By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
There is a miniature forest of sorts squeezed in between the multimillion-dollar oceanfront vacation homes lining Pleasure Avenue near 77th Street in Sea Isle City.
The vacant land is actually a sand dune crowded with tall cedar trees, pine trees with new cones on the branches, scrub bushes, common beach grass and prickly cactus plants reminiscent of the desert.
A public pathway to the 77th Street beach runs alongside the property. Although the property at 7701 Pleasure Ave. is an environmentally sensitive dune, the site is expected to be partially developed for a new three-story oceanfront home following approval of the project by Sea Isle’s Zoning Board on Wednesday.
Altogether, the property measures 5,567 square feet. But due to restrictions imposed on the site by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to maintain the dune, construction of the home will be limited to a footprint of just 35 feet wide and 38.3 feet long – only about one-fourth the size of the entire lot, according to zoning board documents.
The home must be built on pilings and will be allowed to have three parking spaces within an area measuring 18 feet wide and 27 feet long, the documents show.
John and Diane Kuzy applied to the zoning board for approval to build the home. They are identified in the zoning board documents as the “contract purchasers” for the property.
They could not be reached for comment Sunday about the plans for their new home, including when they will start construction. Carol Menz, of Coastline Realty, the agent handling the sale of the property, also was unavailable for comment Sunday.
The history of the land and the reason why the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will allow a home to be built on the dune were not immediately clear.
The NJDEP issued an “Amelioration Authorization” in 2022 clearing the way for the dune to be partly developed for a new single-family home.
Usually, dunes are protected from development. They provide a barrier from storms and are considered the first line of defense to protect homes, businesses and other parts of the shore from the raging ocean.
NJDEP approval of the home on the dune at 7701 Pleasure Ave. includes a series of “special conditions.” The most serious is the requirement that the house can occupy only about one-fourth of the property – the so-called “maximum building envelope.”
“There shall be no disturbance to the dune located outside the ‘Maximum Building Envelope’ as shown on the approved plan, with the exception of the planting of native coastal dune vegetation,” according to the zoning board documents.
Another special condition will preserve the trees and other existing native vegetation on the dune outside of the construction area. In addition, sandy areas of the dune located to the north and south of the new home’s footprint will be planted with American beach grass, the documents say.
