Crowley says no developer will get PILOT pact
OCEAN CITY — After taking a few extra weeks to consider it, Ocean City Council unanimously approved hiring its own planner for her expertise and recommendations before council makes any decisions about what can replace the former Wonderland Pier amusement park property.
At their last meeting, councilmen tabled a vote on a personal services contract for professional planner Jennifer P. Heller, PP, AICP, of Polistina & Associates, whose focus would be 600 Boardwalk.
The property has been mired in controversy since the longtime amusement park closed in mid-October 2024 and owner Eustace Mita, a developer and hotelier, proposed spending $170 million to put a 252-room, eight-story hotel on the site, something not allowed under zoning.
The property has been the topic at multiple meetings with extensive citizen comment from those opposing and supporting the hotel project. Mita’s plans are on hold since the city’s Planning Board voted in January not to recommend to City Council designating the site an area in need of rehabilitation. Mita wants that designation to let him move forward.
City Council had hired John A. Ridgway of Ridgway Legal in Linwood early this year as special legal counsel, at $200 an hour, for all matters involving the development of the property at 600 Boardwalk. Ridgway recommended hiring Heller.
At the last council meeting in February, several members voiced their concern about hiring Heller. Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow asked for the contract to be pulled from the consent agenda because there were too many unanswered questions about the timing, the planner’s role and scope of work. After discussion, council tabled the contract.
At the Thursday, March 12 council meeting, Winslow said he had done his due diligence in the meantime and explained at length why he now believed it was prudent to hire Heller. His fellow council members followed suit.
Winslow heads the Boardwalk Subcommittee studying the zoning all along the boardwalk, including the Wonderland property. After months of work that began in the fall, the subcommittee is scheduled to give its recommendations on zoning and the Master Plan to council in early May.
In prepared remarks he read to council, Winslow said there are only four or five professional planners in the area, including Randall Scheule, dedicated to the city’s Planning Board, and Tiffany Morrissey, who is working for Mita.
It made sense, therefore, for City Council to have its own planner who would provide direction and guidance on any plans presented to council for the property.
Winslow made a point the planner would not make any recommendations about considering a rehabilitation designation or redevelopment of the site, and her contract would be capped at $15,000 and pay at $175 an hour. The rehab designation has been a key point of contention among critics of the hotel project, believing it would take power away from city officials in deciding what goes on the property.
Winslow said the timeline for Heller and for the Boardwalk Subcommittee, working two independent processes, would coincide.
The councilman was particularly concerned that if council did not conduct its own due diligence and relied on others to make decisions, it would not be procedurally compliant in assessing all options for 600 Boardwalk.
That is why council should engage its own planner to lay out considerations before council made a decision, he said.
The planner has to look at “a multitude of factors” in assessing the options at the property, including Master Plan consistency, the surrounding properties and CAFRA and NJDEP considerations.
He said Heller is “battle-tested” because she worked for a decade with other municipalities and now works in the private sector, so she understands the dynamics of both.
He sought to allay concerns about the no-bid contract, saying state law allows it for professional service contracts when many intangibles cannot be put in bid specifications.
Winslow said he was confident Heller can guide City Council through the process and the city will be well-served.
“We all want 600 Boardwalk to be transformed into something awesome,” he said.
His fellow council members agreed. Sean Barnes said one of the main reservations had been the scope of work, but now everyone was satisfied with it.
Crowley vows no
PILOT for
600 Boardwalk
Council President Terry Crowley Jr. said council was moving forward in the spirit of hiring the best people possible and having them report to council.
“On 600 Boardwalk, I think it’s important to address how seriously we take your tax dollars and spend in the most wise ways,” he said.
Turning to ongoing chatter on social media platforms, Crowley said he was speaking on behalf of the other council members that there will not be any type of PILOT situation at 600 Boardwalk.
PILOT is an acronym for Payment In Lieu of Taxes. Municipalities sometimes offer that as an incentive for developers of projects, but that won’t be happening in Ocean City, Crowley said. Among the claims circulating on social media is that the city would have that, a move that would provide tax payments to the city but unlike property taxes would not benefit the school district.
“Whoever is developer, there is not going to be any type of PILOT situation offered to anyone. They will pay their fair share, like everyone on the island, no matter who the developer turns out to be,” Crowley said.
“If other developers are looking at it, that option is officially off the table,” he added. “I hope that puts to bed misinformation that is bandied about in the community.”
Crowley also made it clear that any report the planner makes would be available for public scrutiny.
The vote for the contract was 6-0. Council Vice President Pete Madden was absent.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff