By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
It was a project simply too sweet for Sea Isle City’s Planning Board to turn down.
Dairy Queen is planning to open a new ice cream and hotdog franchise in the North Tower of the Spinnaker Condominiums overlooking the Promenade at 35th Street.
But before it can begin selling its famous Blizzards, frosted animal crackers and other confections this summer, DQ needed site plan approval from the planning board.
With none of the board members raising any objections, the project breezed through by a 5-0 vote during a meeting Monday night conducted by teleconference because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Everybody loves Dairy Queen,” Don Martin declared after the vote, prompting the board members to laugh in approval.
Martin, his son, Richard, and business partner Joseph Chapman will own the DQ franchise, planning board documents show.
Martin told the board that he already owns Dairy Queen outlets in North Wildwood and Rio Grande. He just bought the DQ franchise in Cape May and is moving that location to Sea Isle.
The Sea Isle DQ will be a “Treat Center,” meaning that it will serve only ice cream and hotdogs. An Orange Julius outlet, which is part of the Dairy Queen chain, will be part of the Sea Isle location.
The hours of operation are expected to be from 9 a.m. to midnight. It will be a seasonal business.
“At most, it would be Easter to Halloween,” Martin said. “That would be the absolute maximum.”
DQ customers will be able to eat inside or savor their ice cream and sprinkles while sitting outdoors on benches overlooking the oceanfront Promenade.
In other business Monday, the board unanimously approved plans by Sea Isle Councilman Frank Edwardi to subdivide property at 336 40th Street to create two lots for two single-family homes.
Edwardi, who owns a demolition firm and is also a real estate agent, said he intends to deed-restrict the property so that only single-family homes can be built there.
He plans to demolish an old, existing house on the property to make room for the two new homes. In testimony to the planning board, he said he will likely begin construction this fall.
Edwardi plans to take the existing, 8,250-square-foot parcel and subdivide it into two lots, both 4,125 square feet.
At 4,125 square feet, the lots would fall short of the minimum lot size of 5,000 square feet required for home construction under Sea Isle’s zoning laws.
However, the board approved a variance allowing Edwardi to build on an undersized lot.
He was also granted a variance allowing him to build the homes on lots that will each have a width of 37.5 feet, under the minimum size of 50 feet wide.
To protect the homes from fire, Edwardi has agreed to use a higher-grade, flame-resistant siding.
