STONE HARBOR – In 2021, Stone Harbor Borough Council passed a resolution vacating a paper street that allowed the development of a subdivision to go forward on the site of the Villa Maria by the Sea retreat house.
The approval of the subdivision and the use of the borough-owned tract of land raised obligations for the borough under its Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) regulations. Meeting those obligations led to the borough’s purchase of a triplex structure on Third Avenue to serve as affordable housing units.
The borough paid $1.6 million for the property, according to the resolution also approved at the same meeting.
There have been problems with making the property operational as affordable housing. Interim Administrator Manny Parada briefed the council on those problems June 6.
According to Parada, the equalized value of the structure is $177,000. He added that funds already spent to renovate the units exceed the 40% limit the borough imposes before flood ordinances come into play. The borough may now have to consider elevating the structure to comply with the current flood prevention rules.
In addition, Parada said his inspection of the facility led him to conclude that despite the expenditure of over $160,000 on renovations, the structure is not ready for occupancy as an affordable housing property.
The purchase and initial work on the facility occurred during the tenure of the former Business Administrator Robert Smith. Parada said Triad Associates had acted as a general contractor or agent for the borough dealing with the renovations.
Now, the borough has taken the step of having an external inspection done, with the aim, in part, of assessing if the property is even a candidate for elevation, which would be required under flood prevention ordinances.
In addition, the council approved a resolution hiring the borough’s labor counsel to “retain the services of third-party private investigators and/or experts as it relates to investigations regarding personnel issues and expenditures made in connection with the borough’s Fair Share Housing obligations and/or related employment issues.”
