Gazebo

Sea Isle zoners refuse to convene
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Saturday, May 6, 2006
Updated: Saturday, May 6, 2006

SEA ISLE CITY — The Zoning Board is refusing to meet again until the City Commission promises to defend its members in court regarding board decisions, including one concerning a gazebo.

Zoning Board members signed a letter in response to a lawsuit against the Zoning Board, its solicitor Ellen Nicholson Byrne and board member Patricia Urbaczewski.

The board's letter to the city commissioners states it believes the city will not provide legal representation to Urbaczewski or Byrne relating to their duties on the Zoning Board.

It all started with Louise Clemente's handmade gazebo, which features images of city mascot Sara the Turtle, St. Joseph's Church and a fisherman, among others, etched on panes of glass.

But the gazebo is 4 feet higher than city regulations allow. Clemente sought a height variance in 2003, several years after its construction.

The gazebo, which became an attraction in Clemente's back yard, turned into much more.

Urbaczewski lives adjacent to Clemente and filed the initial complaint.

In turn, Clemente sued the zoning board and the memembers alleging she did not receive a fair and impartial hearing on the variance request.

Now, more than three years later, the Zoning Board said it will suspend all further board activities and functions.

“We feel strongly, however, that we cannot continue to place our lives and property, and those of our families, on the line for Sea Isle City, if Sea Isle will not come to our defense when a frivolous lawsuit such as this is aimed at our board,” according to the letter.

The Zoning Board holds monthly meetings.

Solicitor Paul Baldini, who represents the city, said the Zoning Board's stance in the letter is based on a misunderstanding.

“The answer is the same for both, which is, we are defending them, and if they are saying we are not, it's simply factually not correct,” Baldini said.

Baldini said the city is negotiating a settlement and has not entered any formal pleadings in the case, which was filed in January. Other than negotiations, not much has happened since then, he said.

The city has insurance to cover these very instances, he said.

“I think the real issue is a communication issue between the city and the board. The city has always enjoyed a good relationship with the board,” Baldini said.

A settlement conference among the sides is scheduled for May 16, he said.

Byrne, is not representing the zoning for this case, said she immediately wrote the city a letter after being named in the suit and inquired about her legal defense as well as that of the board member and the board.

“We asked pretty clearly. I don't think this was a misunderstanding on my part,” she said.

Byrne said she wrote two letters and received no written response.

Byrne said she and Urbaczewski have hired their own lawyers to represent them.

The result, Byrne said, is she could potentially seek restitution from the city for legal expenses.

“You have board members who are small business owners who are now saying, ‘that could be me.' They are really good to the people and they're just hoping for an answer,” she said.

Urbaczewski could not be reached Friday.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, says that Byrne took an adversarial position to the application when it appeared before the Zoning Board in 2003. The plaintiffs appealed later that year, alleging that Byrne “overstepped her authority by participating more as an advocate against the applicant than as an objective professional advising the board,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also alleges a conflict of interest between Byrne and Urbaczewski, stating that Byrne represented Urbaczewski in a matter before the Middle Township Planning Board.

The lawsuit seeks the sought-after height variance, as well as punitive and compensatory damages and legal fees.

Clemente has fought the denial through legal means and by a short-lived hunger strike.

The case of the tall gazebo has spent hours before the Zoning Board, a state judge and now a federal court.

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