Editor’s note: The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a Notice of Intent on Monday to advance Ørsted’s 1,100-MW wind project 15 miles off the coast of New Jersey. See story here.
By BILL BARLOW /Special to the Sentinel
OCEAN CITY — City Council heard from cannabis activists as well those for and against a planned wind farm off the southern New Jersey coast at the most recent meeting, held March 25 at the Ocean City Music Pier to allow for sufficient distance between participants to meet pandemic safety guidelines.
Several speakers called on City Council to make allowances for medical marijuana if it moves forward with banning cannabis-related businesses in all zones. On March 11, council unanimously introduced an ordinance to do so, with plans for a public hearing and final vote.
Some advocates who spoke at the introduction were back in front of council on March 25. Others at the meeting addressed the proposed Ocean Wind project, which plans for up to 99 853-foot-tall wind turbines to be built about 15 miles off the coast of Cape May and Atlantic counties.
They will be visible from the beach, with the top of the turbine reaching hundreds of feet into the air.
Plans are for construction to begin in 2023, with power generation to start in 2024, according to projection from the Danish energy giant Ørsted. When complete, it will be the largest offshore wind farm in the country but there are plans for additional projects throughout the coast of New Jersey and much of the Eastern seaboard.
Proponents of the project say it will bring good jobs to the region and generate renewable energy for the coming decades, bringing in enough energy to power a half-million homes. Members of City Council have questioned the potential impact on tourism and fishing, as well as the expected increased cost to ratepayers.
One speaker asked council to address the project.
“I haven’t talked to one person yet that’s in favor of them that’s not in that industry. There’s a great concern about how it will affect the ecology, how it will effect the economy and quite frankly the aesthetic, pleasing look of Ocean City,” he said.
Another speaker said the wind turbines could be seen for 20 miles. He suggested the city launch a survey of residents, second homeowners and visitors to get a sense of local feelings about the proposed project.
Resident Karen Barlow said she was in the hospitality industry, not in wind power, and spoke about the need for new sources of energy. Responding to some of the most common complaints about the proposal, she said most migrating birds fly both closer to the land than the wind farm and higher than the turbines. Also, she said, there may be an increase of fish because the bases will act as artificial reefs. She described windmills as aesthetically pleasing.
“An offshore wind farm may not be perfect, but we will need a full arsenal of alternative energy tools to continue through the next century,” she said. Barlow also cited the city’s investments in flood control measures, describing it as addressing the symptoms of sea level rise instead of the cure.
Later in the meeting, Councilman Michael DeVlieger, one of the most consistent critics of the wind farm proposal, indicated he was not convinced.
“There are a tremendous amount of unknowns in the Atlantic coastal region here. We have some unique characteristics that have not been studied and should be studied before we’re locked into 25 years of skyscrapers off our coast,” he said. “There’s a lot of question marks and I think we’d better slow this roll.”
He suggested the wind turbines could have a devastating impact on the community.
“If they want to roll the dice – if they want to make another community the trial area, the guinea pig if you will – the folks up in north Jersey primarily drove this. They can roll the dice up there. Keep Cape May County clean and healthy.”
Also as part of the public comment portion of the meeting, advocates for medical marijuana patients called on the city to ease planned restrictions.
Edward Grimes, an activist with the organization Sativa Cross, addressed the meeting while wearing a shirt that read “don’t shoot, I’m running away” on the back in large block letters. He described the ordinance as banning medicine for sick and dying people in Ocean City.
“God put medicine here for a reason. It helps many things. It helped me get off those opiates that you sell in your pharmacies here,” he said.
The city ordinance, if approved, would keep dispensaries and other commercial operations out of the city, but would not prevent people from bringing cannabis in or getting it delivered.
Under the package of laws approving New Jersey’s marijuana market for those over 21, home delivery cannot be prevented through municipal zoning laws. Last year, the state approved home delivery for all cannabis patients and caregivers registered with the state’s medical marijuana program, which includes more than 78,000 patients.
Another speaker at the meeting said she uses cannabis for chronic pain management. She said she sought to avoid opioids and other powerful prescription pain medication.
“I think we can all agree that those substances are really ravaging the human body. I’m working with my illness as much as I can. I didn’t do anything to ask for it,” she said.
Hugh Giordano, a representative of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, told council that cannabis provides good paying union jobs. He also addressed council at the introduction.
Councilman Jody Levchuck expressed sympathy for the request that medical cannabis be exempted from potential limits.
“I think we’re doing a lot of things very much right that has to do with the marijuana ordinance here in Ocean City. I’m a very compassionate person, particularly for those who suffer from substance abuse or are disabled or are living through any type of medical situation. Those folks have found medicinal marijuana to be a great help to them,” he said. He suggested looking for a way to ensure patients have access. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating marijuana stores in Ocean City but I don’t want to find that we’ve made a mistake limiting patients from being able to have access to their medication.”
“Everyone on this island that wants to drink finds a way to purchase it before they get here,” responded Councilman Keith Hartzell.
DeVlieger also addressed the matter, stating that someone on vacation in Ocean City for a week will probably not need to purchase more cannabis.
“In very close proximity to Ocean City, I’m very confident, there are going to be more and more facilities that are going to fulfill that need,” he said.
He said he knows “quiet a few people” who use marijuana for medical purposes, and that with a legal limit of six ounces, most short-term visitors will be able to bring plenty. That may not be enough for a whole summer, he allowed.
“I’ll make the run for them. I’m fine with that,” DeVleiger said.
Levchuck said there is a lot more to discuss on the topic.
Levchuck also called for action to improve a county project on Bay Avenue at 14th Street, where he said the conditions have been unacceptable for too long.
“I’m out of explanations to give, other than ‘it’s being worked on,’” he said.
Disclosure notice: Ocean City resident Karen Barlow is the wife of reporter Bill Barlow, who wrote this story for The Sentinel.
With respect to this thorough and refreshingly balanced piece, why was it relevant to describe the design on Mr. Grimes’s shirt? Does it bear relevance to his comments before the Council?