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.