Another Way into Sea Isle

Sea Isle seeks signs for shortcut into town
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Thursday, December 29, 2005
Updated: Thursday, December 29, 2005

SEA ISLE CITY-The city has asked the New Jersey Turnpike Authority for a sign instructing motorists of a Garden State Parkway shortcut that many locals already know about.

The issue of finding a way into Sea Isle City from the parkway has long been a sore subject.

There is no northbound exit to enter Sea Isle City or neighboring Dennis Township. However, there is a southbound exit.

Sea Isle City Mayor Leonard Desiderio said a sign should tell vacationers about a shortcut involving a U-turn through a parkway rest stop.

He revived an old issue during a meeting between the Turnpike Authority and county officials recently regarding one-way tolls on the parkway.

"As long as I had them at the table, I'd figured I'd bring up an old request," Desiderio said.

In 1996, parkway officials erected a sign meant to make reaching Sea Isle City easier.

The sign, which is still there, instructs northbound motorists heading to Sea Isle City to get off at exit 13.

The route means driving through Avalon and 25 mph speed limits, crossing the Townsends Inlet Bridge and then driving through much of residential Sea Isle City.

Desiderio said the current sign is confusing, leaving vacationers who take that exit with no further directions.

There's also a much faster route.

Motorists can make a U-turn at the Ocean View rest area and exit from the southbound lane of the parkway at exit 17, which leads directly into Sea Isle City.

On Wednesday in light traffic, a drive from Cape May Court House to downtown Sea Isle City took about 20 minutes using the prescribed route through Avalon.

Using the U-turn shortcut, however, the drive took about 12 minutes.

For years, the city wanted a sign indicating that the nearby parkway rest stop can serve as a U-turn.

Previously, state officials have said that technique is too dangerous, as motorists must cross two lanes of traffic to reach the exit.

Cars must enter fast-moving parkway traffic from the left lane and cross the two lanes within about half mile.

But Desiderio said exiting the rest stop is no different than leaving any other parkway rest stop.

The issue has been dormant for several years.

Desiderio said it was worth presenting the idea again.

This time, there are also different officials in charge of the parkway, he said.

"We've been doing this for generations here. ... All I want to do is alert motorists to the loop," Desiderio said. "I don't believe it would bring any more traffic because everybody's doing it now."

But Desiderio said it would make it easier on vacationers.

Turnpike Authority spokesman Joseph Orlando said Wednesday officials were reviewing the request.

"We know the request has been made, and we're going to have the engineers look into it, the feasibility in terms of traffic and safety," Orlando said.

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press: BIanieri@pressofac.com

Avalon Alarms

Avalon to make public-alert siren less alarming
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Saturday, December 24, 2005

Updated: Saturday, December 24, 2005AVALON-The borough will replace its three aging public-alert speakers with ones that will not scare the living heck out of those nearby, Avalon's chief of Emergency Medical Services said Friday.Kevin Scarpa said volume control is one of the features of a new system that costs about $57,000 and is scheduled for installation in January.For public alerts, the current speakers sound a startling, immediate blast, like someone honking a car horn while you walk past, Scarpa said. The new speakers will gradually increase volume."These new ones will have a volume control so we'll stop scaring these people and animals out of their underwear," Scarpa said. "The people that live near in the summer actually despise it because of the startling noise, not because how loud it gets."Avalon has three speakers distributed throughout the city, used to alert volunteer firefighters and also capable of public-address announcements, such as tidal flooding or high winds, Scarpa said.Those speakers, bought 13 years ago, have deteriorated, mainly due to the harsh salt air, he said.Scarpa said the new alarms can convey voice messages uploaded from a personal computer. The voice messages can also be timed at intervals at each speaker to eliminate the "echo effect" that the distance between the speakers and the sound of speed creates, he said.The speakers can be used in conjunction with Avalon's 1630 AM station for information on weather and emergency conditions.The speakers will remain at the same locations -13th, 30th, and 67th streets -, Scarpa said.Avalon Borough Council approved the purchase at a meeting earlier this month.

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press:BIanieri@pressofac.com

Land Swap - The End of the Story

Gov. signs bill to allow land swap in Sea Isle
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Thursday, December 22, 2005

Updated: Thursday, December 22, 2005SEA ISLE CITY-Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey signed a bill into law Wednesday to give clear property ownership rights to nine homeowners caught in a bizarre land dispute.The law gives the state Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP, the legal authority to convey the property back to 47th Place homeowners, DEP spokeswoman Elaine Makatura said.The law is a big step, she said. But the process is not over.Brian Buckley, who became a spokesman for the 47th Place homeowners, was pleased with the bill's passage but will remain cautious until everything is ratified."The bill doesn't state all the details. It just gives the authority to the DEP, so long as all parties are in agreement," Buckley said."We're thrilled, we're optimistic," he said. "But this has taken so long, it's not done until it's done."Mayor Leonard Desiderio said the whole process had the ups and downs of a roller-coaster ride."The legislators did their job getting it through their respective houses and getting it done in record-breaking time," Desiderio said.Desiderio said he will schedule a meeting with the DEP to confirm that the land swap of city-owned land means that the city will not be held liable by title companies for selling that land in the 1960s."I just want to make sure the city is going to be held harmless, which we're sure is going to happen," Desiderio said. "It was never an issue. All along I believe all parties were in agreement that the city would not be held liable for anything that happened in 1942."Desiderio said he also wanted to confirm with the DEP that the city-owned property used in the land swap will be conserved for open space."I just want to sit down with the Commissioner's Office and make sure we know the lands, that they know the lands they are getting, and to ensure that these two minor little things are accomplished," he said.On Feb. 9, 1942, Sea Isle City sold title to the area to the state to dredge. The price was $1. The title change allowed the state's former Board of Commerce and Navigation to dredge a waterway.The titles to land at 47th Place were never returned to Sea Isle City. However, in 1965 - more than 20 years later - Sea Isle City held a public land sale. In January 1966, the city confirmed the land sale at 47th Place, which was sold to a developer, who filled the marsh and sold individual lots.And that was that.It wasn't until 2003 when the DEP's Bureau of Tidelands Management discovered the discrepancy.In May, the agency sent letters to nine property owners who live on six lots at 47th Place.The letter included the phrases, "the State of New Jersey claims title to your entire property" and "the City sold land it did not own and you eventually bought a portion of that land."The homeowners were stunned.They met several times with DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell, who drove to Sea Isle City to attend afternoon meetings.But clearing the titles proved a difficult process.Sea Isle City offered two city-owned lots on 29th Street in exchange for the 47th Place parcels. When a deal between the DEP and the city appeared ready to pass, the state Attorney General's Office said that legislation would be needed to close the deal.But that revelation came in late November. A bill would have to move quickly to pass the lame-duck Legislature. The bill passed through the Assembly, the Senate, and was signed by the governor in less than a month."I think, once in a while, the process works," said Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic. "This is a case where the process really works and in record speed."

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press:BIanieri@pressofac.com

Full Evacuation Recommended

Cape May County officials say full evacuation necessary
Cap: Cape dwellers used to take shelter in a big storm but the county is now publicizing a policy to get everybody out following routes to the north and west. They say it can be done within 36 hours.
By Richard Degener
Published: Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Updated: Tuesday, December 20, 2005CAPE MAY — If you live on Cape Island there is only one place to go in a big storm: Somewhere else.
That is more than a recommendation Cape May County Emergency Management Director Frank McCall delivered to residents of Cape May, Cape May Point and West Cape May at a recent forum held here at Convention Hall. It is actually a mandate.
McCall will be soon be delivering the same mandate to residents in the county’s other 13 towns during a series of six meetings on the resort peninsula. McCall will tell them much of the county is under water even in the smallest of hurricanes, a Category 1, and in a larger storm there is no way out once floodwaters hit.
“People ask, ‘Where are the shelters in Cape May County?’ Ladies and gentlemen, we have no shelters in Cape May County. We want you to get off the Jersey Cape,” McCall said.
Is this because of Hurricane Rita or Hurricane Katrina? No, not really. Those storms may have focused more attention on the issue but McCall said the policy goes back a few years. He said the county planned a series of public outreach forums earlier this year, months before the Gulf coast was hit.
Residents who lived here in 1985 when Hurricane Gloria passed by remember being sent to evacuation shelters, often the local fire hall. These unofficial shelters were supposed to be made official after a 1992 study on hurricane evacuation by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, American Red Cross, and New Jersey State Police.
“It listed 397 shelters in Cape May County, including 50 here on The Promenade, 75 to 80 on the Wildwood boardwalk, and 25 on the Ocean City boardwalk. I refused to sign off on the plan,” McCall said.
Instead of shelters, those areas are now referred to as “staging areas” for a mass evacuation. McCall said the agencies have all agreed there is no place in the county to ride out even a Category 1 hurricane.
Hurricane Gloria and U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May both played a role in the decision to not shelter people in a storm. The Coast Guard evacuated to Fort Dix three days before Gloria hit. The small boats were taken to Philadelphia and the big boats were taken out to sea into deep water.
“Everybody left the U.S. Coast Guard base except the guy in the gatehouse,” McCall said.
The decision was made easier when maps came out showing the amount of flooding a direct-hit hurricane would bring. Only the northwest corner of the county, and a narrow strip of high ground in the center of the peninsula, would be dry. Most of the roads out will be under water once the storm hits.
The county is publicizing a map to show there are many ways the 105,000 year-round residents, but up to 1 million on a hot summer day, can get out. The Garden State Parkway, Route 47 and Route 9 are the major northbound routes, though with the bridge at Beesley’s Point closed McCall notes Route 9 travelers would have to link to a road like Route 83 at some point.
McCall said the evacuation could be done in 20 hours but it might take as much as 36 hours at the height of the summer tourist season. He said several steps would be taken to help the exodus, including:
Route 47, between Route 83 and Route 55, would be made one-way northbound;
Tolls would be suspended on the parkway
Atlantic City Expressway would be one-way westbound.
As the lowest lying area of the county, and the farthest from safety, Cape Island residents technically would be evacuated first. The reality, McCall told residents, is the order would be given to the whole county at the same time. Southern county residents have farther to go and could find themselves behind everybody else. West Cape May Emergency Management Coordinator Dan Rutherford said locals must take such an order seriously.
“We need people to leave and leave early,” Rutherford said. “As (Deputy Coordinator) Paul Mullock says, ‘Brace for wind but run from water.’” he added.
While Gloria brought a mandatory order to evacuate to a nearby shelter, the next order will be to leave the county. McCall said three hurricanes have followed a similar track as Gloria since 1985 and could have led to such an order. With better science and communications, McCall is confident an order won’t be given unless absolutely necessary.
Residents asked if Route 55 could be finished or certain bridges could be widened. McCall urged them to pressure the officials that can make such things happen.
The meetings are also to update the public on other emergency efforts, including some outgrowths of the Sept. 11 attack. The county is prepared to respond to terrorist attacks through its CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive) training. Prosecutor Robert Taylor led tours of the new $336,000 Mobile Command Unit purchased with Homeland Security funds. The vehicle has equipment allowing communication with all agencies no matter what radio frequency they are using.
“It won’t be like Katrina where they couldn’t talk to their parishes and state police. The problem at the World Trade Center is they couldn’t evacuate the building because they couldn’t talk to each other,” Taylor noted.
They should be able to talk now, even it’s just to say one thing: Get everybody somewhere else.

47th Place - Almost End of Story

47th Place bill in home stretch
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Friday, December 16, 2005

Updated: Friday, December 16, 2005SEA ISLE CITY-Homeowners on 47th Place are one step away from officially owning the land they had thought they always owned.On Thursday, the state Senate passed a bill authorizing a land swap between Sea Isle City and the state Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP. The bill, which passed the Assembly earlier this week, now needs acting Gov. Richard J. Codey's signature.Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, said he spoke with Codey, and he is expected to sign the bill into law. The governor has until Jan. 10, when a new administration takes over."I think we're going to be there," Van Drew said. "I think we got it done."The bill would clear the titles of nine homeowners caught in a bizarre land dispute.In the past two weeks, the bill moved through the Legislature.State and city officials learned in November that a law was needed to authorize the land swap. The city will give the state two city-owned parcels on 29th Street. That land will be preserved for open space.In May, the DEP informed 47th Place property owners that the state has owned their land for the past 63-years. In 1942, the city sold for $1 the land to the state to dredge the area. But the state never returned the land, which Sea Isle sold in 1966.

Parking Problems in Avalon

Parking time limit not easy to enforce, Avalon chief says
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Friday, December 16, 2005

Updated: Friday, December 16, 2005AVALON-Police Chief Stephen Sykes said enforcing a two-hour parking limit in the business district this summer will be difficult.Sykes, in a memo he sent to Borough Council on Wednesday, outlined potential problems with monitoring vehicles by two-hour limit signs, particularly without parking meters to log the time.Without parking meters, a police officer would have to keep a notepad and record the vehicles in the spots and the time, Sykes wrote in the memo.The borough opens itself to complaints if motorists receiving tickets contend they were not in that spot for two hours, he wrote. Also, a vehicle leaving a spot for a brief time and then returning can also pose problems.Sykes said in the memo he will assign a bicycle officer in the business district to try to enforce the parking regulations."Myself, representing the Police Department, want to see this work, and I will do everything in my power to see that this happens," he wrote.The borough plans to limit parking times on Dune Drive to free more spots in the business district in the summer.Avalon paid a company to monitor parking availability late this summer. The study indicated that about half the number of cars parked on Dune Drive remained there for two or more hours and sometimes all day.A parking limit, in conjunction with a trolley system Avalon is considering, is designed to put less stress on downtown parking without introducing parking meters.Avalon's neighbors - Sea Isle City and Stone Harbor - both use parking meters.Meters also generate money, but some are concerned that meters will discourage shoppers."It's going to be a test to see," said Avalon Borough Council President Richard Dean. "We're going to try it, and eventually we may have to go to meters."Borough Councilman David Ellenberg said the two-hour limit must be enforced to be effective."I can understand (the police chief's) concern about having a difficult task. But I think the bottom line is if we don't come into this program with the enforcement, then the parking and the trolley issue is not going to be rectified," Ellenberg said.Ellenberg said the borough can reevaluate the parking limit if it is not effective."One of the reasons we identified this two-hour time frame was we said that's the best way to get this rolling. If that doesn't work, then we'll have to do something else. But I think it will work," Ellenberg said.Parking on Dune Drive becomes a greater concern as Avalon expects several dozen new shops to open in the business district in the following year, Ellenberg said.

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press:BIanieri@pressofac.com

Sea Isle Land Swap

Sea Isle deed bill faces Senate vote
From Press staff reports
Published: Thursday, December 15, 2005

Updated: Thursday, December 15, 2005SEA ISLE CITY-A bill meant to clear titles of 47th Place property owners will be posted for a vote before the full Senate today, said state Sen. Nicholas Asselta, R-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic.The bill would also need the governor's signature.On Monday, the state Assembly unanimously passed the bill.The law would allow the state to swap land with Sea Isle City in exchange for 47th Place properties. In May, the state Department of Environmental Protection informed nine 47th Place property owners that the state owns their property due to a decades-old land mix up.

Strathmere Residents Wary

Strathmere residents fear stranding by storm
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Published: Thursday, December 15, 2005

Updated: Thursday, December 15, 2005UPPER TOWNSHIP-Some Strathmere residents fear they could be marooned by the next northeaster.A storm earlier this year undermined Ocean Drive between Strathmere and Ocean City. The storm pushed some debris onto the road, creating a hazard on the 45 mph county thoroughfare.Strathmere has two exits. In severe storms, residents can flee south on Ocean Drive through Sea Isle City or north on Ocean Drive over the Rush Chattin Bridge. The latter route through Ocean City has always been the more reliable during coastal storms - until lately."That road is washing out," Strathmere resident Elizabeth Bergus warned the Township Committee this week.The ocean and bay occasionally have breached Ocean Drive between Strathmere and Sea Isle City. Cape May County hopes sandbags will continue to protect that route.Bergus said many of her neighbors have health problems that require daily medical attention. Being marooned even for a short time could be disastrous, she said. "We have three people on chemo, two heart patients," she said. "We have elderly people."Cape May County's Public Works Department dumped rocks along the edge of the road to buffer future storms. But a permit to make long-term improvements has languished with the state for more than a year, county Engineer Dale Foster said.The county needs land-use permits through the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The county applied to the state in September 2004.Throughout the years, as the tides moved Corsons Inlet, the waves carved direct access to the tiny beach protecting Ocean Drive, Foster said. The waves consumed the dunes, the protective cedar trees and bayberry. The storms also exposed piling and a long-unused railroad bed.Now, this 100-yard stretch of Ocean Drive between the Rush Chattin Bridge and the toll bridge is in the direct path of storms. All that protects the road is a knee-high pile of rocks the county dumped there. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers objected to the county's emergency dumping without permits, Foster said."The Army Corps came down pretty hard on the county," he said.If the state awards the approvals, the county plans to build a rock seawall the length of this stretch of road. The county also would remove the old railroad bed and piling, plant meadow grass and build two wooden walkways over the rock mound.The state would pay 75 percent of the project, estimated to cost $600,000, Foster said.Foster said the DEP prefers natural dunes to manmade rock walls. But the dunes would be impractical in this case, he said."The project would clean up the area and afford the benefit to the roadway we're after," he said.

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:MMiller@pressofac.com

Avalon Beach Replenishment

Avalon approves $3M. beach replenishment
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Thursday, December 15, 2005

Updated: Thursday, December 15, 2005AVALON-Borough Council on Wednesday night approved $3 million for replenishing about three-quarters of a mile of beaches hit hard by storms and erosion.Avalon will borrow most of the money for work between Ninth and 18th streets - the northern end of the municipality.The beach fill, planned for completion about February, involves pumping 350,000 cubic yards of sand from Townsends Inlet and depositing it on beaches eroded by the ocean.The project originally called for twice that amount of sand but was scaled down to fit an existing state Department of Environmental Protection permit, which expires Feb. 13, said Tom Thornton of the engineering firm Hatch Mott MacDonald.But the DEP has said it will grant an emergency extension if work continues past then, Thornton said.Avalon officials also said they plan to truck thousands of tons of sand to areas where it is needed most, after the project is finished.An Army Corps of Engineers project replenished Avalon beaches in 2003. However, a recent study estimated that Avalon beaches from Eighth Street to 35th Street lost 1 million cubic yards of sand since then.Beaches have had a tough year.In the spring, northeasters struck near Memorial Day, creating sharp cliffs of sand and forcing Avalon to limit beach access during one of the busiest times of the year.In October, significant erosion damaged many beaches after the remnants of Hurricane Wilma.Borough officials have said they wanted to stock the beaches to protect Avalon from future storms.Also at Wednesday's meeting, the borough said it will hire Hatch Mott MacDonald for $3,200 to design a replacement for the Eighth Street public pier.The borough will replace the bulkhead there and will raise the pier. Avalon anticipates the project will cost $46,000.

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press:BIanieri@pressofac.com

New Lifeguard Headquarters - Sea Isle

New lifeguard headquarters planned for Sea Isle City
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Updated: Wednesday, December 14, 2005SEA ISLE CITY-The city expects to build a $2 million lifeguard headquarters throughout the summer and open it by 2007.Sea Isle City will use temporary trailers next year as makeshift headquarters, Sea Isle City Mayor Leonard Desiderio said.The plans for the beachfront building, which will replace existing headquarters on 44th Street, include a three-port garage, meeting rooms, locker rooms, offices and public restrooms.Desiderio said the plans would go to the city's Planning Board early next year. The city must also receive state environmental permits.The city will demolish the headquarters, built in the 1960s, once it receives the approvals, Desiderio said.Desiderio said original plans called for a storage facility for the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol but were too expensive for just that purpose. The beach patrol needed a new facility to replace its aging building, he said.The new headquarters will be larger, will include public restrooms and offer a separate office for the beach patrol captain.Beach patrol Capt Renny Steele's desk is located near the entrance door of the building. As a result, he's being asked questions from the public about general information, such as beach tags, Desiderio said."He's more or less spending a lot of his time answering questions when he could be doing his other duties," he said.Steele could not be reached Tuesday.The public restrooms would be similar to a 40th Street facility Sea Isle City built in 1998-99 that includes stations for changing diapers, Desiderio said.Sea Isle City will borrow about $1.4 million for the project.While the city has intended to replace the headquarters, an October storm that brought the effects of Hurricane Wilma may have sealed the deal. The storm peeled off portions of the roof.The city will not repair the roof because the building will not be used again, Desiderio said.Desiderio said the temporary trailers would likely be located near the existing 44th Street facility or near JFK Boulevard, which serves as the main artery into the city. He said beach patrol officials are comfortable with the temporary arrangement."The bottom line is we're not going to jeopardize the safety of our visitors or our residents just to build this building," he said. "They're going to be as safe as they've ever been."

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press:BIanieri@pressofac.com

Sea Isle City Land Measure

Assembly OKs Sea Isle City land measure
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Updated: Tuesday, December 13, 2005For Brian Buckley, a state law would be the greatest Christmas present of all.Buckley and eight other homeowners at 47th Place in Sea Isle City are watching the Legislature carefully as lawmakers are moving a bill that gives them clear title to their properties.On Monday, the state Assembly unanimously passed bill A4483, which would resolve the 63-year-old land discrepancy that was only discovered recently.The bill also must pass the state Senate and be signed by acting Gov. Richard J. Codey.But legislators are faced with a lame-duck session. After Jan. 10, unfinished legislation must start from scratch, thus delaying the process for homeowners nervous about where their land ownership stands.On Dec. 1, 1st District lawmakers drafted bills in the Assembly and Senate. On Thursday, the bill passed through the Assembly's Environmental and Solid Waste Committee.A Senate vote could happen Thursday at the earliest, said Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic."It has to go this quickly if it is to go lame duck," Van Drew said. "This is about as quickly as a bill can move."The bill would allow Sea Isle City to trade two parcels of city-owned land to the state Department of Environmental Protection in exchange for 47th Place properties. The state has owned the properties since 1942, when the city deeded the land to the state for dredging. The state never returned the land, but the city sold it in 1966.In May, the state notified homeowners of this recently discovered discrepancy. During the past seven months, many homeowners have been shocked, optimistic, disappointed, then optimistic again.Last month, when a land-swap agreement appeared ready to clear the matter, the state Attorney General's Office said legislation was needed to authorize the deal."Things look good now, but we've been thinking that since May," said Buckley, who lives in Pennsylvania and owns the second floor of a duplex at 384 47th Place. "So we're just hoping it finally goes through."The bill has moved quickly so far, and Van Drew said there's a good chance it will pass by Jan. 10. But there are always intangibles."This is a big bureaucracy, and it's complex. There's always a possible roadblock," Van Drew said. "It's that old saying, it's not done till it's done."

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press:BIanieri@pressofac.com

Real Estate Boom

Buy, build, sell: The boom is on.
By RICHARD DEGENER - Staff Writer, (609) 463-6711
Published: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Updated: Tuesday, December 13, 2005STONE HARBOR - Dale Pritz comes to the shore for its sandy beaches, cool ocean breezes and a $1,000 per day. That isn't what Pritz pays for his shore vacation. That's what he gets every day his investment property sits here. "They're going up $1,000 a day. I did the math," Pritz said. Pritz, who owns a body shop in York, Pa., is one of many real estate investors flocking to the New Jersey shore to make some quick money. Eight months ago, Pritz bought a modest rancher on 87th Street for the not so modest price of $965,000. He demolished the rancher, for the value is in the land, and built a $390,000 mansion more befitting this island of upscale homes.He planned to sell in 2006 for a substantial profit. Pritz had not listed the house because there are tax advantages in keeping it for a year.His plans suddenly changed. "Somebody came along with a lot of money. He just walked up and said, 'Is this thing for sale?'" It may be the understatement of a new era along the shore. At times, it seems the entire shore is for sale. Pritz took the $1,875,000 offered and muttered all the way to the bank."I don't know where these New York people get all their money," he said. Even after paying capital gains, something he would have avoided by holding onto the property for a year, he made a huge profit. He's already invested in another house on 89th Street.The experts say the unprecedented shore building boom is fueled by outside money as real estate investors, retirees, and summer vacationers line up to get a piece of the shore. Pritz, 52, fits all these categories.He is an investor who since 1980 has bought and sold properties in Avalon and Stone Harbor. He's on his seventh house, each time making a profit and buying another property. But Pritz, who describes himself as "just a regular guy," is also a summer vacationer. At any given time he owns a house at the shore and can use it for visits. Some day, in the not-too-distant future, he will get out of the body-shop business and live here permanently. Until then, he might as well keep making money."I'm just a little guy. I'm just your standard schmuck that gets a mortgage and buys a house. I wait a year, and then buy something more expensive," Pritz said.Pritz started out small, buying a $76,000 property in Avalon 25 years ago. The adage of buying low and selling high hasn't been much of a challenge for Pritz in recent years. No matter what an investor pays, the value seems to increase. Even if he did not tear down the rancher and build the new house, he would have made money. He paid $965,000 and said he could have sold it unimproved a year later for about $1.3 million.Even with New Jersey's new "millionaires tax," which costs him $12,000 when he sells a house, and a recent tripling of the real estate transfer tax, Pritz said shore real estate "still beats the stock market." He turns the properties over in just a year, and this keeps interest payments on the loan to a minimum. He pays no capital gains so long as he holds the house for year, during which he can rent it, and then he uses the money to buy a more expensive property."You can do as many as you want as long as you buy for a higher price," Pritz said. He tears down modest bungalows and builds much larger houses because that's what the market wants. The new houses have wood floors and custom cabinets. Still, Pritz noted he lives full time at one of the best properties in York, and it isn't worth one-third the price of the houses being built here.It's all about location. It's all about proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. As long as the ocean is there, Pritz doesn't see the bubble bursting."Everybody says it's going to end, it's going to end. It could slow down. They can go flat, but they don't go down," Pritz said.Someday Pritz expects to retire here and in Key West, Fla., where he also invests in real estate and has seen it skyrocket in value. He will summer in Stone Harbor and winter in Key West."When I first bought in Key West, it was a fishing and drinking town. I bought my first house for $100,000. Cruise ships moved in, and now real estate is going through the roof," Pritz noted.When he is in Stone Harbor, he will see some people from back home. Many York residents have already retired here. Some build as an investment and a place to vacation. Philadelphia lawyer Mike McKeever owns the house next door to the one Pritz just sold. He vacations there with his wife and four children. McKeever recently built his $900,000 home as a vacation home and investment."My brother said, "You can't sit on the deck of a mutual fund,'" McKeever joked. The Future There are no amusement parks, seaside motels, mini-golf courses or pancake houses. It may not even matter, since there are few tourists to support such businesses or housing for the workers needed to operate them.In this picture of coastal Cape May County in the not-too-distant future, the landscape is more cluttered than ever. There is more construction, even though there are fewer people. It's urban sprawl with a twist. There is more housing but fewer people living in it. None of it is affordable to people of moderate means. In the winter, most homes are empty.In this new world, the shore is condominiums and second homes owned by rich retirees and investors who have driven up real estate prices that locals, working in a tourism economy, simply can't afford. Year-round residents have all but disappeared. There are no local schools because there are no children left.Farms no longer exist because the agricultural lands have been gobbled up for development. Condominiums rise along back bays that once were home to busy fishing docks.If this image of the county's future alarms you, consider this: It is already happening and will continue at a growing pace. That is the view of an expert who tracks such trends. Richard Perniciaro, Director of Atlantic Cape Community College's Center for Regional and Business Research, envisions a shore owned entirely by the wealthy. He questions whether the working classes will be able to afford a shore vacation much less a shore home."The middle class is being priced out of the shore," Perniciaro said. What's more, Perniciaro said the trend that began on the barrier islands is spreading rapidly to Cape May County's mainland towns. Perniciaro has some advice for young people born in the county who hope some day to live the American dream here with a suburban home, a yard, a white picket fence and a swimming pool."Move to Montana." Perniciaro said. The last big building boom at the shore came more than three decades ago when the federal government guaranteed flood insurance. This new boom began in the late 1990s as the stock market went soft at the same time mortgage rates dropped. Perniciaro said the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were also a factor since they convinced some to take money from the cities and invest it in safer areas.Perhaps the biggest factor is the sheer number of baby boomers, a group defined as those born between 1946 and 1964. They are getting richer and closer to retirement age. Many are buying shore homes as an investment, a place to retire, or both."Ten million baby boomers will retire a year once the 1948 kids start retiring. The peak are the 1957 and 1958 kids," Perniciaro said.This present generation of shore dwellers may not be the big loser. They are selling the family property at a huge profit. The real losers would be future generations who will be unable to afford to live here. There are some big winners. Perniciaro said the construction industry will add hundreds of jobs during the next decade. Last year, $310 million was spent on construction materials, and the first four months of 2005 saw another $146 million expended."The construction industry is 10 percent of the economy in Cape May County right now. It's huge. It's only 5 percent in Atlantic County," Perniciaro said.Cape May County Tax Administrator George R. Brown III sees the trend eventually pricing locals out of their homes, or at least preventing young couples from being able to buy their first house. He showed figures from shore towns that document rising real estate prices. In one study, homes in Ocean City were appreciating at a rate of 24 percent per year. This has happened for two consecutive years in Ocean City, Avalon, Stone Harbor and Sea Isle City. A trend that began in 1999 finally hit the Wildwoods in 2003 and is now starting to appear on the mainland."I'm already seeing 2 percent (per month) appreciation rates offshore. One concern is the pricing is outpacing our income. We have a service economy. We have a ton of people in the $60,000 to $70,000 salary range. They won't be able to buy here," Brown said.Ten percent of Cape May County is being bought and sold each year - 10,000 property transactions annually. Brown remembers a 1984 magazine article that said a shore home would never sell for more than $1 million. The average purchase price now in Ocean City is about $1 million. It's $1.2 million in Stone Harbor and Avalon.To buy a shorefront house requires $200,000 down and a mortgage of $4,800 per month. That doesn't include property taxes of at least $5,000 - for a second home, no less.Perniciaro said that in 10 years, as baby boomers age, the barrier islands will be retirement towns. As they build out, he sees the trend moving inland at a quicker pace."The demand is just crazy, and it's just the start. Baby boomers aren't even retiring yet. This is just starting," he noted.Perniciaro sees the tourism economy shrinking and the retail sector changing to different types of businesses, catering to the retirees who have replaced tourists. Expensive restaurants thrive while small businesses fail.Outside forces could slow or stop the trend, since it is linked to larger factors such as the stock market, and even current events such as the recent hurricanes in the Gulf and rising energy prices. If city officials want to slow the trend, Perniciaro said, they could do so through zoning. He suggests larger lot sizes, zoning against multi-family dwellings, and restricting new water lines. Some have even suggested having the government acquire large tracts of land just to build affordable housing for the people who grew up at the shore and can't afford to live here. It's all part of the new economy at the shore.

To e-mail Richard Degener at The Press: RDegener@pressofac.com

Hot Real Estate Market in Avalon

Builders cash in on hot market
By RICHARD DEGENER - Staff Writer, (609) 463-6711
Published: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Updated: Tuesday, December 13, 2005AVALON - Builder Bob Stocki arrived at the shore from Delaware five years ago, just as the boom was taking off. He was immediately busy. He would get much busier. And that's good for him and his work crew.The boom hit in 2000, and it's been going up ever since. It's out of control. I'm building four or five at a time," Stocki said.Business is so good, he doesn't have to advertise. People drive by a job site, see his sign and start offering him jobs. Most of the houses cost about $700,000, and that does not include the price of the lot.Stocki is amazed by how young some of the buyers are. Some are in their early 40s. He built a home for one man who is only 38. They have the money and want Stocki's unique brand of shore home, an older style similar to Nantucket's, with cedar shakes, huge porches, dormers, brick chimneys and no vinyl. Stocki built a $14,000 cypress wood picket fence at one Avalon house. He makes decks out of mahogany and tropical ipe wood."The theory is if they can afford to buy here, they can afford the maintenance. They don't want to see any vinyl," Stocki said.Stocki, 42, of Ocean City, gives a lot of credit to his architect, Mark Asher, for designing the old shore homes and attracting so much business."He has 35 start-ups right now," Stocki said. The problem is finding labor. Stocki keeps a work crew of five to eight men busy. The building boom is a windfall for tradesmen."Labor is very hard to find. Anybody who's worth something is working," Stocki said. It's also a windfall for suppliers of lighting fixtures, decking, bathroom faucets, lumber and many other products. Ron Frame, a Middle Township builder working in Stone Harbor, said his lumber salesman is doing $1 million in business per month.Stocki left Wilmington five years ago to come to a place where he used to vacation. It's no vacation now, just work, and there's plenty of it.

To e-mail Richard Degener at The Press: RDegener@pressofac.com

Stone Harbor Property Values

Baby boomers pushing values higher
By RICHARD DEGENER - Staff Writer, (609) 463-6711
Published: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Updated: Tuesday, December 13, 2005STONE HARBOR - Ken Lawrence is 57, and after working years as a utility company executive, he wants to enjoy the fruits of his labor.The Bryn Mawr, Pa., resident drives an expensive car and he has a place to vacation on the New Jersey shore. Lawrence describes himself as a baby boomer, and with the birth year of 1947, he's on the edge of a retirement wave expected to boost the shore real estate market."I'll tell you, we've been working hard our whole lives and it's time to enjoy it. Millions of baby boomers are finally spending all the money they've earned their whole lives," Lawrence said.The retiree owns a house in Avalon and is so bullish on shore real estate, he is building another one in Stone Harbor. He has a place to vacation with wife, Molly, and son Brendan, 15. His older children, Justin, 31, and Melissa, 28, can also have a shore vacation. Like many retirees, Lawrence wanted to invest his money in something solid. He noted that when the national housing market goes down, the values in Stone Harbor and Avalon simply stay flat."In the last 10 to 15 years, the value has increased about 10 percent a year here. You can't do much better with your money," Lawrence said.He can also make money renting out his houses. Lawrence is not worried that his homes will turn into a bad investment, partly because of the large number of baby boomers yet to retire, and also because they aren't making any more shore real estate."What's here is here. There's a limited supply. Basic economics tells you when demand outstrips supply, the market will be good," Lawrence said.

To e-mail Richard Degener at The Press: RDegener@pressofac.com

Avalon and Stone Harbor Beach Tags

Avalon, Stone Harbor to increase seasonal beach-tag fees
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Updated: Tuesday, December 13, 2005The price of sun, sand and someone watching your back will become a bit more expensive in Stone Harbor and Avalon.The two municipalities are raising seasonal beach-tag prices to compensate for costs of lifeguards, beach maintenance and other expenses.Stone Harbor expects to raise an additional $50,000 from the increase, Borough Administrator Kenneth Hawk said.Preseason and in-season prices will each increase by $2.This year in Stone Harbor, the sale of beach tags raised $529,000, about $13,000 less than last year, said Chief Financial Officer James Nicola. But running the beach cost $560,000."It's the wages for the lifeguards. It's the cost of running the tractor that rakes the beaches. The cost of gasoline," Hawk said. "We haven't done a change in a few years. We'll make this change, and we probably won't have another change for a few years."Prices for daily and weekly tags will not increase.Stone Harbor and Avalon sell their own tags. But the tags can be used at both beaches, and both municipalities try to keep the costs the same.Preseason tags, those sold before June 1, will cost $17, Hawk said. After that, tags will cost $22.In Avalon, beach tags recover about three-quarters of the operating costs, Avalon Business Administrator Andrew Bednarek said.This year in Avalon, beach tags brought in $796,000. Bednarek said beach-tag fees were last raised in 2002, when seasonal tags were increased by $3.Avalon expects the new increased fees to raise an additional $75,000, Bednarek said.Normal expenses, coupled with a planned $3 million beach-fill project in Avalon next year, make the sand business an expensive one.Stone Harbor Borough Councilman Barry Mastrangelo, who serves on the borough's Beach and Recreation Committee, said the borough would not increase beach-tag costs more than necessary."It's really not a profit center. You're looking to offset the expenses of maintaining the beaches," he said.

To e-mail Brian Ianieri at The Press:BIanieri@pressofac.com