SEA ISLE CITY –– Officials here revised the resort’s rental housing law March 25 to make it tougher on landlords with noisy tenants. While many applaud the measure at least one property owner is against it.

Carl Lingesso, of the neighborhood watch group Town Watch/Town Pride, praised the change.

“We are very pleased with the tightening of this measure. It’s sure to pay dividends and allow residents to enjoy their properties,” Lingesso said. “Everyone who comes to Sea Isle should be able to have a good time, but not to the detriment of others.”

The ordinance, known as an Animal House law after the 1978 National Lampoon movie that featured beer-drinking, party-throwing college students, is aimed at reducing excessive noise and disorderly conduct by seasonal tenants to protect the quality of life of the neighborhood.

Under the so-called two-strike law, the city can require landlords whose tenants had at least two convictions for noise or other disorderly persons violations during a 12-month period to post a cash bond of up to $5,000 as security against police and court expenses incurred in repressing future violations.

In January, Hearing Officer Michael Donohue imposed bonds of between $500 and $5,000 on four qualifying landlords.

Also at the January hearing was another landlord whose property spurred the recent change in the ordinance.

Donald Hatton, of Philadelphia, owns several rental properties in Sea Isle City including a four-unit building in the 3800-block of Central Avenue. Two of the units received a violation last summer, but under the previous version of the ordinance Hatton was not eligible for a bond as each unit was treated as an individual seasonal rental premises.

The revised ordinance defines “seasonal rental premises” as “any rental or residential accommodations, consisting of a single dwelling or two or more dwelling units on same rental property owned by one landlord.” This change would make Hatton’s property subject to a bond if his tenants again receive more than one violation.

According to a report from the city’s police department, from May 25 through Sept. 3 officers handled 408 noise calls, which involved 128 issued summonses and 21 incidents with arrests.

Among those incidents, Hatton’s property was involved on two dates. On May 26, 10 tenants were cited for noise and, on June 9, three tenant register violations were issued.

At the January hearing, Solicitor Paul Baldini who represented the city’s interests told Hatton that his was one of the worst properties in the city and informed him of the ordinance change aimed at his property.

“I was never so insulted,” Hatton told the Herald. “Baldini and the other residents treated me like an animal.”
He said he was being unfairly targeted by the city based on complaints from a few elderly neighbors on the 200-block of 39th Street.

“There are some neighbors who have nothing better to do than call the police every time they hear a peep from my tenants,” he said. “They’ve had something against me for years, harassing me and wasting the police department’s time.”

“Thankfully the police and code enforcement officials have been fair with me. They are always around but rarely find problems,” he noted adding that he’s only had two official noise violations in over 10 years. “I’m in Sea Isle all the time checking on my properties and making sure they comply with all city regulations.”

Anne Organ, one of Hatton’s neighbors, painted a completely different picture.

She said the tenants there have been a problem for a long time and have gotten worse in the past few years. Organ and the other neighbors have called police numerous times over the years, she said. She claimed that his property gets at least one violation each summer.

“He just doesn’t care about the neighborhood,” she said complaining of excessive drunkenness, noise and trash.

Hatton admitted that he had a terrible trash problem a few years ago in which his tenants didn’t put the cans out to be collected regularly and the trash began to pile up.

“I fixed that problem by paying someone to put the trash out regularly and haven’t had a problem with trash since then,” he said.
Hatton said the revision in the rental ordinance smacked of age discrimination against his tenants who range in age from 21 to 25 years old.

“I rent to adults. They work hard as lifeguards and waitresses and like to have a good time when they’re off,” Hatton said. “These older residents seem to forget that that’s why people come down the shore, to enjoy themselves. I think they want to turn this fun shore town into an over-55 community.”

He said one of the reasons he purchased the properties in Sea Isle was because he used to rent similar summer homes and recalled those times fondly. He noted that summer rentals were also very profitable for him.

Hatton said the Animal House law was also hypocritical because of the numerous bars in the town that are a major attraction for visitors.

“Sea Isle is a big partying town and everybody knows it. Even the mayor owns a bar,” he said of Kix McNutley’s at 63rd Street and Landis Avenue, of which Mayor Leonard Desiderio is a principal. “It’s unfair for the bars to be allowed serve my tenants without a problem, but when they come back to my property and make a little noise I’m held responsible.”

In the end, Hatton said he would continue to take care of his property as he has in the past.

“I’ll read my tenants the riot act as I always do and try to keep on top of them to keep the noise down throughout the summer as usual,” he said. “It’s all I can do.”

If he continues to feel harassed or has any bonds imposed at the end of the summer, Hatton said he would consult with his attorney.

As for Organ, she said the revised ordinance should help a whole lot. She said the old version allowed Hatton a loophole and felt sure he would have a bond imposed next year.

In the meantime, Organ said she would also have a chat with Hatton’s tenants as she usually does on Memorial Day weekend to ask them to keep the noise to a minimum or face police visits.

Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com