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May 29–June 4
Who Owns the Shore?
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) issued a report on the increasing trend in corporate ownership of residential properties. The report documents a doubling in the number of institutionally owned properties since Superstorm Sandy in 2012. While the overall state average in 2022 was one property out of 17 is institutionally owned, the number is higher in shore communities.
In Cape May County, DCA data show as many as one in six properties in Stone Harbor as institutionally owned. In Avalon, that number is one in seven. Another example is one in 10 properties in both Cape May and Cape May Point. The report states that shore towns not only have a higher percentage of institutional ownership, but also that the rate of increase in such ownership is more rapid along the coast.
Institutional ownership can mean ownership by a bank or lending institution, a nonprofit like a church, or a government entity at federal, state, or municipal level. The bulk of institutional ownership, and the area of growth in institutional acquisition, is in the category of business or corporate ownership, especially by LLCs. In 2020, the data says that 71% of institutionally owned property was in the hands of an LLC or other form of corporate entity, with another 22% of such properties owned by trusts.
Add to this an analysis of a database at Rutgers’ Bloustein School by NJ.com, which showed levels of out–of–state ownership of shore properties as of 2017. The analysis of Cape May County towns showed 53% and 55% of Wildwood and Wildwood Crest residential properties owned by people who are not residents of New Jersey. For Cape May, the comparable number was 48%; 45% for North Wildwood; 44% for Ocean City; and 30% for Stone Harbor, to name a few of the county communities.
Make some cookies and welcome your new corporate neighbors. They’re probably from out of state.
Kids Again
Memorial Day has long been the unofficial start of the summer season at the shore. It is now also the starting bell for another summer of lawless juvenile crowds engaged in underage drinking, vandalism, assaults, intimidation and more. In Ocean City, the holiday weekend resulted in nearly 1,000 calls for police.
Ocean City called an emergency meeting of the governing body, June 1, and introduced two ordinances lowering the time for an under–18–year–old curfew and banning backpacks on boardwalks and beaches after 8 p.m. The mayor also closed the beaches to all age groups after 8 p.m.
Across the county, ordinances now include language linking local violations to breaches of the peace in an effort to give police another “tool” for dealing with lawless youth crowds.
Much of this unacceptable behavior by groups of youths is a result of New Jersey’s 3-year–old experiment with juvenile justice reform. State officials have failed to acknowledge the problem they have helped create, leaving shore communities to struggle with local regulations to control a problem that has, so far, defied control.
The nature of summer at the shore is changing. Action from Trenton is already three years late.
It’s a Party
This issue of the Wrap will be released on primary election day when an underwhelming number of bored voters will cast their ballots in a large number of uncontested races. An actual contest in the primaries, especially in Cape May County, is as rare as catching a glimpse of Big Foot.
We do have one contest in Stone Harbor where three candidates in the Republican primary are vying for two seats on Borough Council. That is the full extent of any political struggles in the county for this primary.
Not only are most of the primary ballots no contest affairs, but the November elections are also likely to follow suit. There are 11 seats open on partisan governing bodies across the county and the county Democrats have not managed to put up a single candidate to challenge for any of them. Barring the rare case of a write-in campaign, the winners in the uncontested Republican primaries for those seats will go on to victory in an uncontested general election.
In addition, there are nine offices open in county-wide primaries. The Democrats are showing they are planning on running candidates for four of those nine offices.
One-third of the registered voters in the county are unaffiliated. What they get on their ballots in November is what the county Republican Party gives them, with very few Democrats sprinkled in.
For those of us who remember civics as a school subject, that is not the way we were told it would be.
Happenings
U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd) was the only member of the New Jersey House delegation to vote no on the compromise debt ceiling bill. He said the bill did not include enough spending cuts.
It was not a good week on the roads with a Dias Creek fire closing Route 47 and an overturned dump truck stopping Garden State Parkway traffic for hours.
Two outdoor advertising companies are suing Middle Township for the right to erect football–field–size digital billboards up to 45 feet in the air on Rio Grande Avenue and Stone Harbor Boulevard. They say Middle’s ordinances against billboards are “impermissibly vague.”
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) rejected a request for a stay of its order permitting Ocean Wind LLC to use a cable transmission route across Ocean City beaches and streets. Ocean City has refused to issue the necessary permits. Meanwhile, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released its final Environmental Impact Report, a major step toward beginning construction of Ocean Wind 1.
Born in 1943, the Kane triplets still enjoy each other’s company.
The trifecta of mental health issues, addiction, and lack of affordable housing continue to plague the homeless.
The Wildwood Crest Arts Pavilion is almost ready for a grand opening planned June 16. The Pavilion is located on the site of the former library.
A missing county postal employee was found dead in the water off Sandy Hook following a month-long search.
Janet Seitz is leaving the position of Classified Department manager at the Herald after 35 years in the role. She has seen the newspaper and the community it serves go through extraordinary changes.
Avalon is asking the state for an emergency permit to dredge an area of Pennsylvania Harbor that was dredged just two years ago. A fast-eroding island may be a contributing factor in the rapid buildup of materials.
Ten states are suing Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) over the soaring flood insurance premium increases that some property owners are experiencing due to the agency’s implementation of Risk Rating System 2.0.
For the second time in two weeks, Wildwood police have discovered firearm violations during a traffic stop. In this case, three Pennsylvania men were taken into custody for carrying loaded handguns without a permit.
A historic Goshen church will take on a new life as a community center and theater. The new Steelmantown Church will be used primarily for community events and will not operate as a business.
Spout Off of the Week
Avalon – Welcome to the Avalon and Stone Harbor house-owners for the summer. Remember, it is a privilege to own a vacation home in such beautiful shore towns. Be thankful for the twists and turns in life that got you here and the people that helped you along the way. PAY IT FORWARD. Be appreciative of your servers and food preparers. TIP WELL. You can afford it and they deserve it!
Read more spouts at spoutoff.capemaycountyherald.com.
