High Rise Hotels for Ocean City Boardwalk?

OCEAN CITY – As the race for Ocean City mayor heats up, Council Member Keith Hartzell, challenging incumbent Mayor Jay Gillian, is reportedly making his position on one issue crystal clear – he does not want large hotels or condos on the city’s boardwalk.
Hartzell said April 7 that he had been contacted by three separate property owners on the boardwalk, who he did not name, but said they told him of their plans to put hotels there, the Press of Atlantic City reports.
With the election coming up May 10, Hartzell has campaigned against high-rise hotels and condos, according to the Press.
“I don’t want Boardwalk Disney. I want Ocean City just the way it is,” Hartzell reportedly said at the meeting. “I said I’m dead set against it and I’ll do anything in my power to stop it.”
Some at the city council meeting also reportedly suggested that the size of the hotels would allow them to skirt liquor laws in the historically dry town, but the city’s lawyer, Dottie McCrosson, reportedly said that would not happen without council approval.
Councilman Jody Levchuk, who owns a boardwalk business, said he was present at the February meeting of boardwalk property owners, the Press reported. He said Gillian owes council a more detailed explanation of plans for the Boardwalk zone. Gillian was not at the council meeting. 
“There may be people who want to build hotels or high-rises in Ocean City — but I do not, and I never did. There may be people who want to see alcohol in Ocean City — but not me,” Gillian said in a statement issued to the Press. “I don’t want to talk about what other people want to do, especially when those things are not permitted by law. I want to talk about my 12-year record as mayor.”
A speaker during the public comment period mentioned Eustace Mita, the owner of ICONA Resorts, which operates hotels in Cape May, Avalon and Diamond Beach. Mita also owns Achristavest, a high-end home builder. 
In 2021, Mita invested in Gillian’s business, Wonderland Piers, which had been in his family since 1929. This came as the property was reportedly in default of $8 million in loans.
Mita, an Ocean City resident, told the Press he has no plans for a hotel there but left open the possibility in the future.
“If the citizenry wants it, we’ll consider it,” he reportedly said.
Despite saying he had no plans, Mita did reportedly tell the Press he was looking at potential sites for a hotel in the city and could have a decision on one, a high rise, within the next six months. 
Mita told the Press Hartzell was “slinging mud” but that he has nothing against him.
“My opponent seems to be making up imaginary problems he can solve. I have a record of tackling, and solving, real issues: drainage, back bay dredging, Boardwalk replacement and so on,” Gillian’s statement reportedly continued.
According to the Press, there is a multistory, 111-unit condominium hotel project with approvals for 1101 Ocean Avenue, which is close to the boardwalk, and last year, the Planning Board granted final site plan approval for a luxury project next to The Flanders hotel.
The project was reportedly first proposed in 2005, when the Planning Board rejected it, but the case went into litigation and the applicant prevailed in court in 2017. It has yet to break ground.