Worry about a possible hotel, want input on what happens with the site

OCEAN CITY – After the announcement on Friday, Aug. 9, that the Wonderland Pier in Ocean City would close after this season, disappointed community members responded with a petition drive in an effort to keep it open and prevent the possible construction of a “mega hotel” at the site at 600 Boardwalk.

At the Thursday, Aug. 22, Ocean City Council meeting, several members of the public spoke about saving Wonderland and staving off any hotel development.

The Wonderland Pier amusement park was sold to developer Eustace Mita, who is known for his development of the Icona hotels and Achristavest Builders, in 2021. Residents seem to be assuming that Mita will not only build a hotel on the site, but will build a huge hotel – “against the will of the people,” the petition description on change.org reads.

“The number one goal is to save Wonderland; something this old should be historically preserved,” the petition page reads.

The petition description goes on to say, “Jay Gillian ran his iconic business into the ground racking up millions in debt and was bailed out by mega developer Eustace Mita, who yearns for a mega hotel at this location.”

The petition site calls for Gillian, who has been Ocean City mayor since 2010, to resign immediately.

It says Mita tried three times to develop a mega hotel, although it does not define what that is. Definitions.net says a mega hotel “would come with a liquor license,” which the petition organizer said is “not respecting O.C. as a dry town.”

“This is how developers think, for their own gain, not the community,” the petition description continues.

Attempts to contact Mita by telephone and email were unsuccessful; however, in a statement that was reported on NBC10 news, Mita said his company would take until the end of the year to evaluate what’s best for the city and the landmark site, which he said deserves first-class treatment.

Ocean City public information officer Doug Bergen said the suggestion that Mita would obtain a liquor license is misinterpreting the law that is related to hotel liquor licenses.

“This rumor misstates the law,” Bergen said. “The owner of a large resort or hotel would not be automatically entitled to a license to serve or sell alcohol in Ocean City.”

Bergen said towns in New Jersey that allow sale of alcohol are assigned the number of liquor licenses to which the municipality is legally entitled, generally based on its population.

“An exception to this general rule is that a municipality may issue a Class-C Hotel/Motel license to the operator of a hotel or motel with a minimum of 100 rooms, even if it has already issued the maximum number of licenses permitted based upon population,” Bergen wrote in an email to the Herald.

The only way that would happen would be with the approval of Ocean City Council, which would have to repeal the local ordinance that has always prohibited the serving or selling of alcohol, Bergen said, adding, “Nobody on City Council has or would support that.”

He said two restaurant owners launched an initiative in 2012 to allow BYOB, and that was defeated at the polls by a more than a 2-to-1 margin.

Bergen clarified that a liquor license awarded to a hotel with more than 100 rooms is a way for a “wet” town to issue a license above and beyond its state-mandated limit, but not a way for a “dry” town to issue liquor licenses.

Regardless of the liquor license issue, some residents object to the notion of a large hotel being built where Wonderland now stands.

“People don’t want a mega hotel on the boardwalk or in O.C.,” the petition site reads.

Bill Merritt, a founder of the Friends of Ocean City History & Culture, which, according to its website, friendsocnj.org, is a group of homeowners and history enthusiasts, spoke at the Aug. 22 council meeting.

“The legacy (of Ocean City) is in the hands of this City Council,” Merritt said.

He said he was before the City Council to “encourage a process” by which Wonderland would be preserved. He described the process he envisioned as having three parts, the first being for the city to have an open mind, suggesting there is room for discussion and, perhaps, compromise.

“Who knows what options are out there?” he asked.

Merritt added that the city should not issue a demolition permit while deliberation is going on, and called for transparency in the process, saying, “People are largely in the dark, right now.” Finally, he called for public input, which could include putting some or all of the pieces of the process to a public vote.

Donna Saber, an Ocean City business owner and author, said she had serious concern for the future of Ocean City if Wonderland were to permanently close. Saber said she had been researching the deed for Wonderland and believes the property must be used for “boardwalk purposes.”

The Sixth Street location of Wonderland Pier was deeded to the Sixth Street Amusement Co. in 1932 under boardwalk zoning. The deed, she said, calls for an “unobstructed ocean view.”

Saber referred to Wonderland Pier, which opened in 1965, as a symbol of Ocean City and urged the council to deny development until there was a study of the impact of losing the amusement pier, including the impact on tourism, visitors, shop owners and the real estate industry.

“What will happen to us if we do nothing?” she said.

Bill McCallister commented on the nature of large-scale density in Ocean City, saying it is “way past time to do anything” to stop it. He suggested the loss of Wonderland Pier would essentially change the character of the town completely.

“With Wonderland closing you’ll have to give up the name Greatest Family Resort and make it ‘Greatest Investor Resort,’” he said.

One person, commenting on the petition site, suggested having Gov. Phil Murphy get Wonderland and its carousel registered as National Historic Landmarks.

The petition site said Mita “bailed out Gillian” and then tried to get his way with the city, seeking to establish a hotel at Eighth Street and Asbury Avenue, then another on Asbury Avenue, then trying to develop the Fifth Street municipal parking lot. No project was approved by Ocean City.

Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.