Upper Withdraws Zoning Ordinance

PETERSBURG – Strathmere property owners filled the Upper Township Committee chamber May 27 to object to an ordinance. Many of them felt it had been adopted with a “lack of transparency” and was an “arbitrary” and “capricious” measure.
As a result of comments, and numerous emails sent to Mayor Richard Palombo and others in township administration, the ordinance was withdrawn before committee discussion.
The ordinance, described as an amendment to the land, subdivision and zoning codes, was approved by the Upper Township Planning Board and was noted as consistent with Upper’s master plan.
Committee had a second reading with public comment on its agenda of this ordinance that had its first reading April 29.
Among the listed purposes of the withdrawn ordinance and a principal focus of public comments was reference to “development specific to Strathmere and Whale Beach … to ensure scale of residential structures maintain the charm of Strathmere and Whale Beach and not result in larger structures.”
Before any discussion commenced among committee members about the ordinance, Solicitor Daniel Young advised, “I recommend you not adopt this ordinance. It represents substantive change without reflecting all Strathmere positions.”
Committee unanimously voted to approve Young’s advice.
Palombo concurred with Young’s assessment specifically referencing “over 40 letters of objection that I’ve received in the last month, probably the most I’ve ever received on any issue in my 22 years serving Upper. So, it’s clear there is no consensus and it’s also clear there has been a misunderstanding between the intent of the ordinance and what property owners want.
“Nevertheless, although we are withdrawing this ordinance, I know that many people attending tonight have taken the time, some traveling a long distance, to come and share their perspectives so we will now open up the meeting for your input,” he continued.
A stream of Strathmere property owners opposed the ordinance.
“This ordinance was put together in wintertime by a self-appointed group,” said one and, “The only word I can use and which others have used speaking with me about the ordinance is ‘shock,’” said Greg Tagani.
“People with a pet peeve should not have been allowed to get this far with the intent of this ordinance,” said another.
Towards the conclusion of the two-hour meeting, resident Ted Kingston reacted to the critical public comments.
“I was part of the sub-committee of the township Planning Board and we have been working on this subject for more than nine months. We had open public meetings, had the issue on our agendas and we would not in any way consider that there was a lack of transparency.
“We strive very hard to ensure that all property owners are fully informed of every deliberation and proposal of the board,” he continued.
Linda Bateman, president of the Strathmere Improvement Association, echoed Kingston’s position. She added that her organization maintains an email distribution list of hundreds of names, all of whom were apprised of the proposal.
Earlier in the meeting, Palombo made clear the administration’s intent to “have the Planning Board reconstitute a new sub-committee with new members and have it re-address the issue. We will re-advertise what is going on at each step.
“We certainly now understand that the significance of property owner objections was not known to the Planning Board. We will post anything to do whatsoever related to this measure on the township website, form a balanced committee to research any new ordinance and get consensus before we move forward again,” pledged Palombo.   
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.