CAPE MAY – In advance of a public hearing on an ordinance intended to boost workforce housing, a resident has warned the City Council of potential problems with the proposed measure.
Jules Rauch, an officer in the Cape May Taxpayers Association, said at the council’s Nov. 3 meeting that he wanted to lay out some issues that might be pertinent to the public hearing on the ordinance scheduled for Nov. 17. Rauch did not say he was speaking for the taxpayer group.
The council on Oct. 21 introduced an ordinance opening the full C-1 business district to its newly defined workforce housing opportunity. The proposed ordinance would allow such housing over retail establishments in the district.
The intent of the ordinance is “to promote the creation and preservation of housing to be used for those working or living long-term in the city, in lieu of apartments that might otherwise be used for short-term rentals.”
But Rauch said the measure has potential problems related to parking and rental rates.
He first focused on the number of potential apartments the business district might support given the buildings along the Washington Street Mall. Estimating that 50 to 100 individuals might occupy newly created living units, he noted that the ordinance as written does not require any parking spaces be provided for those residents.
Rauch argued that the city would be adding significantly to the parking problem in the retail areas, where that problem is already severe.
He also said the economics of the measure work against its purpose. If the intention is to supply housing for the workforce involved in Cape May’s largely retail and tourist economy, subsidies of some sort would be needed, he said. He argued that market rents would not address the living space problems confronted by a typical worker.
Rauch urged the city to notify property owners in the C-1 district ahead of the hearing so that they might bring any concerns to it.
Council members listened to Rauch’s comments but made no response.
The hearing and possible adoption of the ordinance is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Nov. 17 in the Cape May city auditorium, 643 Washington St.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
