Stone Harbor’s Beachfront Library Plans Denied CAFRA Permits

STONE HARBOR –– Parking and height issues were the main contentions noted in a statement released by the Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Land Use Development in which it denied the borough necessary Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA) permits for its plans to build a beachfront county library on the current site of a municipal parking lot at 95th Street and First Avenue.
In an analysis statement released Nov. 25, Richard Langbein, manager of the Bureau of Coastal Regulations Land Use Program, said the proposal, under public open space laws, “will adversely affect the characteristics of the area by eliminating parking. Furthermore, it may negatively impact the beach going public by reducing parking possibilities.”
Thomas Thornton, an engineer with Hatch, Mott, MacDonald, who prepared site plans for the library, said the project would result in a net loss of 16 parking spaces and plans to reconfigure bus-sized spaces would create more handicapped parking.
Also, the decision states new coastal developments, with the exemption of Atlantic City and the northern waterfront and Delaware River regions, must be “separated from either the beach, dune, boardwalk or waterfront, whichever is further inland, by a distance equal to two times the height of the structure.”
The building, designed by Garrison Architects, has a proposed height of 38 feet, at the roof ridge, with the highest architectural feature being the stair tower at 54 feet, Thornton said.
A setback twice the height of the building would put it closer to First Avenue than the beachfront.
Scenic Resource and Design laws state that new coastal development higher than 15 feet in height above an adjacent bay, ocean, beach, dune, or boardwalk must “provide an open view corridor perpendicular to the water’s edge in the amount of 30 percent of the frontage along the waterfront where an open view currently exists.”
The borough planned large views from the second floor library to capitalize on the beachfront setting with museum and meeting rooms on the first floor.
“The idea of having the library on the beach is that it would be accessible to everyone in the county to come enjoy the views with a book and provide access for those who don’t own oceanfront property,” Mayor Suzanne Walters said.
“The proposed project has failed to demonstrate compliance with Coastal Zone Management Rules, specifically Public Open Space and Scenic Resources and Design,” the analysis concluded.
“I don’t understand the DEP’s ruling because they are pushing for access and we are trying to create a public building open for all to view the beach,” the mayor said.
Walters said she thinks parking is a “non-issue” since last month the Appellate Court ruled against the DEP’s State Aid Agreement in a trial Stone Harbor shared with Avalon and the county. The CAFRA denial was written around the same time as the Appellate Court’s ruling regarding the State Aid Agreement.
The county and borough can file an administrative appeal to the DEP’s Office of Legal Affairs and request a hearing within 30 days after notice of the decision is published in the DEP Bulletin.
Walters said it is likely the county will appeal the decision and borough council will discuss the issue at its Dec. 16. meeting.
The mayor and County Library Director Deborah Poillon both said they weren’t surprised by the permit denial because they were aware of the height issue.
Walters said she is aware that some residents are dissatisfied with the library services offered at the current location in Borough Hall.
The Cape May County Library Commission has agreed to finance the construction of a new building if the borough stays in the county library system for ten years. The borough could pull out of the county system, with a new building, after that time.
She said the borough contributes about $1.3 million in library taxes every year into the countywide system.
Walters said pulling out of the county system is a two-year process that would require a referendum vote, bonding to finance the new building and establishing a private library commission.
If the county does not appeal, or if the appeal is lost, an alternate location discussed by council has been a lot on Second Avenue between 93rd and 94th streets, closer to Stone Harbor Elementary School.
“We hope to make the library a center piece to draw people here during the off-season,” Walters said.
Contact Truluck at (609) 886-8600 ext. 24 or at: ltruluck @cmcherald.com.