CAPE MAY – The City Council has introduced a measure it hopes will result in more workforce housing in the city.

The proposed ordinance would allow such housing to exist over retail establishments in the C-1 Business District.

The ordinance, introduced unanimously at the council’s Oct. 21 meeting, states the aim clearly: It 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.”

The document has had the benefit of Planning Board and council edits. It defines workforce housing as “apartments located above commercial uses that are either (a) owner occupied, or (b) leases of real property with a term of at least 90 consecutive days. In either case, the property shall be used as a place of residence for the occupant(s). Accordingly, no developer, applicant, owner, or operator of workforce housing shall be permitted to use such units as a short-term rental or to obtain a mercantile license for such use.”

The ordinance is an attempt to preserve living space for permanent residents and those who work in the city’s businesses and government services departments. Short-term rentals in the resort have forced a decline in available long-term rentals for people seeking to live in Cape May. Also, second homes are dwarfing year-round residences, driving up property values to a point where many must seek housing opportunities outside of the city.

There was council discussion of limiting the ordinance to the Washington Street Mall area, but in the end the council agreed that it would apply to the C-1 Business District as a whole.

To move forward with the workforce housing plans, the city has had to confront what may be its most intractable problem, parking.

As far back as the 2019 master plan the Planning Board recommended investigating the “relaxing or eliminating” of the parking requirements for apartment uses when those apartments fit the definitions now being used for workforce housing.

To address this issue the ordinance states: “Workforce housing shall be exempt from the parking requirements otherwise applicable to residential space located above commercial uses.”

To make it clear that the city will not tolerate those who seek an end run around the ordinance by using 90-day-plus vacation leases, the ordinance states, “For the avoidance of doubt, this definition is intended to provide long-term housing opportunities for individuals who intend to make the City of Cape May their place of residence and is not intended to allow for three-month vacation rentals.”

The council did agree that the use of such space above commercial establishments at the time of the ordinance’s adoption will be grandfathered as a preexisting nonconforming use.

The ordinance is scheduled to be considered for final adoption during the council’s Nov. 17 meeting. A public hearing on the ordinance will be held at that time. The meeting is at 5:30 p.m. in the Cape May City auditorium, 643 Washington St.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.