SOMERS POINT — City planner Jim Rutala outlined the process of re-examining the city’s Master Plan, a guide to the future that is required every 10 years for a municipality to maintain its zoning control, during a packed Planning Board meeting Aug. 22.
He said the Master Plan is like a roadmap for the next decade, guiding capital and economic development with input from all community stakeholders.
“Nothing really happens without consensus. Building consensus is important,” Rutala said, noting the room was filled with people from city government, the business community, schools, volunteers — “people who are in it for the long term.”
One of the major goals of a Master Plan is to prioritize future projects to strengthen support for grant funding, which is key to all aspects of running a city.
Rutala said the process provides a foundation for funding projects in resiliency, stormwater infrastructure, elevating structures, home improvement, coastal protection, road improvement and more.
He also noted the local economy has changed, with a trend toward a more seasonal population that is wealthier. While that may sound positive, insomuch that fewer people use city services year-round, it poses problems for businesses looking for workers and schools, whose funding is based partially on enrollment.
Rutala said Atlantic County has lost 24,000 jobs since 2006, including a 67 percent decline in accommodations and food service positions partially due to three casinos closing. He said the regional economy has not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coastal
regulations
An important area in need of grant funding is resiliency efforts. Rutala said the Federal Emergency Management Agency is set to release new maps next year that will put nearly 1,000 city homes in a flood zone.
He said new coastal regulations will require flood insurance on homes where it was not previously needed and dictate where and what can be built. With the sea level rising, the flood zones are likely to grow without significant preventive measures.
A breakdown of the homes includes 218 properties, all west of Route 9, and 81 properties on Bay Avenue may be added to the A zone. Nine properties on Broadway, 14 on Bay Avenue and three along Patcong Creek and Somers Point-Mays Landing Road may be added to the V zone.
“Some homes will need to elevate to take advantage of lower flood insurance rates,” Rutala said, noting the new flood maps will take effect in 2027.
The city joined the Community Rating System in 2015. The program provides a discount on flood insurance depending on the municipality’s resiliency rating.
New homes built in the flood zones would have to be elevated by 6 feet, and construction would require state permits, engineering assessments and alternative analyses.
Rutala said he and others believe the FEMA regulations are based on faulty projections of sea level rise by 2100. He further argued that even if they were correct, there should be a more gradual approach rather than adopting something now that is expected 75 years later.
Economic
opportunities
“Your retail market is huge and the area is growing in wealth,” Rutala said, noting Somers Point is a shopping mecca for southern Atlantic County and northern Cape May County.
Somers Point is uniquely located to take advantage of the population trend that is bringing wealthier people to the city and neighboring barrier island towns that have fewer and fewer commercial services, he said.
Rutala used data from the U.S. Census Bureau to detail the demographic shift under way in the city, where the year-round population dropped from 10,853 in 2012 to 10,482 in 2022, a loss of 3.4 percent.
The change is even starker in Longport (down 20.7 percent) and Margate (down 17.5 percent), two communities whose residents are likely to shop and dine in Somers Point. While those drops are extreme, the loss was 4.3 percent countywide, amounting to more than 2,000 people in a decade.
Conversely, the seasonal population soars in nearby towns, with a much smaller impact in Somers Point that was driven by its second-home marketing campaign. Seasonal housing now makes up 13 percent of the city’s 5,700 housing units. The city’s businesses benefit from the influx of people and needs to be in a position to continue to do so, Rutala said.
At the same time, the city’s median household income increased by 37.6 percent while that of its neighbors grew at an even greater rate. Ocean City realized an incredible 74.6 percent growth from 2012 to 2022, Margate 69.6 percent, Linwood 54.3 percent, Longport 42.3 percent and Upper Township 39.4 percent.
That’s partly due to more people moving to those areas to work from home following the pandemic, whose full impact is not reflected in the numbers.
Regional real estate values have also risen along with income, and Somers Point has been among the top beneficiaries. From 2014 to 2023, the city’s ratable base grew from $1.188 billion to $1.471 billion, an increase of 23.8 percent. Margate realized an incredible 63.7 percent increase, from $3.526 billion to $5.771 billion and Longport 37.4 percent.
“This location is wanted by many folks,” he said.
Rutala said economic development must include incentives such as zoning code revisions, plans for upgrades to Route 9 and Bay Avenue, transportation enhancements, tax abatements, historic preservation funding and an expanded events schedule.
Transportation
changes
Rutala said the city must prepare for and leverage the state’s large transportation projects, noting the $600 million Route 52 causeway was the most expensive project in state history.
He said New Jersey Highway Authority is undertaking a $1.1 billion expansion of the Garden State Parkway to three lanes in each direction in the near future, something that affects the city particularly due to its one exit from the GSP and two entrances.
He also noted a bridge to connect Somers Point to the multi-use path on the $130 million parkway bridge is in the works for 2029.
Locally, Rutala said, safety improvements on Shore Road are set for 2025 and reconstruction of Route 9 from Chapman Boulevard to Ocean Heights Avenue is set for 2027.
Recreational
amenities
The city should take advantage of its Bay Avenue district where it offers a transient marina and there is potential for other marinas, as well as dining, lodging, shopping and recreational uses.
Funding needs to be sought for dredging and resiliency efforts.
Somers Point also is very walkable and bike-able, Rutala said, noting the city should take advantage of opportunities created by the Route 52 and future parkway multi-use paths.
One suggestion is to enhance the walking and biking paths on Route 9, Shore Road and Bay Avenue by providing sidewalks and curbs and synchronizing traffic signals of the three thoroughfares.
Somers Point also has John F. Kennedy Memorial Park overlooking Great Egg Harbor Bay, William Morrow Beach, a fishing pier, boat ramps, baseball, basketball, football, soccer and other sports facilities.
Rutala said the city also has opportunities for ecotourism, suggesting pedestrian/bicycle access to Drag Island for bird-watching.
Future meetings
The Planning Board has set a tentative schedule for public meetings regarding the 2024 Master Plan. The next meeting is planned for November, while a draft plan is being developed. A second public meeting would be held in January 2025, followed by preparation of the plan from January through March 2025, when the final meeting and public adoption would be held.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
