJ 08260. View agendas and plans beforehand at city hall during their business hours (M-F 8 am - 4 pm). Members of the public are allowed to attend and offer public comment on most agenda items. Zoom attendance is currently discontinued.
143 E. Wildwood Ave. John Bariana
(This was from last month.)
This lot, which is currently vacant, has a front of 50’ and a depth of 100”. The owner wants to build two semi-detached units, each with 4 bedrooms and three off-street parking spots. Variances are needed for lot size, maximum building coverage, and use (semi-detached not permitted in this area). The height max is 37’ and they are requesting 44’.
(Notes from the meeting):
This property is in the Pacific Avenue Redevelopment Zone. A “D” variance is needed because the area is non-residential. A little reworking was done with the plans. It originally called for 4 bedrooms and 3 parking spaces. That has been reduced to 3 bedrooms and two parking spaces. A bulk variance for the back yard setback was needed because of the air conditioning unit. The building height was reduced to comply with the requirements. The building will occupy 45% of the lot coverage; 55% is the requirement. The city will lose two metered parking spots.
No members of the public spoke.
The motion to approve was unanimous.
2712 Lake Ave. Tenacity Development
This is currently a vacant lot that is 60’x 80’ and has 4800 square feet. It is zoned Waterfront Residential. The proposal is to have a side-by-side duplex with each unit having 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and three off-street parking spots. Variances are needed for lot frontage and width, side yard setback (the requirement is 20’ and they want it reduced to 5’ 7”), minimum front yard, building coverage, building height, and density. Each unit will include an elevator and an outside shower.
(Notes from the meeting):
This property on Lake Ave. is on the corner of Poplar Ave. (A duplex that was on the property was torn down, but I’m not sure when.) The front doors will face Lake Ave. Two cars will fit into the garages, with an additional car in the driveway. The configuration of the parking situation affords Lake Ave. an additional parking space. There will be no curb cuts on Poplar Ave. The showers and condensers will be under the building. The front setback on Lake will be 10’ to the building, but piers, etc. bring it down to 8’7”. The overhang to the roof is 6’. Side yard setback is indeed required to be 20’. On Poplar, the setback is 5’7” to some areas of the project, with the majority being 7’7. The distance to the stairs from the property line is 4’7”. The architect explained that the concrete slab will be built a foot above grade, which will help with any flooding. Because the slab is higher, the steps are needed. The garage will have a ceiling height of 10’, in case the home owners want to store a boat. (There goes the idea of two cars parking in the garage.) A vaulted ceiling on the first floor living area adds to the height of the building, taking it to 2’8” above the height allowance. Building coverage came in at 45%, while the maximum allowed is 57.6%. One board member discussed reducing the height of the building, but the architect was opposed to that move.
During the public comment section I asked about the side yard setbacks. Going from the 20’ required to under 6’ is a huge difference. I didn’t think any of the houses in that area have a 20’ setback, so why is it listed as a requirement? A board member said that every so often they review things like setback requirements and make adjustments. This is one that needs to be changed. I also expressed the opinion that the building is too close to the property line of the neighbor.
The motion to approve was 6 yes and 1 no. The board member voting no stated that his reasons are because some of the variances could have been adjusted to fit the requirements.
3000 Boardwalk Wildwood Hospitality Group
This property fronts the Boardwalk with 186.78’, Glenwood Ave. at 164.96’, and Maple Ave. at 115’, with a depth of 134.88’. The total area is 25, 196.30 square feet. It is zoned Boardwalk. The owners propose to extensively renovate and expand the existing structure to have a 75-unit hotel with 7 retail stores at the Boardwalk. Variances are needed for height, side yard, back yard, front yard, lot coverage, off-street parking, and stacked parking. The current structure has boardwalk stores topped by two levels of rental units that have been unused for years. Adding two additional floors of motel units and the roof-top amenities, bring the total floors to six, but the proposal stated that the building would be 50’ above the boardwalk. Various height levels were stated, making it confusing. Maybe they are including the ground level in the count. There would be a lobby entrance to the hotel from the Boardwalk.
(Notes from the meeting):
The attorney started this presentation by asking the Board to keep an open mind as to the benefits of the project outweighing the negatives.
This is a complicated, involved project with many layers. Built in 1973, this building has been needing repairs for many years. In 1980 painting was done because the city required it. The architect stated that nothing has been done since. (I remember that something was done to try to make the units habitable, but I don’t know when that happened.)
The building will occupy the same footprint as the current building, with the two additional floors being graduated to comply with code. Existing retail stores on the boardwalk level will remain and be updated. Everything will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Low maintenance and high quality are intended for the outside walls, some of which is hoped to be scenes painted by local artists. The high-end hotel itself will be operated year-round. On the roof (of the third floor) will be a restaurant area with a curved roof. This roof is the only section that exceeds the height limit. Also on this roof will be a wading pool that is not free standing. No structures are on the roof of the top section. The area below the level of the boardwalk will be used for parking and maybe storage. Two elevator towers go to the top floor.
The northeast corner of the Boardwalk will house the entrance to the hotel lobby and a café area. The café may include be a coffee bar and will be open for guests and the public. Hopes are that eventually the resort will acquire a liquor license and make that section a bar.
Balconies will have a good view of the ocean and a glass enclosure of the balconies will not impede the view.
The name is currently “The Wild Resort,” which hopefully will be changed as it is not yet the final name. The rooms will be comparable with name brand hotel rooms. Some of the rooms are below the square footage requirement while others greatly exceed it. Much of this is due to the configuration of the current building.
Parking was a big issue and that discussion lasted about an hour. The presenter claimed that even though 75 parking spaces are required, they only have to provide spaces for the new section since the original had no parking at all. That would bring the total of spaces needed to 53 and they have allotted 54. Throughout the discussion, this stand changed as the number of spaces needed was qualified. The Board suggested buying other properties or leasing spots from other parking lots in the area. Buying other property had been looked into but the property owners were asking “extortion rates.” By the end, the engineer was stating that before anything is built, CAFRA has to give approval and they don’t give variances. Therefore, 75 spaces will be needed (at least). Someone on the Board also reminded the representative that parking also has to be provided for workers. It was suggested that workers carpool or have a pick-up location. It was also Board suggested that until full parking is acquired, the rooms without parking not be rented. The owner agreed.
Guests will not have to deal with parking, as all parking will be by valet. There will be 4 or 5 spots on the street for guests to disembark and the valet will take it from there. (Glenwood Ave. will lose two metered spaces.) The entrance to the parking will be on Glenwood and the exit on Maple. Delivery trucks will have to pull into the parking lot, but there is no dedicated loading zone.
The property will have a six-foot fence surrounding it. A trash receptacle area will be covered. Two bike racks will be within the parking lot.
Two members of the public spoke. The first one said the plans looked beautiful but took issue with the parking, trash placement, the fence, and the “extortion” claim. As her house is in close proximity, the fence and the trash will be a problem for her. The parking was even a bigger issue. She wanted to know who was going to make sure those 22 rooms without parking spots were not rented. She didn’t get an answer as no one knew what to say. No one addressed her concerns about the trash and fence. She also wanted the “extortion” statement clarified, saying she was insulted by it and no one was asking excessive amounts. Pennies were offered for property where the owners asked current market value. The second speaker (me) said the project was wonderful and make a suggestion about parking. A parking lot that hasn’t been operational in years is in the area and might provide a solution to the parking dilemma.
The motion was made to approve the project with the stipulation that additional parking be found. It was approved unanimously.
The City of Wildwood Planning & Zoning board meets the first Monday of every month at 6 pm in the City Hall Commissioner’s Meeting Room, 4400 New Jersey Ave, Wildwood NJ 08260. View agendas and plans beforehand at city hall during their business hours (M-F 8 am - 4 pm). Members of the public are allowed to attend and offer public comment on most agenda items. Zoom attendance is currently discontinued
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