City Sets Eyes on Vacant Tract

OCEAN CITY – From the outside, little has changed at the vacant former car dealership at 16th and Simpson Avenue, the one Ocean City was set to purchase for $9 million before a taxpayers’ group cut the legs from under the deal with a challenge to the bond ordinance that would have funded it.
The asphalt lot remains, as does the low brick building with the blue roof that once served as a showroom. A banner tells passersby that residential units are on the way for the property.
Last spring, the Planning Board approved developing the property for 21 single-family homes.
Meanwhile, it’s been clear that the city has not given up on buying the property. Earlier this year, officials said talks continued with the owners.
Ocean City Council made it official Aug. 8, with a unanimous vote to introduce an ordinance authorizing the acquisition of property by negotiation or condemnation.
Members of the public can comment at the public hearing before council’s final vote, planned 7 p.m. Aug. 22 on the third floor of City Hall, 861 Asbury Ave.
City Attorney Dorothy McCrosson told council the ordinance would allow the city to try to buy the entire block.
Most of it is owned by Klause Enterprises, made up of brothers Jerry and Harry Klause, who had negotiated the previous $9 million deal with the city.
Other parts of the property are owned by John Flood, a former council president who unsuccessfully challenged Jay Gillian for the mayor’s seat last year, and the Palermo family.
The group Fairness in Taxes (FIT) led a petition drive in 2018 to force a referendum on the bond ordinance that would have funded the purchase of the Klause property.
In October, Gillian announced the agreement with Klause Enterprises had expired, and council rescinded the bond ordinance.
“You’ve done this before. You’ve authorized the acquisition of these properties,” McCrosson said. “But because you repealed the bond ordinance for the acquisition of the Klause property, I just wanted to bring this back to you so that you could reauthorize so that the public is fully aware that we’re going to be in negotiations for the acquisition of this entire block.”
In opposing the previous deal, FIT representatives argued the price was too high, challenging the methods the city-hired assessor used. Another complaint was that the city did not have an established plan for the property.
City officials had looked at locating a new public safety building at the site. The current building at 835 Central Ave., which houses the police department, courts and more, is over a century old. Officials said it’s too cold in the winter, too hot in summer and in bad shape overall.
Last summer (2018), the city hired an architect to create a conceptual plan for a building at the former car dealership.
“Like Yogi Berra said, it’s déjà vu all over again. It seems like we’ve been here before,” FIT president David Hayes said. “We agree with this ordinance. It’s how we should have treated these properties in the first place. We should have considered all of them for condemnation or purchase.”
In some public comments, Gillian has expressed a preference for the negotiated purchase of land over condemnation.
Cities and other public entities have the right to take land for public purposes, with compensation to the owners, in a process called eminent domain or condemnation.
Hayes said his group supports the purchase of the land but wants the public to first know how it will be used.
“What are we doing with this property? It’s being purchased with our tax dollars. We need to have a plan,” he said. He said the city could use it for open space or public purposes. “If you can’t decide, let’s have a workshop and take people’s input.”
The property has been used as a car dealership from the 1930s until the most recent tenants closed more than a year ago. The approved ordinance cites the vacancy as part of the reason for the city to acquire it. The dealership covered most of the block between Simpson and Haven avenues from 16th Street to the parking lot of the Ocean City Community Center at 17th Street.
It falls in a mixed-use neighborhood, with residential properties on one side and a car wash and CVS on the other. For years, the city’s largest grocery store stood nearby, but that property is a city recreation field.
 To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.
 Cutlines
Dorothy McCrosson, Ocean City’s attorney, tells City Council that an ordinance introduced Thursday, Aug. 8, will authorize the city to acquire a former car dealership property at 16^th Street and Simpson Avenue. The city had fallen short on a plan to acquire the land last year.
David Hayes, the president of the Fairness in Taxes organization, said his group supports the city acquiring the former car dealership, but he had some caveats. Last year, a FIT-led petition drive scuttled a $9 million deal for much of the land.
The former car dealership on Simpson Avenue has been vacant for years.  The owner has approval to build 21 single-family homes on the land. City Council has voted for the city to try to buy it or condemn it.