Jan 11 2008
Sea Isle may allow more homes atop businesses
Sea Isle may allow more homes atop businesses
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, 609-463-6713
SEA ISLE CITY - The city is proposing a way to keep its business districts intact by giving property owners an enticing offer - the opportunity to build more.The stipulation: When you rebuild with more residential units, the bottom floor must be a business.City officials said they hope the zoning changes will help business districts by enticing stores to stay open instead of converting into duplexes.
The change, which has City Council support, faced a brief public hearing Thursday.
Although it has been met mostly with support at City Council meetings, the vote on the ordinance was postponed until 7 p.m. Jan. 15 due to several small changes recommended by the Planning Board.
The city is proposing zoning changes that would allow more residential units to be built above stores, similar to efforts or considerations under way in Stone Harbor and Ocean City. The ordinance would allow businesses in four commercial districts to rebuild properties with one residential unit per 1,250 feet of lot area on the property.So a 5,000-square-foot lot could have four residential units above a store under the proposal. Currently, one is allowed.
Resident Dan Organ said he feels the ordinance will help businesses in those districts, but he questioned the size of the buildings that could be created.
Sea Isle City Council President Michael McHale said he expects four to five property owners to start construction in the next year to take advantage of the zoning changes.
“We’re going to watch how the town expands,” Councilwoman Mary Tighe said. “If we’re growing too fast or too much, we’ll relook at it.”
One of the Planning Board’s recommended changes involved how the height of the buildings are measured, councilman John Divney said.
“I don’t have any crystal ball to tell me if it’s going to be successful or not successful,” Councilman William Kehner said.
“We didn’t have any major objections with the ordinance, so everybody must agree we want to give our business community a shot in the arm, and with that in mind I have no problem endorsing it,” he said.
In several local shore communities, the concern about the future of their business districts has prompted consideration of zoning changes that would offer incentives to businesses owners to stay in business.
In Stone Harbor, Borough Council introduced a controversial ordinance last month that would have created a waterfront district and allow an extra residential unit above a business. At a meeting last week, that ordinance was tabled until January.
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