Reval Lawsuit Dropped

N. Wildwood couple drops reval lawsuit
By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Updated: Tuesday, June 27, 2006

NORTH WILDWOOD — Two city property owners have dropped their legal challenge to the city's recent revaluation.

In April, property owners Alexander and Margaret Schernecke, on behalf of the Wildwood Taxpayers Association, filed a lawsuit in state tax court charging that errors in the revaluation process led to “violations of the taxpayer's constitutional right to be taxed fairly and equitably under New Jersey law.”

The lawsuit claimed that the revaluation “resulted in grossly overvalued, inequitable and inconsistent valuations throughout the city.”

If the suit had been successful, it would have forced the city to complete an entirely new revaluation.

The suit named the city along with Tyler Technologies/CLT Division, which performed the revaluation, as well as the Cape May County Tax Board and the city's tax assessor.

On Monday, the city received written notification from the Schernecke's attorney, Philip J. Giannuario, that the lawsuit had been withdrawn.

The letter was dated June 23, the same day a judge was set to hear a number of motions filed by the city and others asking that the lawsuit be dismissed.

“In our estimation ... it was frivolous litigation,” City Solicitor William J. Kaufmann said Monday.

In court documents, Kaufmann asked Judge Joseph C. Small to dismiss the Schernecke's complaint for several reasons.

Kaufmann said the couple had failed to exhaust all of the administrative remedies open to them to challenge the new value placed on their property. Those options included appealing to the county tax board and then to the state.

In addition, Kaufmann said the Scherneckes had no standing to act on behalf of other property owners, 85 percent of whom did not file an individual appeal with the county tax board.

County Tax Administrator George R. Brown said 1,057 North Wildwood residents, or about 15 percent of the city's property owners, filed tax appeals.

The tax board has heard individual North Wildwood appeals since May and has several more to hear in July, Brown sid Monday.

Kaufmann also noted that the Scherneckes did not challenge the initial county order which required the city to conduct the revaluation in the first place.

Kaufmann also challenged the timeliness of the suit. He said notices of the new assessments were mailed Feb. 10 and property owners had 45 days to appeal, which would mean they had until March 27. The lawsuit was filed April 3.

Neither the Scherneckes or their attorney could be reached for comment Monday.

Before the revaluation, the entire city was valued at $794.9 million, and after the revaluation, the town is now said to be worth about $3 billion.

To e-mail Trudi Gilfillian at The Press:TGilfillian@pressofac.com

CAFRA permit denied

State denies CAFRA permit for high-rise hotel in Wildwood
By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Updated: Tuesday, June 27, 2006

WILDWOOD — The state has rejected the coastal building application for the Nouveau Wave Hotel, calling the proposed 25-story hotel out of character with the surrounding community, a danger to migratory birds, a public safety risk and damaging to the island's historical collection of motels.

The developer, listed as PPI Rio Associates LLC in care of Pitcairn Properties Inc., planned to build a 281-foot, 269-unit hotel/condominium complex with 4,566 square feet of retail space, a restaurant and other amenities on the site of the former Rio Motel, now a vacant lot at the corner of Ocean and Rio Grande avenues.

In a letter issued Friday, the state Department of Environmental Protection denied the developers the Coastal Area Facility Review Act, or CAFRA, permit needed to move ahead with construction.

The state found the Nouveau Wave would have met a number of regulations such as requirements for impervious coverage and plant materials coverage given the size of the 48,000-square-foot lot.

But Kevin J. Broderick, manager of the Land Use Regulation Program, offered a long list of reasons why the permit was being denied.

The state found construction of the high-rise was only made possible by the destruction of the Rio Motel, one of the 1950s and 1960s-era motels built in the doo-wop style known for exotic names, bold neon signs and kidney-shaped pools.

Demolition of the Rio began before the CAFRA application was submitted and an analysis of whether the demolition could have been avoided could not be done, Broderick wrote.

“This project resulted in the destruction of a historic or potentially historic property,” the report reads.

Next, the height of the building and its effect on wildlife came into question.

“The proposed 281-foot high-rise structure would have been constructed within the lower 10 kilometers of Cape May County near the tip of the ‘funnel' of the second most important migratory flyway in North America,” the report reads.

Broderick said the building's height, perpendicular orientation to the coastline and the fact that it would be lighted at night would be detrimental to birds.

A hotel of this size and magnitude “would have had an adverse effect on the endangered and threatened bird species which use this flyway and is prohibited.”

Broderick also detailed safety issues surrounding the high-rise and its relation to the smaller properties surrounding the motel site.

He found the hotel would cause a visual intrusion, a deterrent to air circulation, cast shadows on residences, adversely impact traffic patterns and threaten property values. Broderick wrote there was also a concern about the sewer system's ability to handle the added burden of the high-rise.

Broderick continued, “With regards to public safety, neither the applicant nor the city has presented evidence that the local fire department has the equipment to effectively fight a fire within a building of this size.”

The state also reviewed the city ordinance that permits high-rise construction up to 250 feet and found that while the ordinance allows such buildings it does not require them.

It also found the hotel would tower over neighboring structures such as smaller motels and residential units and was not “visually compatible with existing scenic resources.”

Ultimately, Broderick found the building did not meet seven sections of the state's coastal zone management rules and the permit should be denied.

The developers can appeal the state's finding. They could not be reached for comment Monday.

Ever Changing Wildwood

Midstaters ride Wildwoods condo wave
Back in the 1920s they were tearing down fishing shacks to build houses. In the 1940s they tore down houses to build boarding homes. In the '60s they tore down boarding homes to build motels. Now they are tearing down motels to build condos. The Wildwoods have been very flexible over the years.

Sunday, June 25, 2006
BY CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Of The Patriot-News

To many who vacationed at the Jersey shore in summers past, the Wildwoods were best known for their abundance of funky '60s motels.

Built in bold, modernistic style with themes such as the Orient, pirates and outer space, the motels of North Wildwood, Wildwood and Wildwood Crest were considered the greatest concentration of mid-century architecture in the nation.

Despite efforts to save the resort's retro look -- dubbed "doo wop" by preservationists -- the old motels are falling to make room for an explosion in condos. Some midstaters are investing in what might be the Jersey shore's hottest real estate market.

They are drawn to the Wildwoods by the easy 31/2-hour commute from central Pennsylvania, the chance to purchase seashore property at comparatively affordable prices and memories of childhood vacations spent on the wide beaches by day and two-mile boardwalk at night.

"We were looking for a place at the shore that we liked and could afford. We bought a place right on the boardwalk. We have an ocean view. It's just a perfect location," said Judith Connor, 54, of Hershey.

The Connors bought their condo as an investment, but they have found they enjoy using it themselves so much, they are renting it out for fewer weeks than originally planned.

Retro recedes:
They reflect a growing trend. According to the National Association of Realtors, one-third of all home purchases are second homes to be used as investment properties or vacation getaways. Resort spots have been the hottest segment of that market.
In Wildwood, motel nostalgia can't compete with the demand for condos.

"Those motels are gone. There are only a few still left that look like they are from the '60s," said Robert Scully, curator of the Wildwood Historical Society's George F. Boyer Historical Museum.

More than 130 motels have been demolished, Scully said, with more to follow. Gone, too, are many of the old rooming houses, popular with students flocking there for senior weeks and summertime partying. In their place are condos and town houses -- close to 3,500 since the start of the boom in 2000, with more on the way.
"Every time we go down it seems there is another new condo being built," said Michael McNally of Hampden Twp.

McNally is among the midstate residents who have gotten in on the Wildwoods boom. McNally bought his three-bedroom, two-bath, beach block unit in North Wildwood three years ago. Since then, McNally said, his property's value has almost doubled.
David L. Schultz of Camp Hill purchased a condo unit three blocks from the boardwalk in Wildwood last year for $229,000. Units in the same building now sell for close to $400,000, Schultz said.

Shore was rowdy:
Real estate agents who had watched prices soar in Cape May and other shore towns said Wildwood was poised to be discovered.

"There had been development in all the other shore towns down here. Wildwood was sort of skipped over. It was just sort of sitting there waiting," said Carol McCormick of Wildwood's Don Martin Realty.

"We were very underrated here. We're a barrier island and property was cheap here. You couldn't give stuff away. It was just a matter of time," Len Lauriello, a member of Wildwood's planning board, said.

"Stone Harbor and Avalon were totally out of our price range. It was basically the only place that was relatively affordable on the New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland shores," said Lee Liebler of Hershey, who two years ago bought a condo three blocks from the North Wildwood beach.

Bruce Esher, an agent with Fasy Real Estate in North Wildwood, said the town's image as a party place probably played a big role in keeping land values low for so long.
Bill Haley and His Comets performed "Rock Around the Clock" for the first time at the HofBrau Hotel in 1954. Chubby Checker introduced the Twist at the Rainbow Club in 1960. Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" was first broadcast from the Starlight Ballroom. In his 1963 hit "Wildwood Days," Bobby Rydell sang about "sleepin' on the beach" and "rockin' every night till the early bright."

"We have had that party label on us for a long time," Esher said.

Still, families continued to flock there until the mid-1980s, when the Wildwoods started to lose their allure as those motels that seemed so glamorous in the '60s and '70s began to show their age.

Families began to migrate to quieter shore destinations, such as Cape May and Ocean City, N.J., and the Wildwoods became the place to go for a wild night or weekend.

Bathing in nostalgia:
Revitalization efforts in the '90s centered on preserving the resort's "Doo Wop" style properties, but ultimately those efforts were doomed by economics. With no undeveloped land available, the ground beneath the old family-run motels became worth much more than the rooms that sat on top of it.

"The motel people, the moms and pops, got offered big money," Lauriello said.
Ironically, while many of the motels seem destined to end up in landfills or preserved in a planned Doo Wop Museum, nostalgia seems to be a big catalyst in the Wildwoods condo boom.

The typical Wildwoods buyer is 50 or older, usually with a history of vacationing in the Wildwoods in years past.

"A lot of people who came to the Wildwoods as kids and on vacation are now retiring down here," McCormick said.

Many others are buying the condos as income and investment properties, looking to rent the units during the season to defray mortgage costs as the properties' values appreciate.

That has led to a glut of available rentals that vacationers might take advantage of to get bargain accommodations. Barbara Fasy, of Fasy Real Estate, said owners are accepting offers well below original asking prices to fill unrented weeks.

The seller's market also has slowed somewhat, due to excess inventory and higher interest prices. Although nobody expects values to stop growing, "builders are even taking offers," Fasy said.

Meanwhile, many developers are incorporating the "Doo Wop" theme into new properties. Drawings for two of five proposed 25-story condo-hotel towers planned for areas near Wildwood's convention center show retro influences.

Though some lament the loss of the old motels, Scully said the changes are part of the Wildwoods' ongoing evolution.

"Back in the 1920s they were tearing down fishing shacks to build houses. In the 1940s they tore down houses to build boarding homes. In the '60s they tore down boarding homes to build motels. Now they are tearing down motels to build condos," Scully said.

"The Wildwoods have been very flexible over the years. We have managed to change with the times."

The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger contributed to this report. CHRIS A. COUROGEN: 975-9784 or ccourogen@patriot-news.com

How do you spell relief?

Wildwood beachgoers to get relief
By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Thursday, June 22, 2006
Updated: Thursday, June 22, 2006

WILDWOOD — Boardwalk visitors in need of a bathroom break may soon get a break.

The city's public restrooms located beneath the Schellenger Avenue information center have been closed since at least last summer, forcing vacationers to trek to one of the piers or to city bathrooms at Glenwood and Leaming avenues.

On Wednesday, Public Works Superintendent Matt Christopher said the Schellenger Avenue bathrooms should finally be open by the Fourth of July holiday.

Christopher said the bathrooms have been undergoing a major renovation with work being done by Public Works department employees as they are available.

“We work around other schedules, and that's part of the delay. Now we're on track,” Christopher said, explaining that having the work done in-house was designed to save money.

Commissioner Fred Wager said the opening of the bathrooms cannot come soon enough.

“People are calling every day about the bathrooms and why they're not open. Believe me, it's a nightmare,” Wager said.

Last year, the city rented portable toilets for the Schellenger Avenue location, but Wager said the city chose not to do so this year because the bathrooms were expected to open for the season.

The renovation includes the addition of new toilets, flooring, baby changing stations and more and is being paid for with a $150,000 federal grant, said purchasing agent Gordon Ball.

The city had hoped to have all of the work done by an outside contractor, but the cost proved to be too high, Ball said.

To e-mail Trudi Gilfillian at The Press:TGilfillian@pressofac.com

Liquor License

Waterpark liquor-license vote delayed
From Press of Atlantic Citystaff reports
Published: Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Updated: Wednesday, June 21, 2006



NORTH WILDWOOD — Tuesday's scheduled vote on a liquor-license transfer for the Ocean Oasis Waterpark and Beach Club was postponed.

City Council, acting as the city's Alcoholic Beverage Control board, was scheduled to vote on the license transfer, but city solicitor William Kaufmann said the vote was delayed because language in the legal advertisement announcing the transfer had to be reworded.

The waterpark operators must publish the legal notice again and the vote has been rescheduled for the next regular council meeting at 7 p.m. July 5.

Ocean Oasis, at 25th Avenue and the Boardwalk, opened during the weekend without liquor service. The Morey organization, which owns the waterpark, had hoped to begin serving liquor by the end of June.

Alcohol Vote

Morey's one vote from OK on alcohol
By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Friday, June 16, 2006
Updated: Friday, June 16, 2006

NORTH WILDWOOD — The Morey Organization is one vote away from the last approval it needs to sell alcoholic beverages at its 25th Avenue water park.

Late Wednesday night, the city's Planning Board approved a conditional use permit that would allow the pier operator to serve alcohol at the new Ocean Oasis Waterpark and Beach Club formerly known as Raging Waters.

In a 6-1 vote, the board found the company met the conditions of an ordinance approved by City Council last month.

The ordinance requires that alcoholic drinks be served in designated areas and that a water park management plan be submitted. The plan must demonstrate that “alcoholic beverages shall be served in a controlled, dignified and upscale manner.”

Attorney Stephen Nehmad, representing the Morey Organization, said the company has met those and other requirements to develop a resort that is modern and competitive with other destinations.

Much of Wednesday's hearing focused on the location of one of three areas that will serve alcoholic drinks and whether it was actually part of the water park.

The company plans to serve drinks at two places in the lower, or attraction, level and at a third location on an elevated platform, or observation area, that offers views of the park below and the ocean.

Waterpark visitors must pay admission to get on the rides and attractions at the lower level, but entry to the upper deck does not require a paid waterpark admission.

Opponents say that is because the observation deck is not a part of the park.

“The bar on the observation deck is nothing more than a free-standing bar,” said Kathy Martin, an independent City Council candidate and longtime opponent of the plan.

Under Planning Board guidelines, Martin was questioned by Camden County attorney Stuart Platt, who said he represented Martin and the group she formed known as Families Opposing Waterpark Liquor.

“We do not believe the observation level is part of the waterpark,” Platt said.

Denise Beckson, director of water park operations, and other Morey representatives disputed that claim.

“That level is vital to our operation,” Beckson said.

Morey's planner Clark Doran said the deck would be home to the Oasis Cafe, which will have a small bar and seating for 93 patrons. In the past, he said, the deck was used by visitors who wanted to get away from the noise and activity going on below.

“It's all part of the water park to us,” Doran said.

He continued, “The alcoholic beverage service ... is a minor part of the whole package.” Doran noted the new park's other features such as private cabanas and organized children's activities.

Others said they opposed the process and said the improvements to the water park were done without the proper permits. Nehmad said the Morey Organization had operated above board obtaining permits as required by the city.

The board members said they had confidence in the Morey family and its operations.

Board member Bill Green said he was impressed with the company's management plan, which designated how alcohol would be controlled at the water park.

“Alcohol can be served responsibly if the proper protocols are in place,” Green said.

Chairman Charles Brackett, who voted against the conditional use permit, said he didn't think alcohol service would be a problem, but he felt he had been misled.

Initially, representatives of the company said access to areas serving alcohol would require an admission ticket, he said.

“What they presented is not what we started out with,” Brackett said.

Next, the Morey Organization must get a place-to-place liquor license transfer, and if that is approved, it will then be able to serve alcoholic drinks.

City Council President Patrick Rosenello said Thursday that the matter is on the agenda for the next Alcoholic Beverage Control Board/ City Council meeting starting at 7 p.m. June 20.

The company plans to sell beer, wine and tropical drinks between the hours of 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. The water park is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in season, Beckson said.

Ocean Oasis is opening this weekend without alcoholic drink service. If the ABC board approves the license transfer, drink service should begin by the end of the month.

To e-mail Trudi Gilfillian at The Press:Gilfillian@pressofac.com

Code office needs administrator as building booms in Wildwoods

By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Atlantic City Press
Published: Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Updated: Tuesday, June 13, 2006

WILDWOOD — The Joint Construction Office of the Wildwoods, or JCOW, is looking for help to manage its daily operations and finances.

In a news release issued Monday, JCOW officials said the office hopes to hire a business administrator and finance officer as part of an administrative-support reorganization.

“Construction activity in the Wildwoods has increased dramatically in both numbers and complexity during the past several years, requiring JCOW to increase the number of state-licensed code officials, inspectors and clerical support staff to meet the demand. However, administrative and financial management support has not been increased to support the increased activity of the office,” the statement read.

Revenues from construction-plan reviews, permits, and inspections, for example, more than doubled from $768,697 in 2002 to $1,680,565 in 2005, an increase of $893,868 or 113%. In the first four months of 2006, revenues from these services increased 84 percent since 2002, according to JCOW.

JCOW's management committee arranged for an independent review of business and financial management procedures this past spring. The leading recommendations from that review were to add the positions of business administrator and chief finance officer, a move unanimously accepted by the committee.

Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr., who heads the JCOW board, said Monday that the office has many more responsibilities than it used to have and that adding professionals to handle the finances and operations was the right step.

“We're trying to create a business side and an inspection side,” Troiano said.

Troiano said he hopes the new staff members can be in place well before the end of this summer.

Meanwhile, JCOW has filed a lawsuit asking a judge to decide who is responsible to fix and pay for repairs to dozens of condominiums that still have building-code violations.

The lawsuit lists 58 condominium associations, and many builders, developers and architects as parties to the case, which involves properties built between 2000 and 2005.

An audit by the state Department of Community Affairs found 79 buildings on the island, primarily in North Wildwood and Wildwood, that did not comply with existing building codes for multi-family properties.

The non-compliance relates to safety issues, including fire separation, fire suppression and egress in the affected buildings.

To e-mail Trudi Gilfillian at The Press:TGilfillian@pressofac.com

Seaport Plan

North Wildwood to hold hearing on Seaport plan
By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Updated: Tuesday, June 13, 2006

>NORTH WILDWOOD — City Council will hold a public hearing next week on plans to revive the city-owned Seaport Pier.

The pier, which sits on the east side of the Boardwalk between 21st and 23rd avenues, has been home to a variety of shops and games through the years but now sits “vacant, unutilized and deteriorating,” according to the pier's redevelopment ordinance.

Mayor Bill Henfey said the city is already advertising for developers interested in bringing new life to the pier in the form of restaurants, recreational games, such as miniature golf, or other entertainment options.

Henfey said the deadline for developers to submit their initial redevelopment plans, along with a $7,500 deposit, is Aug. 4.

Those plans will then be reviewed by committee and whittled down to the ones the city most prefers.

From there, the developers will be able to submit more detailed plans, and one winning plan will be selected.

According to the ordinance, the pier “should not only provide North Wildwood with substantial positive revenue, but has the potential of being a primary agent in the revitalization of North Wildwood's Boardwalk economy.”

“I'm anxious. I really am ready to see something new up there,” Henfey said.

This summer, the pier will remain empty except for an information center, some portable toilets and maybe a display or two, Henfey said.

The 51,543 square foot property belongs to the city and would likely be leased to a developer, although the city could consider selling the pier, he said.

According to the ordinance, the pier is in need of considerable investment before it can be made ready for visitors, and that investment is more than the city can undertake on its own.

The pier has been in the redevelopment works since June 2005 when the City Council directed the Planning Board to start work on labeling the pier as an area in need of redevelopment. It has since received that designation, and the redevelopment plan has also received the Planning Board's approval.

To e-mail Trudi Gilfillian at The Press:Tilfillian@pressofac.com

Doo-Wop Swan Song

Building wave claims Jersey shore motels

Associated Press
Jun. 4, 2006 12:00 AM
Arizona Republic

WILDWOOD, N.J. - The Lollipop and the StarLux. The Shalimar and the Caribbean. The Imperial 500 and the Tangiers.

With garish neon signs, multicolored exteriors and sweeping deck overhangs, the "Doo Wop" motels of the Wildwoods are the architectural equivalents of a Vitalis-slicked pompadour.

They, too, are fading into the past.

One by one, the mom-and-pop motels are being razed, rendered economically obsolete by a real estate boom that has made the land underneath too valuable to support a couple of dozen $100-a-night rooms.

"It's hard," said Daytona Motor Inn owner John Donio, who has been offered five times what he paid for his 20-unit motel, two blocks from the beach. "I want to stay, I really do."

More than 50 of the motels have been demolished in the past three years, giving way to pricey condominiums with none of the charm - or history.

"Without a concerted attempt to halt demolition, these colorful vestiges of American life will go the way of the ducktail haircut, the '57 Chevy and the drive-in double feature," said Richard Moe, executive director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "Instead of being demolished to make way for nondescript new development, the Doo Wop motels should be preserved as the focus of an all-season resort and a vibrant, livable community for year-round residents."

The trust, based in Washington, D.C., included the motels collectively on its list of the 11 most endangered historic places in America.

More symbolic than anything else, the distinction is aimed at raising public awareness about the plight of the sites.

Built in the 1950s and 1960s and dubbed "Doo Wop" after the vocal style of the period, the motels sprung up next to the ocean in Wildwood, North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, catering to a booming postwar America that wanted vacation places with outdoor pools, parking spaces and easy ocean access.