Cape May Planning Board Rejects Jetty Motel Application

CAPE MAY – A five-hour Cape May Planning Board meeting Nov. 9 was dedicated to considering Cape Jetty LLC’s application for variances on height and parking for its planned construction of a new resort hotel at the Cove Beach. 
Planning Board Chair William Bezaire did not call for a vote until almost 11:30 p.m.  
The plan before the board was for a four-story structure, with 53 sleeping units, a 240-seat restaurant and bar, a retail shop, and lobby library. The design also contemplated a rooftop pool.
The board unanimously voted “no” on the application.
Cape Jetty LLC owns a 1950s style, 34-unit, two-story motel at Second and Beach avenues. Various plans to demolish the structure and build a larger resort hotel have circulated in the city for over 15 years. 
In 2015, the Planning Board approved a four-story structure whose amenities would be strictly limited to hotel guests only. That limitation allowed the design of the new structure to meet its obligation for parking spots. The required parking capacity was calculated off the number of beds contemplated in the new building.
What brought the issue back to the Planning Board was the addition to the plan of the 240-seat restaurant and bar that would be open to the public. This change that would open hotel amenities to the public greatly expanded the required number of parking spots. 
The application also sought what the developer called a “de minimis” variance for 3.3 feet of additional height for a structure that was already at the ordinance maximum. The additional height allowance was requested to raise the ceilings for the proposed restaurant on the ground floor.
Opposition to the plan was immediate and organized. A neighborhood group formed a “Save Our Cove” coalition and began an online petition, which has since gained almost 2,000 signatures. Eleven property owners jointly hired an attorney and engineer to present their opposition to the Planning Board.
A packed audience routinely greeted any opposition speaker at the meeting with applause. The livestream system showed 60 viewing sessions, as those who could not attend watched from home. 
As late as 10:30 p.m., four hours after the meeting began, 56 viewing sessions were still active on livestream. Nine hours after the meeting ended, the system reported 323 views of the recorded video.
‘Everything is Slippery’
Well into the presentation by the applicant, Planning Board member Dr. Linda Wolf commented on the large amount of unsettled information that seemed to permeate the Jetty Cove LLC case – there was no conclusive agreement on the number of seats in the restaurant and bar that would be open to the public; a parking plan was presented, which had not yet been shared with the board engineer; the number of employees the applicant stated would be needed for the restaurant and to manage the rest of the hotel seemed too small, creating skepticism among some board members; and a plan for offsite parking failed to identify a specific offsite location.
The presentation to the board was postponed at the applicant’s request in September and again in October. Wolf asked why the board was still dealing with such “ephemera floating around.” 
She added, “Everything is slippery.”
Partway through the applicant’s presentation, board attorney Richard King clarified the issues surrounding the proposed unidentified offsite valet parking area, noting that lack of notification of property owners around that yet unidentified site would probably mean the applicant would have to go back through the variance process, even if successful Nov. 9.
A request by the applicant’s attorney, Robert Baranowski, to adjourn the meeting to allow for a new presentation later was denied on a 5-to-4 vote.
Building Will be Built
Several times during the applicant’s presentation, Jetty Cove LLC principal Emmanuel DeMutis said the building would be built, regardless of the outcome of the variance decision. 
“We meet the requirements of the 2019 approval if we keep the hotel exclusive to the guests,” he said. 
“We can just lock it down to guests only and build it,” he added.
DeMutis argued that his plan to use all valet parking and an offsite parking lot represented an attempt by Jetty Cove LLC to be good neighbors and not absorb all street parking in the area. He also argued that the hotel plan with the requested variances was better for the city and the neighbors because it produced an enhanced product.
Without approval for the variances, the 2019 approved plan would govern any development. That plan did not have a 240-seat restaurant and bar as part of the new structure.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.