House Wrecking? Tell the Neighbors; Solitude Shattered by Demolitions

AVALON – Demolition and new construction have become a way of life in the borough of Avalon. Annually, nearly 90 demolition permits are issued in a municipality of just over four square miles. This year, 62 permits have been issued.
Since demolitions are not permitted during summer months, the noise, dust, and debris associated with demolitions followed by new pilings for the replacement construction are concentrated in the fall and spring. That is when the weather is most congenial to outside work.
The result for neighbors can be jarring especially when it is sudden and unexpected. Scheduled events at a treasured second home can be disrupted.
Year-round residents can find the solitude of the offseason suddenly violated without warning. 
No one is proposing obstacles to the cycle of rebuilding the island community. It is how the borough’s ratables have skyrocketed in recent decades and continue to grow each year.
What Council member Nancy Hudanich would like is a way to show appropriate courtesy to property owners who are about to experience the temporary interruptions imposed by nearby demolition activity.
“I am not seeking a change to our ordinances,” Hudanich said. “I want to extend to our residents the courtesy of knowing when demolitions are going to occur,” she added.
The problem is more difficult to resolve than it first seems.
Demolitions may involve more organizations than the contractor who seeks the permit.
Utility companies are often involved. Pinning down exact dates has become harder as major storms in other areas of the country have led to calls for assistance to which local utility companies have responded with crews.
Council President John McCorristin explained that some variables make it difficult to get a “date certain” regarding nearby demolition. Some information, however subject to variability, is better than none.
Hudanich favored using an online platform that could be updated with the latest-known information on demolitions in the borough. She asked that officials look into using the new software that supports code enforcement issues and complaints.
Residents can directly access that software.
“I am a believer in letting people get the information they need when they want it,” Hudanich said.
Borough officials will look at better ways to inform residents including the possibility of a continuously updated online platform.
“I don’t want to make this more than it is,” Hudanich said.
What she wants is a little “courtesy shown to our taxpayers.”
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.