Board takes no action after hearing public’s objections
CAPE MAY — Changes may be coming to the city’s historic district map.
The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) is working to harmonize the map and shared a presentation with the public during a meeting June 9. After hearing feedback and needing some map corrections, the committee did not take action.
“What we [have] heard requires some deliberation and a little more consideration,” HPC Chairman John Boecker said. “We will likely schedule another session and invite you to come back, based on the map issues we heard [tonight].”
The amendment, once the HPC is ready, must be reviewed by the Planning Board for consistency with the Master Plan, and Boecker said City Council would have to adopt an ordinance.
“[We are at] the ground level of this process right now,” he said. “The HPC wanted to be at the forefront of that by providing notice, even though notice is not provided under the code.”
Letters were sent to homeowners who would be affected by the proposal, inviting them to attend the meeting and provide input.
Boecker added that the purpose of the special meeting was to share and discuss the benefits and effects of a more uniform map in a way that respectfully engages the community in clarifying the reasons behind the changes and practical impacts.
Additionally, the goal of the meeting was for all participants to understand and embrace the value of adopting revised boundaries to protect Cape May’s streetscape, provide fair treatment of similarly situated properties and align with state-encouraged best practices.
“Cape May was codified as a National Historic Landmark District in 1976 and next year will be the 50th anniversary,” Boecker said, adding that protecting the historic designation is one of the HPC’s primary roles.
The HPC received a letter from the State Historic Preservation Office that included recommendations for the map.
“[The] recommendation describes the minor discrepancies between the existing boundaries of the locally designated historic district and the recommended boundaries,” Boecker said. “They are recommending from the survey, that what we’re proposing tonight be considered and adopted.”
Boecker and Commissioner Kevin Hammeran shared a slideshow that showed a few blocks with issues, including the 900 block of Sewell Avenue and the 1300 block of New York Avenue.
“There are some principles in planning and design that were identified by the state and I’ll do these in simple terms,” Hammeran said. “One is to avoid doughnuts, where you have a parcel or several parcels that are surrounded by others that are historic in nature or reverse. You want consistency across all of them.”
The second principle Hammeran discussed is to avoid a sawtooth effect, in which one property is contributing and one is not contributing to the historic district.
According to the HPC, homes can be classified as “contributing property,” “key contributing property” or “non-contributing.”
“One of the most important parts about avoiding the sawtooth effect is to consider the streetscape,” Hammeran said. “Try to make sure that there is a blending of the right kind of properties and buildings so that there’s a harmony.”
Hammeran noted that this factor avoids spot zoning, which is when someone is excluded or included for an ideological reason.
“When you have a set of houses that are all looking like they belong here, and one that suddenly does not, then the streetscape is negatively impacted,” he said. “Our efforts here are to find some ones in it and some out of it and make sure there is some harmony in that to get a much better map.”
Once the presentation session finished, the HPC took questions and heard comments from residents.
Boecker urged residents with additional questions to email HPC Secretary Judy Decker to make an appointment for HPC’s Tuesday morning review committee meetings.
“Come talk to us and say what you’re thinking about, and one of the things we can do is help you figure out materials of similar costs to help you accomplish what you’re trying to accomplish,” Boecker said.
Vice Chairman Jim Testa said there has recently been an emphasis on starting HPC applications earlier and visiting during the review committee meetings.
“The consultative meeting and talking about what you want to do with us, so we have an idea of what you want to do, and you perhaps get a refined idea of what’s going to fly and not fly,” Testa said.
He added that there’s an emphasis on informality, collegiality and more cooperation.
“I think you’ll see over the next period, the turn of the view of the HPC from being one that has a lot of adversarial history with it to one that’s much more cooperative now. I’d like you to bear in mind that it’s a friendlier place than it may have been in the past.”
Cape May Marina owner Sean Scarborough said none of the property is on the historic district map, and he is against being included in the current proposal.
“We, as Cape May Marina, do not ever wish to be in the historic district,” Scarborough said. “As a member of the Spicer Creek Homeowners Association, we already have very restrictive covenants and an architectural review board to govern exterior improvements and betterments by homeowners and consistency.”
Testa asked if there was a reason why Scarborough did not want to be a part of the historic district. Scarborough said there were many reasons.
“Everything that was built in that community was done in the last six years,” Scarborough said, adding the property was in bankruptcy, and they undid a condominium association and received 287 variances through the site plan to reduce the size of the property.
Scarborough added the map of the historic district is dramatically incorrect. Testa said the HPC would look into the map.
The president of the Spicers Creek HOA, John Miles, said their neighborhood is very unique and they are committed to consistency.
“We think that an additional layer of oversight beyond what our own HOA and architect review board does would be very redundant for us,” Miles said. “I have a pretty good sense with what we learned tonight that we would ask to be carved out of this proposal.”
Washington Street resident Eric Barikian said he was formally objecting to the proposed inclusion of his home in the expanded historic district.
“Based on the most recent historic property surveys and visual assessments, this home has undergone substantial alterations and additions that have removed any architectural elements relevant to the district’s character,” he said. “This home was purchased outside the HPC map to avoid being a contributing or non-contribution property.”
Barikian added that the inclusion of the property would impose unnecessary limitations on its use and maintenance without serving the city’s preservation goals.
“Every building should be a case-by-case basis, based on facts and certain circumstances,” Barikian said.
Boecker asked Barikian to reach out by email or to call for further conversation. Testa said the HPC is trying to increase communication with the public.
“I think there is a couple of issues with errors on the map, so I think it would be inappropriate for us to make any recommendations until we’re absolutely sure those maps are accurate,” Boecker said.
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave
