Prior to our regular meeting on November 14, City Council held a closed session meeting for the purpose of discussing pending litigation regarding the application of the City of Sea Isle City to petition immunity from Mount Laurel Lawsuits, relative to affordable housing. Afterwards, Council began its regular meeting at 10:00 a.m. on November 14, during which there were no reports from the Mayor, the Administrator or Council members.
Ordinance 1614 was introduced during November 14’s regular meeting. This ordinance was written to revise the City’s general ordinance entitled “Traffic” to reflect necessary changes and to allow for consistency and traffic flow. Ordinance 1614 is a “housekeeping” ordinance that clarified where the City’s current handicapped and 15-minute parking spaces are located throughout town. It also changed several of our streets to a “one-way” traffic pattern, including 40th Street (Central to Cini, Westbound), 51st Street (Central to Landis, Eastbound), and 52nd Street (Landis to Central, Westbound).
Each of the resolutions on the November 14 Consent Agenda were approved, including Resolution 177, which authorized the execution of a settlement agreement with the Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC) for the City’s Affordable Housing obligations. The City has been working for some time to develop a plan to meet our affordable housing obligations as required by state law. Without a court approved plan, the City would be vulnerable to what is called a builder’s remedy lawsuit, which basically allows a developer to file suit for the opportunity to construct housing at higher densities than permitted by the zoning in place. Because of the actions we’ve taken thus far, we have immunity from such a suit. To retain that immunity, we need to adopt a housing plan which ultimately provides for the opportunity to build affordable housing. The proposed plan will be accomplished through building incentives, overlay zoning and age restricted housing. There are still several steps that must be taken before the plan is finalized – the agreement must still be approved by the court, following a fairness hearing scheduled for December 1. After that, the finalized plan will have to be approved by the Planning Board and City Council, followed by the enactment of appropriate zoning ordinances.
During the “Pending Business” portion of the November 14 meeting, a discussion took place with the public and City Council regarding various issues and activities that affect beach-goers, such as smoking, digging holes in the sand, drinking alcohol, erecting tents and the need for additional mobi-mats on the beach. At that time, many ideas, concerns and suggestions were expressed regarding these issues. This discussion will continue with the City Administration and other City officials as preparations are made for the 2018 Summer Season.
At 12 noon on November 14, City Council hosted a Capital Plan Workshop in Council Chambers, which was open to the public. During the workshop, the City’s Chief Financial Officer and Business Administrator reviewed Sea Isle City’s Five Year Capital Funding Plan with City Council.
Our next City Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 18, at 10:00 a.m. in Council Chambers – we hope to see you there!
Best Regards from the Members of City Council,
Council President Mary Tighe (mtighe@seaislecitynj.us)
Frank Edwardi (fedwardijr@seaislecitynj.us)
J.B. Feeley (jbfeeley@seaislecitynj.us)
Jack Gibson (jgibson@seaislecitynj.us)
Bill Kehner (wkehner@seaislecitynj.us)
