Biz District Zoning Changes Approved in West Cape May

WEST CAPE MAY — Following two hours of questions, complaints and some misgivings from the public, Borough Commission passed an ordinance July 8 that amends zoning regulations to create a downtown business district and also paves the way for West Cape May to offer two liquor licenses for sale by regulating where it can be sold.
The zoning changes encourage mixed-use structures with commercial on the ground floor and residential or professional offices on the upper floors.
Resident Marion Courtney said she feared the ordinance changes would attract franchised businesses to the borough such as a McDonalds or a Rite Aid store. Borough Solicitor Frank Corrado said the borough could not legislate against certain types of businesses to keep them out.
Mayor Pamela Kaithern said the borough could regulate type of uses, appearance, type of structure and the mass of buildings. She said the ordinance did not expand the business district beyond its current parameters.
Courtney said as businesses continued to grow, it would take away the essence of the quiet community.
Kaithern said goals and objectives of the borough’s master plan as well as the state and federal governments was to bring the “core center” back and encouraging walking and biking.
“Some of the design standards and some of the changes that we are making are absolutely designed to maintain the character of the town that we have,” she said. “It’s designed to create a thriving commercial district supporting the existing tourists and provide businesses and employment opportunities for borough residents.”
“It’s designed to help create housing for borough residents, for our kids who can’t afford to buy that single family home on one of the side streets but maybe they could rent in one of the apartments that may be created,” she continued.
Suzanne Hagarty, owner of an historic apartment building on Broadway, said the structure would become a non-conforming use under the zoning change, which would require her to go to the zoning/planning board for a use variance to make any improvements. Hagarty said coming before the board would entail an additional cost of $3,000 to $5,000.
Corrado suggested borough commission take the word “alter” out of language in the ordinance, so renovation in the C-1 zone for non-conforming buildings that did not expand a structure would not need a variance.
The ordinance creates a dedicated parking fund, which would be used for applicants that have insufficient land for 100 percent of the required off-street parking spaces for a site.
Contribution to the parking fund for one to five spaces are $5,000 for each space or $1,200 per year on a five-year installment plan. Contribution for six or more spaces is $3,000 each or $800 per year over five years.
Wilbraham Mansion owner Doug Carnes brought a poster board filled with photos of parking availability during the July 4 weekend on York and Emerald avenues. At any time of the day or evening, there were more than 10 unused parking spaces on those streets, he said.
“I think this whole idea of a parking problem in West Cape May is a way overblown,” said Carnes. “I think businesses have been taking it in the chops for as long as I have been here and that’s why our business community is as anemic as it is.”
He said businesses in West Cape May lived and died on whether or not tourists came to the borough and businesses “were not doing so well.”
Carnes said he called the state Office of Smart Growth and asked where a “parking tax” tax has been successful.
“The only example she could give me was Trenton and Newark,” he said. “We have a parking tax going in here tonight and it’s designed for huge cities and it’s going to kill our businesses, not the ones that are here but the ones we want to attract.”
“How could you possibly think someone could easily pay for $5,000 to $10,000 for parking?” asked Ursula Friedrich, owner of Bridgetown Antiques on Broadway.
Kaithern said it was not a mandatory fee for a new business but for those who cannot supply the required parking spaces. She said a business could “scale back” their business to need less parking.
The mayor said if a business owner on Broadway maintains the existing structure, the parking requirement is waived unless the new business is a restaurant, B and B, hotel/motel with six or more units.
Paul Mulligan, chairman of the Planning/Zoning Board said the board unanimously endorsed the zoning change.
The 35-page ordinance covers minimum area and bulk requirements for residential uses, bed and breakfast inns and motels, commercial and mixed use, signs and outdoor dining standards.