CAPE MAY — City Council introduced an amended ordinance Oct. 21 to promote a pilot program for workforce and long-term housing opportunities in the C-1 district.
Council decided during a meeting Aug. 19 to send the ordinance back to the Planning Board for further review, and it recommended amending the ordinance to encompass the entire C-1 district.
After agreeing to do so, solicitor Chris Gillin-Schwartz said he would adjust the language and send it back to the Planning Board for review, since it already has been determined to be consistent with the Master Plan.
The amended ordinance is scheduled for a second reading and final vote Nov. 17.
Discussion genesis
Mayor Zack Mullock said the lack of available housing has been an ongoing issue in Cape May for decades.
He said there are stores on the Washington Street Mall with upper floors that are vacant because the owners cannot provide parking under the code for anything above the first floor, “so second and third floors had been traditionally storage or things like that.”
Mullock added that he was aware there might be people living above stores off the record, which could pose an unsafe condition because the living area was not inspected.
Considering the workforce housing crisis in the city, Mullock said there are empty spaces in important areas.
“I want to put on the record, to be clear, that this ordinance is not for profit,” he said. “This is to provide workforce housing for our workforce, which in turn, may include a price and in turn may provide a profit to the business.”
Mullock said the idea is to provide affordable accommodations, not to rent at a high price to people who are not working in town.
Gillin-Schwartz said the process started with the Planning Board identifying the C-1 district and the Washington Street Mall area as candidates for this concept, regarding the city’s Master Plan.
“I think the discussion really narrowed down to this is going to be a new concept, and why not consider where that might be most useful to deploy as a pilot program,” Gillin-Schwartz said.
He added that it establishes a definition for this new concept and defines a process that would allow people to convert these spaces with limitations.
“[It could] serve what Cape May is trying to do, which is bring year-round and long-term residents back to the city and keep them here, and give these opportunities new life, rather than leaning toward short-term rentals,” he said. “Which is really where the market is trending.”
The workforce housing opportunity would allow the city to test the concept in an area where it might be feasible.
C-1 district expansion
Commissioner Lorraine Baldwin said she had concerns about the congestion around the Washington Street Mall.
“If this is going to be a test, do we consider possibly looking at the outer part of [the district] or including this in all of that?” she asked.
Baldwin noted at a prior meeting that the C-1 district encompasses more than just the mall.
Deputy City Manager Justin Riggs said discussions included what would be most palatable for a test case. Baldwin added that the scope could be kept narrow or expanded beyond the mall area.
“The intention of this was also to make sure we are not expanding on transient accommodations on the mall,” Deputy Mayor Maureen McDade said. “If we were going to make a change to this, my preference would be that we expand upon it.”
McDade added that an expansion could be seen as an opportunity but may take some time to gain traction.
“I’d like to see it expanded to the whole C-1 and then have it on the outside perimeter where it might be more attractive and easier for some of the conditions,” McDade said. “It was important consideration given the applications that were coming through.”
Gillin-Schwartz said if the council wanted to incorporate the entirety of the C-1 district, it could be done by amendment during the meeting. The council agreed to amend the ordinance.
Additional concerns
Councilman Shane Meier said he was in favor of giving the workforce housing a chance.
“My only concern about this is if you have a unit, you possibly have vehicles that might just be sitting on the outskirts of the paid parking area of town,” Meier said. “If you don’t have to go far from work and home, a car is likely to sit there all summer long, until they have to leave the island for whatever reason.”
McDade said the ordinance was discussed during two Planning Board meetings, and parking was one of the issues addressed.
“We included that in the conversation, but the Planning Board looked at this and said for the units that are there, we’d like to encourage workforce housing,” McDade said. “There was no discussion that it should only be limited to that.”
McDade added that the Planning Board felt it was important to allow for a parking variance without requiring an application.
“Also removing the caveat for a site plan review, to encourage that it will still require a construction official to look at the unit, making sure that it was appropriate for housing,” she said.
Additionally, McDade said there was a criterion included for the habitable square foot per individual and that a notification clause would be in place, with letters specifically sent to individuals who currently have units being offered as short-term rentals on the mall.
“Those properties that currently do offer short-term rentals would be notified and grandfathered into that, so they can maintain that in order to not be in conformity,” McDade said.
Public concerns
Resident Jules Rauch asked about the minimum size of apartments, the number of occupants allowed, the number of vehicles and the definition of workforce housing.
Gillin-Schwartz said “workforce housing” is not limited to people who live and work in the City of Cape May.
Mullock said the Planning Board discussed the issue and determined that the city should not exclude those working elsewhere.
“The reason a majority of the folks felt that it shouldn’t be limited to the city of Cape May is obviously you have West Cape May, Cape May Point and Lower Township on Cape Island.”
Mullock added that the thought was they would not want to exclude a school teacher or nurse, who could add value to the community.
“That was the reasoning and I’m not saying that it’s perfect or correct, I just want to highlight that,” Mullock said.
Gillin-Schwartz said the incentive and trade-off to create long-term housing opportunities included inviting opportunities for people to become part of the community, whether they work in the city or not.
“I think it recognizes the practical reality that we don’t have an unlimited supply of jobs within city limits,” Gillin-Schwartz said, adding that the situation had to be looked at as a bigger issue.
Rauch said the city could not accept another 100 to 200 people living in the city without a parking space.
McDade said long-term housing would be better than short-term housing in the area.
“On the flip side of that, if we had not worked to put this in place, all of those apartments in those units could have potentially become short-term rentals,” McDade said. “Then you would have two to three cars turning over every Saturday, and I am opposed to that.”
She added that the pilot program was intended to take a step forward in bringing people into the city, and that the parking problem exists and will continue to exist regardless of whether it is addressed or not.
“If this can accommodate it, I think we need to address how that works out with people, with parking,” she said. “But if you’re going to continue for the city to be viable 10 to 15 years from now, we need to do something.”
Mullock noted that if things are not working during the pilot process, it is something that can be changed.
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave
