City to Rezone Sewell Point for Preserve and Housing

CAPE MAY — In order to comply with a settlement between the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and developers East Cape May Associates to preserve 78 acres of 95 acres of Sewell Point for open space, the city will need to amend its zoning codes.
Under a settlement about 18 acres will be set aside for the development of 71 single-family homes along with 14 affordable housing units.
City Solicitor Tony Monzo told City Council Oct. 7 that current city zoning and bulk requirements would not satisfy the agreement.
Much of the Sewell Point tract is zoned Residential Cluster which a proposed ordinance would eliminate and replace with a Planned Residential Cluster (PRC) zone with 75 percent devoted to open space and 25 percent developed.
He said the zoning change would allow slightly smaller and irregularly shaped lots. Monzo said the zoning change would also create a separate overlay zone for 14 affordable, side-by-side units needed to meet Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) requirements. The COAH units would be located on Pittsburgh Avenue and include two, small city-owned lots.
Monzo said the Sewell Point tract would include trails and observation decks. The zoning change would allow a minimum lot size of 8,000 square feet, a floor area ratio of 50 percent which is slightly higher than the R-1 zone.
The new zone would allow semi-detached homes on a minimum lot size of 4,500 square feet with a floor area ratio of 45 percent, said Monzo. He said a master plan would be developed for the entire 95-acre tract.
Council may introduce the ordinance at its next meeting. The city’s Planning Board will be sent the proposed ordinance for approval.
Sewell Point is located east of Pittsburgh Avenue between the ocean and Cape May Harbor and is well known as a stop over for migratory birds. According to DEP, the parcel of land is the last remaining undeveloped, privately owned property of its size in the state that is within walking distance of the ocean.
East Cape May Associates original plans called for 366 single-family homes on the property. DEP rejected permits for the development and the developer filed suit for an improper “taking” of its property by the state agency.
A settlement was reached through mediation, after 17 years of litigation, presided over by the late New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Daniel O’Hearn.