Thursday, March 28, 2024

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Should Shoobies Shut Up?

By Herald Staff

In July 2021, the Dennis Township Consolidated Land Use Board rejected a petition for a Wawa convenience store/gas station complex in the village commercial zoning area of Dennisville. On appeal, the applicant was granted full approval to proceed by the Superior Court, with the ruling calling the denial “an arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable and unlawful application of the land use powers.”
In Avalon, an effort by a group of residents has stalled the potential development of a boutique hotel in the borough’s declining commercial district. The success of the Reeds at Shelter Haven in neighboring Stone Harbor holds no sway with those who argue such a boutique hotel in Avalon would negatively impact the character of the borough.
Icona Resorts came to Cape May with a plan for a $150 million hotel/resort complex on the site of the blighted façade of the old Beach Theater. It represented what would have been the largest development investment in the county’s history. The concept was to recreate a grand hotel in the style of those in Cape May at the turn of the 20th century.
Icona CEO Eustace Mita met with opposition from some city residents at a public meeting he called to present the plans for the facility. More importantly, his request that the city use redevelopment zone authority to facilitate an out-of-the-ordinary proposal was resoundingly rejected by the City Council. Word to Mita was he should take the $150 million investment proposal through the same lengthy approval process that any citizen goes through who wants to add onto a home.
One does not have to take the position that each of these instances represents a poor decision on potential development in order to make an important point. Development is essential to the continued health of our economy. There will be times when we must reject a proposal, but that should not be cause for celebration. This is not an us vs. them issue. It is with reluctance that we should turn down investment opportunities that are aimed at augmenting the experience of our county’s visitors.
The primary job sectors in Cape May County are directly related to hospitality, retail, and construction. Our real estate market, which has finally recovered from the shocks it took following the 2008 Great Recession, is driven by second home transactions.
While the county’s 2021 Gross Domestic Product – a measure of the value of the goods and services in a specific period – calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts us 19th out of 21 counties in the state, average home assessments elevate us second only to Monmouth County, and there we are, second only by a small margin. In the Federal Reserve’s annual report on year-over-year home price increases, Cape May County has, for several years, led all counties in New York and New Jersey.
Our economy and our vibrancy depend on its attractiveness to those who do not live here. At times, that may mean making development decisions that are not popular with those who call the county their permanent home. Much of what we love about this county as a place to live year-round would not be there were it not for the fact that on any given summer day we are as populated a location as Essex, Middlesex, or Bergen counties.
Visitors and their spending are the lifeblood of our economy. The experience they have while here is essential to that economy’s health and vibrancy. It would be a mistake to take the position that they will come anyway without our having to continuously invest in that experience, whether it be the convenience of a gas station on a major access road or a new hotel accommodation.
Perhaps the proposal to invest $150 million in the experience of visitors to Cape May deserves some discussion and negotiation by the city’s governing body rather than the response that every project must be treated equally regardless of its potential impact on the community. The redevelopment laws are there to help communities attract the kind of investment the city rejects out of hand. City officials will say that the avenue for the “normal approval process” is still open, but they say it knowing that the investor isn’t going to take that route.
Taking for granted the continued expansion of our tourism-based economy, despite what local community decisions are made about development in their back yard, is short-sighted at its best. We need to take potential investments very seriously and give them appropriate consideration.
Those who live here year-round know well that the county, with its seasonal economy, has its share of problems. These are addressed with the funds that flow from tourism and investments in second homes. Without such investment, this place we call home would be a lot less attractive to us all despite its natural wonders. 
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From the Bible: Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers. Hebrews 13:2 

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