No Pool

Avalon denies pool for mansion in the dunes
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer, (609) 463-6713
Published: Wednesday, September 27, 2006

AVALON — The borough has denied an outdoor swimming pool for a mansion under construction on Dune Drive, but that may not be the last word from the owner, whose lawyer says he has already obtained the necessary permits.
The denial opens another chapter in the controversy surrounding construction of a 15,000-square-foot home for the president of Utz Quality Foods Inc. in Hanover, Pa.

In a letter issued last week, Avalon's zoning office said the planned swimming pool in the high dunes was not allowable.

Avalon officials said the borough has a 12-year-old agreement with the state as part of an effort to receive state funding for beach-replenishment projects. A provision of that agreement forbids construction of swimming pools in the dunes, officials said.

“It's a complicated situation, and we're damned if we do and damned if we don't, like we have been continually,” said Neil Hensel, chairman of Avalon's zoning and planning boards.

Richard Hluchan, an attorney representing the property owner, Michael Rice, said pools are a permitted use under Avalon's zoning ordinance.
Rice received all the necessary approvals for the project and the house has been under construction since the spring, Hluchan said.

“He intends to continue construction until completion,” Hluchan said Tuesday. “His rights are vested. I know there's a lot of noise in the community about this project, but there's really nothing they can do about it because all the approvals are in place. We intend to preserve Mr. Rice's rights.”

Hluchan said he recently wrote to Avalon zoning officials and asked them to reconsider.

The high dunes run alongside Dune Drive for several miles. Unlike most of Avalon, which has been heavily developed, the high dunes are heavily wooded with trees and vegetation that look like they belong somewhere other than on a beach block.

The issue of development on the high dunes has been stirring since a local activist group — Save Avalon's Dunes — began mailing out fliers protesting construction of the house earlier this year.

Avalon officials opposed construction of the mansion, which will be the largest in the borough, since 1999, when the local Environmental Commission objected to the project's size and potential effect on dunes, plants and wildlife.

The state Department of Environmental Protection initially rejected the property owner's plan. But Rice took the matter to court, where it was mediated. Rice and the DEP negotiated a settlement in which the house would be smaller than originally sought, officials said.

But Avalon officials said they knew nothing of these negotiations until several years ago.

Last month, Mayor Martin Pagliughi said the borough planned to fight the installation of swimming pools in the high dunes.