Cape May Master Plan Suggests Traffic, Zoning Changes

CAPE MAY -— The Planning Board has finished updating the city’s Master Plan and is suggesting zoning, signage and traffic flow changes.
The Master Plan offers suggestions to council on issues such as zoning and traffic issues and development standards set a model for the future.
Planning Board Chairman Bill Bezaire said every six years the board must either reexamine or redo the city’s Master Plan. The board reexamined the plan and updated it after interviewing the public, meeting with civic organizations and reading written comments from all of the city’s boards, he said.
The Planning Board held a number of public meetings. The board met a March 31 state deadline to complete the Master Plan reexamination.
At an April 7 City Council meeting, Planning Board Engineer/Planner Craig Hurless said the plan had been substantially updated in 2003. He said the Master Plan reexamination suggests three zoning changes:
• A Neighborhood/ Commercial district on Texas Avenue expanded to the North side of Washington Street to include several new properties on Washington Street.
• Include more properties in the C1 (commercial) District that front on Elmira, Lafayette and Broad streets where development patterns have changed since the 2003 Master Plan.
• Portion of Maryland Avenue between Wilmington and Buffalo avenues in East Cape May that is currently developed with 20 semi-detached dwellings which are non conforming to R-1 zone. Hurless said a lot of homes there have been renovated. The plan recommends rezoning to R-3 to cover the number of non-conforming homes.
Other recommended changes in the Master Plan reexamination include the city acquiring land near Cape May Elementary School for a recreation area, an ordinance change to define accessory apartment use to meet state affordable housing guidelines, beach access for the disabled and suggesting any future municipal project should be reviewed by the city’s Historic Preservation Commission.
Other suggestions of the Master Plan’s traffic and parking reexamination:
• Placing a flashing warning light on the south side of Beach Avenue facing west just prior to the intersection of Pittsburgh Avenue in conjunction with highly visible signage indicating motorists should turn left to reach the Garden State Parkway.
• Install a traffic light at Lafayette and Decatur streets.
• Construct a bump-out from the curb on the elementary school side of Lafayette Street into the wider portion of Madison Avenue adjacent to the entrance of the parking lot for the safety of students, as a “traffic calming structure,” and serve as a platform for a removable sign to park in the elementary park and ride lot in summer.
• On Beach Avenue: left turn lanes be added at Ocean Street, Gurney Street and Stockton Place and Howard Street to allow traffic proceeding eastbound to make left turns without impeding the through east bound traffic on Beach Avenue.
• Create unloading/loading zones at each beach entrance with signage.
• More visible signs for trolley service stops especially at the mall.
• Parking committee recommends that a parking garage not be included in short term plans.
The reexamination acknowledges “demolition by neglect” continues to be a problem and is recommended that the Property Maintenance Code be revised to impose stricter time limits on a property owner to correct a violation.
The reexamination recommends the city should encourage the County MUA to transition to single stream recycling so that bottles, cans, paper and cardboard can be combined into a single can.
Mayor Edward J. Mahaney Jr. said he would like to see a plan of action from City Council to consider and implement some of the proposed changes.
Copies of the Master Plan reexamination are available from the City Clerk, Construction Office and from the public library.