CAPE MAY POINT − Commissioners discussed recommendations made by the Planning Board on pergolas and HVAC/mechanicals locations during the Sept. 9 meeting.
“What started this is trying to make the wording more clear, less subject to interpretation,” Deputy Mayor Elise Geiger said, adding that the Planning Board revised the wording that the mechanical equipment cannot be in the front yard.
Geiger added that there are some situations where mechanicals could be placed in the side yard.
“It’s pretty clear that [the Planning Board] spent a lot of time on the language, which is important,” Geiger said.
The commission also discussed the increasing number of pergolas appearing in the borough. Geiger said the Planning Board was suggesting the code will apply to new construction or renovation. Pergolas are freestanding structures often with an open lattice or crossbeam roof.
“They’re popping up all over the place and this is the homeowners’ designing more features for use of their outdoor space,” Geiger said. “The goal here was to provide a definition of what a pergola is, because it wasn’t clear in the code, and what attached and freestanding means.”
A freestanding pergola is defined as located two feet from the house. Pergolas cannot stand within the setback, which is how far the house must be from the side, front and back property lines.
“Pergolas may not have roofs, including open and closed roofs,” Geiger said. Arbors and trellises are different from pergolas, and they’re going to be treated differently.”
Geiger said the Planning Board also wanted to establish that the use of any hardscape under pergolas does have consequences.
“A lot of this is [has to do with] how lots are configured,” she said. “Thirty percent of the lot can be allocated to the footprint of the house, 60 percent of the lot is allocated towards vegetative covering, leaving approximately 10 percent left over for hardscape and driveways.”
If there is cement and hardscape underneath the pergola, Geiger said 100 percent of the area will count towards building and structure. The incentive is for keeping vegetative material underneath the pergola rather than hardscaping.
“There is grandfathering for the maintenance of non-conforming pergolas until a full reconstruction is made,” Geiger said.
Mayor Anita VanHeeswyk said the Planning Board was doing diligent work to get its recommendations ready to go.
“The Planning Board voted unanimously 7-0 for both of these, which holds a lot of weight in this group,” VanHeeswyk said. “Of course, our attorney will look at these and make sure they’re in order and we have another time to present them to public comment. There is still a ways to go.”
Solicitor John Amenhauser said there will be at least two more public hearings if the public has a comment on the topic. Geiger said that was good because it gave the public advanced warning.
Beach season, lighting and housing plan
Geiger said the end of the summer beach season was safe and enjoyable. She said the biggest week of the season included the Fourth of July, with 20 percent more visitors than in 2024.
“We had a very successful season for our lifeguards, [with] 11 rescues and 347 assists this year,” she said. “The role of lifeguards, as it’s been impressed on me, is to be preventative and avoid rescue. Even though we had 11 rescues, this was a very successful season for our guards.”
Regarding beach tag sales, Geiger said about the same amount was sold in 2025 as in the previous year. She noted it was remarkably constant from year to year, considering there was a week with bad weather and at least one day with closed waters due to Hurricane Erin.
In other news, VanHeeswyk reported that the borough’s Fair Share Housing Plan was challenged.
“We’ve run this through with our attorney and planner, and apparently they’ve done this with about 200 towns,” VanHeeswyk said. “We’re on top of it and don’t see us having problems [because] everything is being handled and submitted.”
Commissioner Suzanne Yunghans said the lights at the Cape Avenue beach entrance were replaced and it turned out to be a faulty photocell.
“I mentioned earlier in the summer that one of the three wells in the Circle Pavilion was worn out and needed to be replaced,” Yunghans said. “You may recall that we have a lot of iron in our groundwater, which is incredibly corrosive.”
Yunghans said Public Works had hoped to get through the summer with the other two wells compensating and replace the bad well in 2026.
“However, the two wells were struggling and you might have noticed there is more brown grass at the circle, so the well replacement is happening ASAP,” she said. “Thankfully, we have some unspent capital funds to enable it to be done now, so we don’t have to lose any grass, and we are just waiting for a DEP permit.”
VanHeeswyk said Lake Lily was looking better this summer, adding that the work Yunghans did earlier in the summer made a big difference.
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave
