Middle Postpones Hotel Zoning Vote

COURT HOUSE – The stage was set for Middle Township Committee to adopt an ordinance Aug. 19 that would facilitate the construction of a $16 million hotel project. 
The proposed 100-room Hampton Inn would become one the municipality’s top ratables, offering year-round jobs and promising to add $2.5 million annually to the local economy. At least that was the message from the investment group, Cape May Hospitality, that is seeking zoning changes.
While there had been public presentations of the proposed hotel, this was the first to provoke significant opposition from a neighboring residential development. Property owners are worried about increased traffic, roadway safety, and reduced home values.
The site for the hotel is situated on the northbound access road to the Garden State Parkway at Exit 10. The site previously hosted Design Collaborative. Property owners who oppose the plan come from a residential community that is also accessed off that road.
The development group was before the governing body to seek approval for a zoning change from rural conservation to town center. It is a change that the Planning Board endorsed in April. Without the rezoning, infrastructure for water and sewer would be absent.
Thomas Hillegass, attorney for the hospitality group, said that the site is free from wetlands, although it is adjacent to some. He said that the developers would be seeking appropriate environmental permits once they have an agreement on the zoning change.
This is not the first time that the site for the proposed hotel has been targeted for development. Two years ago, it was the location proposed for a gas station and mini-mart with 12 gas pumps, a 6,000-foot retail store, and office space.
The residential neighborhood adjacent to the site turned out to oppose the plans. The municipality did not grant the permits and the case ended up in Superior Court. Despite success in court, the earlier developer gave up plans for the gas station complex and neighbors felt a sense of relief.
The proposal for the hotel has been discussed for months, but many property owners in the neighboring community said they expected notification of any development plan. They said they heard about it through news stories.
Hillegass pointed to public notice requirements that would accompany any site plan approval at the Planning Board. “We just are not at that notice period yet,” he said.
Mayor Timothy Donohue announced that the committee would postpone a vote on the ordinance until a later meeting. He said the municipality would take on the task of ensuring that all property owners within 200 feet of the proposed hotel site would be notified for a public hearing and vote on the ordinance adoption. Donohue set the Oct. 7 committee meeting as the time for another hearing and vote.
With many people at the Aug. 19 meeting, committee members went ahead with public comment on the proposal.
Many focused on the access road, which residents said is already over trafficked and dangerous to those turning into the residential community.
For others, the thought of a four-story building on the other side of a short buffer zone from their backyards was cause for concern. “Would you want that in your backyard,” asked Judith Delellis.
William Colavito argued that adding over 100 cars to the access road was an invitation to serious safety issues. He expressed a litany of concerns ranging from increased crime and drugs, to the danger a four-story building might pose for low-flying helicopters headed for the hospital complex across the GSP.
Colavito also asked if running water and a sewer system to the hotel would result in the neighborhood receiving a mandate to connect, making the connection for the hotel more cost-effective.
The issues covered varied, but they shared was a concern for development in the community’s backyard.
The dispute over the rezoning of the site came up at the same meeting that saw residents from another area of the township oppose high-density townhouse development near the Laguna Oaks Golf Course.
At a recent meeting, residents from the area along Indian Trail Road came to the governing body to oppose township support for a medical marijuana facility, on the site of the old La Monica plant.
In 2016 and 2017, the municipality moved to designate several areas of its commercial zones as open for redevelopment and rehabilitation under state law. The designation allows for flexibility in approving development plans and it adds the attraction of potential tax incentives.
Whether the designations are drawing attention, the municipality has seen a spate of development interest with queries about a high-end townhouse and rental complex in Rio Grande, a potential over-55 community off Indian Trail Road, and the proposed medical marijuana facility at the La Monica site.
In February, Donohue mentioned the Hampton Inn as a potential area of economic development in his State of the Township Address.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.