The tiny house sits on a dirt road at the end of Sounds Avenue.
By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
There is a tiny, dilapidated house that sits at the end of a dirt road overlooking the marshlands in the far north end of Sea Isle City.
The shack-like home at 204 Sounds Avenue was built in 1932, according to real estate records. It looks like it hasn’t been repaired since 1932.
The windows are boarded up. Siding is missing on parts of the house. The sagging porch is cluttered with old wood and other debris.
Since 2008, Sea Isle has objected to the blighted condition of the house and pursued legal action in 2011 against its former owner to have it torn down, City Solicitor Paul Baldini said.
Now, after more than a decade of controversy and litigation, the city is supporting plans by the current owners to rebuild the crumbling structure.
“These kinds of cases tend to take years to resolve,” Baldini said.
At its April 28 meeting, City Council approved a resolution for a “statement of consent” with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to allow the owners to rebuild the property.
The tiny house sits on a dirt road at the end of Sounds Avenue.
The city was embroiled in a legal fight with the former owner to demolish the structure.
The city’s concerns over the deteriorated property began in 2008 with its elderly former owner, Evelyn McQuade, and escalated into a lawsuit in 2011. After McQuade died, the city gave her estate more time to sell the property instead of moving ahead to have the house demolished, Baldini explained.
Reminiscent of an old-fashioned seashore cottage, the house is just 792 square feet and sits on a small lot. Real estate records show it was sold in 2015 for $175,000.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has to give its approval for the house to be rebuilt or remodeled because of its location next to the marsh, Baldini said.
