CAPE MAY — City Manager Paul Dietrich updated City Council on code enforcement of mercantile licenses July 15.
Renewals were due May 1, and an additional month of reminders was provided for the licenses to be updated before code enforcement began for short-term rentals.
“There are about 212 properties that had registered from last year, and they got that down to about 25,” Dietrich said. “They’re still working through those issues, and for those last 25 that didn’t clear up, pretty soon they’re going to get some violation notices.”
Dietrich and the clerk’s office is in the process of loading mercantile licenses into the software program, which will search the web for short-term rental properties.
“We’ll then be able to reconcile the mercantile licenses with what people are advertising on the internet for rental properties,” he said. “This actually has a history of going back through almost 2018, so we’ll be able to identify who’s renting and who is not.”
Camera security system
Councilman Shaine Meier asked council if the new camera system has been helpful in addressing shoplifting incidents on the Washington Street Mall.
“The cameras have been an excellent assistant to the police in identifying whether they have better pictures they could put on social media to help put it out there,” Dietrich said. “So yes, the cameras have paid off, increasing the number of shoplifting tickets and closing cases.”
Mayor Zack Mullock said he received questions about the number of photos being released.
“I spoke with [Police] Chief [Dekon Fashaw] and they have been a tremendous asset to the police for shoplifting and getting better photos,” Mullock said. “There hasn’t been an increase in shoplifting. Frankly, it’s been a bit of a deterrent.”
Other business
Dietrich reported that beach tag sales increased by $20,000 from the period in 2024 to 2025. He said revenue is around $980,000, with 35,322 daily tags, 8,515 weekly tags, 7,606 three-day tags and 6,566 seasonal tags sold.
Dietrich said another focus for City Council has been tree protection on construction sites.
“We’re doing better with outreach through our zoning permitting process to make sure contractors know that they need to do that,” he said.
The city continues to work on residential and commercial recycling compliance. Dietrich said the Department of Public Works issues three notices to try to get compliance.
“At this point, we have about two or three properties that we’re actively working on,” Dietrich said. “Everyone else is coming into compliance and we are complying with the revenue recycling regulations.”
Dietrich added that the city is waiting on additional signage for the Lafayette Street Park nature trails regarding the prohibition of dogs. He said they are ordered and he anticipates them being installed the following week.
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave
