AVALON – At its January meeting, the Avalon Planning and Zoning Board had a 30-minute discussion on a perceived need for restaurants in the borough’s business district, which also reopened the door to the issue of a boutique hotel in the B-1 business district with a restaurant on the ground floor.
The discussion wasn’t on the agenda for the January meeting, taking place under the general agenda topic of old business instead. Concern that a similar discussion, advancing a potential agenda for a B-1 zoning change, animated a larger than usual turnout at the Feb. 8 board meeting. At least two members of the public who spoke at the meeting indicated that they had driven two-plus hours to be at the meeting because they expected such a discussion would occur.
The board did not continue the discussion of hotels and restaurants Feb. 8 until members of the public brought up the issue during public comment.
Local businessman and developer Anthony Zurawski was at the meeting with rolled-up plans for a boutique hotel he had first proposed in 2014 and again in 2016. His presence did nothing to dispel the sense that the board was continuing to explore rezoning options for the business district.
What’s Happening?
Under the topic of old business, Planning and Zoning Board members discussed how best to add more vitality to the borough’s business district Jan. 11.
A recording of the meeting obtained through an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request showed strong support on the board for increasing restaurants in the borough as a way of bolstering transient traffic that would, in turn, benefit the entire business community.
Board members spoke of potentially altering parking requirements for restaurant development sites, allowing height restriction increases for a hotel with a restaurant on the ground floor, and other measures that might incentivize such development.
Members noted that while nothing prevented restaurants from opening in the business district, the current landscape of Dune Drive, a major business district artery, was dominated by structures with retail on the first floor and condos above. The condo associations did not favor restaurants in the first-floor retail space due to noise and other concerns.
Board attorney Paul Baldini was asked to investigate how neighboring Sea Isle incentivized restaurant development. That request opened the door to concerns that Avalon’s Planning and Zoning Board was seeking to emulate what many members of the public feel are Sea Isle’s over-development and changed character.
At the Feb. 8 meeting, Sam Wierman, board member and Borough Council member, attempted to dispel such thoughts, arguing that he had simply asked Baldini to look at the options for creating incentives for specific types of development and referenced Sea Isle as one source of information.
While all discussion was civil, the board discussion Feb. 8 was one in which board members felt a need to explain the fact that the board was in an early stage of discussion when nothing was concrete enough for public presentation. Some members of the public were not buying the argument.
Zurawski spoke on the value a boutique hotel would have in the heart of Avalon. At least one Avalon resident from 21st Street added her support for such a project.
The majority of those that spoke did so to express concern, not just about the proposed project, but also about the process used by the board, one they felt did not give the public sufficient notice and opportunity for participation.
Remote Access Urged
Nestled in the discussion of commercial development incentives was a call by members of the public at the meeting for remote access to Planning and Zoning Board meetings.
After years of resistance to calls by members of the public for remote access, the borough’s governing body initiated Zoom video access in 2021.
During the period of pandemic restrictions, the borough had only provided remote access via telephone conference call technology. Now, the council is experimenting with remote participation, as well. That new willingness to use technology to provide access to meetings has not transferred to the Planning and Zoning Board.
More than one resident used public comment to urge the board to “respect the taxpayers” of the borough, most of whom are not in residence year-round. Providing remote access to meetings should be a goal of the board, they argued, making it easier to hear from the community that pays the taxes.
Doug McCauley told the board that it was their job to find the right balance between the needs and desires of residents with those of the business community.
He reminded the members of a past letter from Mayor Martin Pagliughi in which Pagliughi said Avalon should never compete with other county resorts that seek to add entertainment and amusements to vie for tourist traffic.
In an effort to convince board members that borough residents are interested in the issue of development, participants in public comment reminded the board of the hundreds of property owners who crashed the old technology telephone conference system because too many of them wanted to participate in a hearing concerning development on the boardwalk. They might well have used an example even closer to the discussions being had.
In August 2016, an overflow crowd showed up for a Planning and Zoning Board meeting concerning yet another design for a boutique hotel in which Zurawski had sought to accommodate earlier criticisms of his plans with a scaled-down version of a hotel. Public opposition was strong, and the application was defeated. The point not to be lost was that the level of interest was high.
What Comes Next?
The Feb. 8 meeting appeared to reach a consensus that the board would schedule a special meeting to gain public input into a possible effort to revitalize the business district through both zoning changes and incentives.
What would come first, possibly as early as the March meeting, would be an attempt to craft a board document that could serve as a basis for discussion.
There was no resolution of the question of remote access, but one resident, Martha Wright, said she would continue to push the issue. Another resident, John Ginelli, urged the board to move on the issue quickly.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
