Ocean City OKs Funds to Take 9th Street Lot

OCEAN CITY – Despite a last-minute plea from the owner of the property, City Council unanimously approved a bond ordinance to fund its taking of a property at the corner of Ninth Street and Bay Avenue.
Paul Chiolo has plans for a new office for his Keller Williams Realty Jersey Shore, which he said include some of the amenities the city wants for the corner property.
At the start of the Nov. 16, council meeting, Chiolo said the planning board had approved those plans, and asked the council to end efforts to take the property through a process called eminent domain.
He reminded council members that they and Mayor Jay Gillian had stated they only wanted to condemn the land to remove an abandoned gas station.
“This council itself assured us that they would not approve a taking of this property if we were to purchase the property and then move forward and get approval,” Chiolo said at the meeting. “We are prepared to build this building. We have financing in place. We’re ready to come in with our construction drawings and get our permits.”
While some council members expressed reluctance to condemn the property over the owner’s objections, in the end, the vote was unanimous. The bond ordinance appropriates $650,000 for the property.
Eminent domain allows government wide powers to take private land for public purposes, with or without the owner’s assent, after paying fair compensation.
According to city attorney Dorothy McCrosson, council had already approved taking 903 Bay. The main question to be litigated will be what constitutes fair compensation for the land.
Council approved the condemnation in the summer of 2016.
The site was one of three vacant former gas stations along the main entrance to the city, over the Route 52 causeway.
City council approved plans to acquire the properties through negotiation or condemnation, in an effort to clean up what were widely considered eyesores.
Of the three, one is now owned by the city, a second is close to city ownership, and the third, the former Exxon station at 903 Bay Ave., is scheduled for a hearing before a judge Dec. 4.
“We began this process a long time ago,” said McCrosson. The city was in negotiation over 903 Bay Ave. since April, she said, but as of September, those negotiations were at a standstill, and the city moved to take the property. She said the city expects to pay the court at that hearing, at which point the lot is owned by the city. What would remain to litigate would be the compensation owed to Chiolo.
“This ordinance would simply put in place the funds necessary to acquire the property,” McCrosson said Nov. 16.
Council members had said at previous meetings that they would not move to take the land if there was a plan to clean it up, remarks that had been reported in several local news outlets. But when the bond ordinance was introduced Oct. 24, McCrosson said Chiolo was aware when he bought the land that it was being considered for condemnation.
He plans to build a $2 million headquarters for his business. After the vote, he said he would continue to fight for his plans, but that he really just wants to start construction.
He said his company has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on plans over the past two years, and paid to demolish the former station and convenience store at the city’s request. 
The planning board rejected original plans for the building, but Nov. 8 the board unanimously approved plans for a smaller building, and a green space with amenities for public use, including fountains for people and for dogs, bike racks and benches; “and plenty of places for bikers, runners, joggers to just stay and take a break and take care of themselves and their pets,” he told council.
He argued that the lot is in a commercial zone, surrounded by other businesses on the block and that the city’s action will not only cost money for the acquisition and in legal fees, it will also pull the property off its tax rolls.
Two members of the public spoke in favor of the ordinance. Drew Fasy said the overwhelming majority of residents support the action. Jim Tweed gave a passionate defense of eminent domain, saying without it, the United States could not have built the railroads, its highway system, airports or national parks.
Tweed, president of the Fairness in Taxes organization, said he was speaking as an individual, not on behalf of FIT.
“I’ve noticed over the years that when that topic comes up, people sort of squirm and get uneasy in their seat as if it somehow were a necessary evil or un-American or something like that,” Tweed said. “Be assured that it is not un-American or evil. It is just the most basic and fundamental principle of American property law that goes back to even before we were a republic.”
The principle is that all land ultimately belongs to the king.
“Now in 1776, we tweaked it a little bit, and we eliminated the king, and we substituted the people,” he said.
Some members of council remained squeamish. Council member Robert Barr and Michael DeVlieger both said they dislike the use of eminent domain, but voted yes. 
“I did indicate that I was not a fan of eminent domain, be it American or not. I’d like to avoid it wherever possible. In this case, I would have liked to have bought the property for what Paul bought it for. But that’s in the past,” said DeVlieger.
“I sit here because I’m supposed to be for the betterment of the city. And I think the simple answer of what is best for the city is to acquire that property,” he continued.
Barr described the vote as his most difficult since being elected.
“This is a tough one for me,” he said. He would rather have reached a negotiated agreement, but cited public support for the move and the chance to do something great at the property.
He added that the move would not take someone’s home or a current business.
“Paul will still be able to practice business in Ocean City,” he said. “No one’s livelihood is being taken away.”
Two council members recused themselves from the vote when the ordinance was introduced. Keith Hartzell and Tony Wilson own property near 903 Bay.
Hartzell again recused himself at the Nov. 16 meeting, leaving the room for the discussion, and Wilson was absent. The five remaining council members voted yes on the bond ordinance.