Dennis continues hearing on concrete-plant proposal

By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Thursday, May 24, 2007

DENNIS TOWNSHIP — R..E. Pierson Construction site manager Curt Mitchell laid out plans for a concrete plant and recycling facility at a Tuesday night Zoning Board meeting for what has remained a controversial project.

Mitchell outlined the proposed recycling operation, which grinds down chunks of concrete and asphalt, as well as a 65- to 70-foot building where concrete would be made.

But for the second time, the township's Zoning Board ran out of time to hear the rest of the company's application.

After more than 3 ½ hours of testimony and questions, the board continued the hearing to July 25 at 7:30 p.m.

The board asked R.E. Pierson officials to provide noise and traffic studies at the next meeting, as well as an environmental officer.

The Zoning Board meeting was moved to the Dennis Township Primary School on Hagan Road to accommodate the high turnout of residents that flooded a meeting last month in Township Hall.

About 60 people attended Tuesday's meeting, a significantly smaller crowd than last month.
R.E. Pierson Construction withdrew its application Tuesday to build an asphalt plant on the 170-acre sand-and-gravel pit located on Woodbine-Ocean View Road.
The company is still seeking zoning variances for a concrete plant and a Class B recycling facility.
Residents speaking at the meeting remained worried about traffic from heavy dump trucks, dust and noise from concrete grinding as well as environmental and pollution concerns.
Several residents spoke in support of the company's plans.

The Zoning Board asked Mitchell how many jobs the plant would create. Mitchell said about 20, including truck drivers and employees to operate the equipment. That number was less than the 40 the company estimated had the asphalt plant application gone forward, R.E. Pierson officials said.

Mitchell also said the state Department of Environmental Protection will require environmental permits and an extensive review of the facility's operations.

Ocean View resident Vince Piazza said, “What about the truck traffic that has to go past my house? … We have a rural town.”

Last week, Dennis Township Committee introduced an ordinance seeking to ban asphalt plants in the township.

The committee's action came after several packed Zoning Board meetings regarding the company's application for variances.

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press: BIanieri@pressofac.com

Ocean City strikes deal with Salem for housing
Mayor Gage resents unfairness of system

By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Thursday, May 24, 2007

OCEAN CITY — The city of Salem has agreed to shoulder some of Ocean City's affordable-housing obligation.

But don't ask the mayor of the Delaware River town to cheer the deal. Salem Mayor Earl Gage said Ocean City and other rich island towns should provide all of their affordable housing within their own borders instead of paying poorer towns such as his.

“Some towns can dodge the bullet. It hurts our school system and our tax revenue. I'd like to see a more even distribution across the board,” Gage said.

Ocean City Council is expected to formalize this Regional Contribution Agreement with Salem today. Under the terms, Ocean City will pay Salem $455,000 or $35,000 for each of 13 affordable homes it provides.

The money comes out of a $1 million fund that Ocean City collected from builders and developers through the years, Business Administrator James Rutala said.

He said the city will provide another 13 affordable homes — the minimum required — on the island but has not yet determined how.

Council President Jack Thomas said Ocean City residents are well served by fulfilling this affordable-housing requirement. Doing otherwise could open the city up to the so-called builder's remedy.

Developers could sidestep local zoning to fulfill the unmet affordable-housing needs of a town such as Ocean City.

“You could have some developer dictate the terms. That's what we want to make sure doesn't happen here,” Thomas said.

Even though Salem is two counties and more than 50 miles from Ocean City, it lies within a geographic region with the resort in which the state Council on Affordable Housing allows such trades.

Thomas said Salem stands to gain from the agreement as well.

“Allegedly, everyone will benefit from it. They want the ability to build 13 or so affordable housing. They're rehabbing units there,” Thomas said.

In Salem (pop. 5,812) one in four families lives below the poverty line, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. By comparison, just 4 percent of families in Ocean City (pop. 15,330) live in poverty.

The average property assessment in Ocean City is more than three times higher than Salem's, and at $8.2 billion, Ocean City has 33 times the property value.

Ocean City is the first town to strike a deal with Salem on affordable housing, Gage said.
Salem is hoping to get a new railroad line to become a bedroom community for Wilmington, Del., the mayor said.

“It's a beautiful area. The potential is there. But people won't commute an hour to work every day,” he said. “Salem has a bright future. It's just a matter of dealing with what we have.”
To that end, Gage said his city would use Ocean City's money to offer loans or grants for residents who want to renovate older homes. But he said philosophically he was opposed to the arrangement. This program contributes to the gentrification of poor residents from wealthy towns, he said.

“You're excluding them and putting an unfair burden on other towns,” he said.

So why is he agreeing to solve Ocean City's affordable-housing problem?

“We have the homes. We're not getting rid of them,” he said. “If we have them, we might as well get some compensation to bring up the housing stock.

“I personally wish there was a better system. But this is the system.”

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

Skateboard scofflaws worry Upper Twp.
Press of Atlantic City
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Published: Thursday, May 17, 2007

UPPER TOWNSHIP — Township children are full-time users of the skate park at Amanda's Field.

Unfortunately, the park off Route 50 is only open part time.

The attendant locks the gated park when it is closed. So far, the 12-foot fence and the heavy padlocks haven't deterred enterprising skateboarders and bicyclists.

The children scaled the towering fence. They cut the heavy padlock on the front gate. They unscrewed bolts on the fence and peeled back the chain link like the rind of an orange.

They even popped the steel pins on the gate hinges and replaced them when they were finished.
This latest Houdini trick baffled township employees.

“The last time they did the hinge thing, we couldn't figure out how they were getting in,” Recreation Director Brenda Layton said.

The Township Committee is considering ways to keep the park open for children.
After the township's schools dismissed Wednesday, the park remained locked up tight and deserted.

Layton said township employees spend about an hour per week fixing the fence damage caused by the determined interlopers.

“It's not open enough. The kids are breaking in,” Layton said. “I would like to see it used more.”
The township would prefer to have an attendant on duty so children can ride bicycles and skateboards together. But the insurance risk might be too great to allow this dual use without an attendant, Solicitor Dan Young said.

Layton said about one in four children ride bicycles rather than skateboards in the park.
“I'd rather see it used than not just because we can't afford to man it,” Mayor Richard Palombo said.

Unlike many organized sports, skating does not attract the same kind of parental involvement that might allow a loose association of parents to take over the park's supervision. Township resident Stephen Martinelli, who lives near the park, has been its unofficial steward. But he told the Township Committee this week he is only there some of the time because of his job obligations.

Martinelli said a private contractor might be willing to assume responsibility for the park if the township adopts a fee system. No decisions were made this week.

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

Upper Twp. to review zoning law
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712

Press of Atlantic City
Published: Thursday, May 17, 2007

UPPER TOWNSHIP — Affordable housing, big-box retailers and Strathmere swimming pools will be addressed at tonight's Planning Board meeting.

The Planning Board is considering sweeping changes to the township's zoning ordinance. The more contentious topics include:
Restricting retail stores to 75,000 square feet.
Allowing or banning swimming pools in Strathmere.
Creating a mobile-home zone to help the township provide more affordable housing.

“We're fine-tuning the ordinance,” Planning Board Chairwoman Renee Scrocca said. “We get a report from the Zoning Board about what variances they grant. Then we look at the zoning code. Is it really working? Is it doing what we need it to do in terms of the growth of the town and the safety and aesthetics of the town?”

The new mobile-home zone would be composed largely of age-restricted homes with 20 percent designated for low- and moderate-income families. The township's lack of affordable housing opens it up to lawsuits by builders who could sidestep local zoning if they prevailed in court.

The board will also consider placing limits on the size of large retail stores. This could discourage big-box retailers from opening mega stores in the township. The proposed ShopRite in Marmora and the existing Acme in Seaville are smaller than 75,000 square feet, Scrocca said.

She said the township would welcome the tax revenue of a large superstore but probably not at the price of traffic congestion.

“We don't have the infrastructure traffic-wise to support it,” she said. “”There is some sentiment that the big-box stores do not fit in the atmosphere of the town. We're a small town, not a Northfield or a Rio Grande.”

The board also will consider whether to permit or ban swimming pools in Strathmere. Some residents have suggested that swimming pools do not belong on the island because the chlorine in the water can kill microbes in septic systems. Scrocca said the board likely will focus on how pools can fit with the island's lot sizes.

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

Reflective technology to make parkway safer
By RICHARD DEGENER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6711
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Thursday, May 17, 2007

LOWER TOWNSHIP — When Garden State Parkway motorists get to the southern terminus of the highway this summer they may have a better indication that the roadway is ending.

If it works, it could make the scene of several fatal crashes over the years much safer. That, at least, is the promise of what state Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew is calling “cutting-edge technology” that has been used in Europe and Canada.

So far, the Federal Highway Administration has only issued interim approval for the “retro-reflective backplate borders” that will be placed on the traffic signals at the end of the highway.
“It's a new technology in the U.S. and we're one of the first to use it in New Jersey,” Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, said on Wednesday.

The borders reportedly make the signal stand out so it is easier to locate at night amid background lighting but also in bright sunlight or other confusing backgrounds. Van Drew said studies have shown it reduces crashes by 15 to 24 percent, especially rear-end collisions, and is especially helpful to elderly drivers.

This was just one of several improvements Van Drew announced after meeting with Cape May County, Lower Township and Middle Township officials over the controversial parkway traffic lights at exits 0, 9, 10 and 11. They are the only traffic lights on the parkway.

Van Drew said the New Jersey Highway Authority has agreed to a number of the interim improvements while a long-range plan to eliminate most of the lights is being devised. There have been numerous traffic accidents at the lights over the years, including fatalities.
The authority also has agreed to install markings on the pavement warning that a signal is ahead. This will be done on the southbound side at mile-markers .5 and .25.

Improvements also are planned in Middle Township, where there are three traffic signals. “Signal ahead” markings will be put on the pavement southbound at mile-markers 11.6 and 11.3 and northbound at mile-markers 7.8 and 8.1. The authority will put up two portable message signs, one at 7.7 northbound and the other at 11.9 southbound, to notify motorists of upcoming traffic signals. Van Drew said he made that request on behalf of Eric Meyer, whose son Christopher was killed at the Stone Harbor Boulevard signal a few years ago.

Van Drew was not able to get everything he wanted. He said he pushed for the removal of a utility pole at Exit 0 that was a factor in several fatal accidents. In 2005 Wildwood Crest resident Steven Scholz died after hitting the pole. In 2006 Lower Township resident Wade Dickinson died after hitting the same pole. The pole is just after the parkway ends on Route 109, which is under the state Department of Transportation, and Van Drew said he could not get approval to remove it and a nearby guardrail.

“I wanted to get the rail and the pole done,” Van Drew said.

Those accidents renewed interest in the Exit 0 problem, with Lower Township Police Chief Ed Donohue lobbying heavily for improvements.

Van Drew and his colleague, Assemblyman Nelson Albano, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, also pushed for more warning signs at the end of the parkway. They wanted overhead signage spanning the black asphalt, similar to toll booth approaches.

Though the overhead sign was not approved, Van Drew commended Authority Executive Director Mary Murphy for responding and called it a good beginning.

“If we do not institute some interim improvements while major improvements to these intersections are being designed, we will lose more life and limb,” Van Drew said.

Albano said he hopes the improvements help.

“I dread hearing of another death or major injury at exit 11, 10, 9, or 0. We must do anything and everything to prevent this from happening,” Albano said.

To e-mail Richard Degener at The Press: RDegener@pressofac.com

Upper says Strathmere secession bid baffling

By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Tuesday, May 15, 2007

UPPER TOWNSHIP — Township officials on Monday said they were surprised and a little baffled about a move by some Strathmere residents to split from this rural township.

A group formerly known as the Strathmere Taxpayers Association is pursuing de-annexation from the township. Because average property values are much higher in Strathmere than the rest of the 64-square-mile township, island residents pay substantially higher property taxes to the Board of Education and Cape May County than their mainland counterparts.

The township has no local purpose tax.

“Island versus mainland, that's not the attitude I have,” Committeeman Jay Newman said. “Strathmere is part of Upper Township.”

Newman said he vehemently disagreed with Strathmere resident Randy Roash's public assertion that merging with another barrier island would improve public safety and emergency management on the island.

“I was kind of disappointed with that quote,” Newman said. “We've done the best we can with everything.”

To begin the process, at least 60 percent of Strathmere residents would have to sign a petition asking the township to de-annex, according to the state Department of Community Affairs.
Then, Upper Township and the town that Strathmere would join — presumably Sea Isle City, although that has not been determined — would have to give consent.

One aspect of the split would be somewhat easier: how to apportion the township's bonded debt, since Upper Township has none. It pays everything in cash.

Township officials on Monday made it clear they would not part company with Strathmere willingly.

“I was hoping this could be worked out amicably. I still think it can be,” Mayor Richard Palombo said.

All five committee members live on the mainland. Few Strathmere residents run for public office and fewer still win election. Roash, who serves on the Board of Education, is an exception.

Committee members Frank Conrad and Barbara Camp, the former township clerk, said she has not perceived any rift between residents in Strathmere and the rest of the township. Committee members conceded that many Strathmere residents were hugely dissatisfied with the last revaluation that saw assessments on the island more than quadruple in some cases.

Strathmere's efforts to secede face tall odds without support from the governing body. Similar efforts in Cape May County have failed after costly and prolonged court battles. The most recent example is Avalon Manor and its failed bid to split from Middle Township.

This is not the first time residents in the tiny hamlet of Strathmere have given warnings about secession. But it could be the first time they follow through with them.

During the public meeting Monday, Committeeman Curtis Corson Jr. made a Revolutionary War quip about “a tea party in Strathmere.”

But if Strathmere residents have their way, Upper Township could be in for a civil war.

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