Mayor Seeks Response for Bulkhead Project

WILDWOOD CREST – Engineer Marc DeBlasio gave a presentation March 11 on a proposed bulkhead ordinance, which would require homeowners to raise their bulkheads to eight feet.
The timeframe, in which homeowners will have to comply, depends on the height of their current bulkhead, DeBlasio said. More than half of homeowners wouldn’t have to take action until 2050, with 25% of those already meeting the eight feet requirement.
“If I could just add something mayor, so we don’t have hysteria out there: If you look at the proposed tier schedule, the ones that are really targeted hard are elevation four and below, which requires a two-year timeframe to comply,” DeBlasio said. “If you’re at elevation five and a half or above, you have until 2050, so we’re recognizing that there is a cutoff where it’s reasonable for it not to flood. We’re targeting the culprits who are really low.”
The ordinance is part of a plan to reduce flooding and lower the community rating system (CRS), which drives flood insurance premiums. The lower the borough’s rating, the lower the premium.
Mayor Don Cabrera feels he needs to be as transparent as possible with bayfront homeowners on the one-mile stretch, between Cresse and Rambler roads, who will be affected. He plans to send a certified letter, inviting homeowners to review DeBlasio’s presentation and ask him questions at an April meeting.
Cabrera is targeting the end of 2020 to pass to the ordinance.