Are developers fooling local planners?
By MAUREEN L. CAWLEY
Staff Writer
NORTH WILDWOOD – According to the plans submitted to the planning board here last month, the proposed Paradise Suites will be a motel.
The 12-unit project, approved to replace The Lau Ray Inn, at 221 East 26th Street, will be four-stories high, as is allowed for motel properties, but not for condominiums. The project will also take full advantage of more lenient parking requirements afforded to motels; 18 spots will be provided. If it was a condominium complex, the developer would need 24.
And, according to the plans, it’s a motel.
But some city officials aren’t so sure.
City Council, under advisement by the planning board, passed a land use amendment this summer aimed at controlling what City Council President Patrick Rosenello called the “rampant development” of condominiums in the city. The ordinance limited the length of buildings to 75 feet and allowable density was reduced for multi-family or condominium construction.
In an effort to encourage motel owners to stay in business and resist the condo-craze, the density, parking and height requirements for motels in the city remained less restrictive.
But city officials are concerned that since the land use law was passed, they have begun to receive site plans for motels that do not look like motels.
“They look like condos,” planning board chairman Charles Brackett said
The units in the Paradise Suites are unusually large; most are just short of 1,200 square feet, city engineer Ralph Petrella wrote in his report. And almost all of them have three-bedrooms. Just one unit on the second floor has only two bedrooms, so that the space could accommodate a small motel reception area and office.
The maid’s storage area, measuring 30 inches by five feet, is in the first-floor parking area, and there is no commercial laundry facility planned for the site.
Planning board member Joseph Gallagher asked about that on Sept. 26 when the plans were being considered. Louis DiGreggorio, the architect for the project which is being developed by Nakash Wildwood, LLC, of New York, said the motel’s linens would be handled by an offsite service, according to the meeting’s minutes.
Gallagher expressed concerns that because of the size of the units, the property might convert to condos instead of being operated as a motel.
Developer’s attorney Ron Stagliano said that he could not “commit to the future,” and that plans for the Paradise Suites met the requirements of North Wildwood’s ordinance for the definition of motels.
“It brings up some issues,” Green said.
Right now, as long as the plans appear to meet the requirements of the ordinance, the planning board has no choice but to approve the plans, Brackett said.
In spite of the board’s reservations, they passed the plans for the Paradise Suites unanimously. Although, they did stipulate that only one electrical service, one gas meter and three water meters could be installed in the building. And they prohibited the installation of individual meters.
Planning board member Ed Einhaus said if the motel changes its use by eliminating its lobby or office, they would have to appear before the zoning board and request variances for parking.
The problem, Green said, is in the enforcement.
“We don’t have any good formal way to keep track,” he said.
A similar project was approved to replace the Brigadoon Motel at 16th and Ocean avenues, Green said, and more are on the way. He said he is keeping his records of the meetings in case problems arise in the future.
“I intend to keep track,” Green said.
So does City Council President Rosenello.
“If the intent of anybody is to circumvent our zoning laws, they should know that that we are going to pursue them doggedly,” he said.
Rosenello said he would not comment on the Paradise Suites project specifically, adding, “I will take their solicitor’s (Stagliano) word that that is not their intent.”
But Rosenello said the city will issue summons against properties that received approvals under one use and are operating under another.
There may be a daily fine assessed with violating the use, he said.
“It is very, very important for a developer to understand that while they may have found what they believe to be a loophole in our land use ordinance, we will pursue every legal means to prevent that from happening,” Rosenello said.
Meanwhile, the planning board has formed a committee including Green, Einhouse and vice chairman Bob Davis to meet with city engineer Ralph Petrella figure out what else can be done.
“We are hoping to come up with a definition of motels that does not allow a property to operate as a condo,” Brackett said. But sorting through the complexities of motel zoning in a market, driven by condo development, is no easy task.
“There is a lot of gray area,” Green said.
After months of consideration and debate, Wildwood Crest adopted a plan for its motel zone, which requires two parking spots for any unit larger than 650 square feet and limits the size of hotel rooms to 800 square feet. Anything bigger is automatically classified as a multifamily unit, and must meet more stringent height and density requirements. It was a move that many motel owners were unhappy with. They said it limited their ability to improve their properties and compete in the modern tourism market. The Crest law allows for two-bedroom suites but not three bedrooms.
“We were very concerned about parking,” Crest Mayor Carl Groon said.
According to Rosenello, Wildwood has done a lot of work defining the “minutia” that classifies a project as a motel or hotel, including a good working definition of transient lodging.
“We are looking into additional safeguards in that respect,” he said.
The planning board committee will be meeting with the City Council administration committee to develop a strategy to address the issue.
“That’s the challenge of the planning board,” Green said, “trying to stay one step ahead of developers. We need to jump on this right away.”
The solutions to planning board issues always involve compromise, he said.
“I’m very supportive of motels. We’d like to maintain them,” Green said. “But at what cost?”
Brackett compared the task to clogging holes in a leaky dike.
“As soon as you fix one another one springs up,” he said. “Sometimes it feels like you have to use all of your fingers and toes.”
Two attempts were made to contact Stagliano, but he could not be reached for comment.
Maureen L. Cawley can be e-mailed at maureen.cawley@catamaranmedia.com or you can comment on this story by calling 624-8900, ext. 250.
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