City, Citizens Oppose East Cape Development

CAPE MAY – The city could be on the hook for $15 million in infrastructure improvements for a long-contested development on the east end. A group of residents in the area have also expressed their disapproval of a state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) ruling that opens the door to the development plan.
The 96-acre parcel, known as the Sewell Tract, was originally purchased in 1951 by developers Thomas Brodesser and Philip Robinson. In deals going back to 1965 and 1969, Cape May agreed to provide roads, sidewalks, water, sewer, and a police substation.
Mayor Edward Mahaney has estimated the cost of providing those improvements has risen to $15 million.
The DEP originally claimed the land was 90 percent freshwater wetlands, and home to endangered species. It cited the developers in 1988 for illegally filling wetlands and refused to issue permits necessary for the planned housing development.
The developers sued, claiming the denial of permits constituted an unconstitutional “taking” of their property, and demanded compensation.
The land was sold to East Cape May Associates (also owned by Brodesser and Robinson) in 1990. Since then, various settlement deals have come and gone. Most recently, in late 2010, a plan would have allowed the building of 87 houses, in exchange for 22 acres of wetlands being built at the former Ponderlodge Golf Course in Lower Township, with Cape May taking over management of 80 acres of open space.
But last month, with little fanfare, the DEP proposed relaxing strict review standards and allowing partial development of the 20-acre “Area 2” portion of the tract. The area, on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue, would be reclassified as uplands, allowing development to proceed and ending East Cape May Associates litigation against the DEP.
A group of more than 150 residents, led by Charles Hendricks and James Testa, have banded together under the name Concerned Citizens of East Cape May to oppose the DEP’s ruling. In a 33-page letter submitted to the DEP, the group cites numerous reasons for their opposition. They include the scientific (no independent analysis has determined whether or not the Sewell Tract is wetlands or uplands), the political (no public hearing has been held on the matter; the public comment period ended on January 17), and the legal (because it is being sued by East Cape May Associates, the DEP has an apparent conflict of interest in making a ruling that keeps it from paying a takings claim).
“The DEP position to offer East Cape May Associates the right to develop in Area II is based on shoddy science, an incomplete and unilaterally constructed record, and a disingenuous attempt to equate the ‘public interest’ with NJDEP’s ‘self-interest’, that is to escape liability for an amount the DEP admits it hasn’t even figured out,” said Hendricks. The letter from Testa and Hendricks called on the DEP to “…permit the public to demonstrate the public interest in a fair public hearing.”
Mayor Mahaney still hopes that entire Sewell Tract can be preserved as open space, with walking trails and observation decks. He has noted that even though the city is obligated to provide the infrastructure improvements, it does not have the money to do so. For now, Mahaney is waiting for a response from East Cape May Associates.
To contact Phil Broder, email pbroder@cmcherald.com.