Neighbors prepare objections to big new project they say goes against new zoning regulations
By BILL BARLOW /Special to the Sentinel
STRATHMERE – As opposition builds for a proposed large-scale new hotel at 513 Commonwealth Ave., the application has been delayed for a month.
Originally slated for the Sept. 10 meeting of the Upper Township Zoning Board, the application is now expected to be heard in October. According to several sources, the board was expected to see more than one member absent at the September meeting and the applicant wanted to be heard by the full board.
The proposed new building is called “The Inn at Strathmere,” to include a shared roof deck in one section.
The application will require several variances, including for the height and size of the proposed building and a use variance, which put the application in front of the Zoning Board, the municipal body with the authority to grant use variances.
The existing building, known as the Strathmere Motel, has been in operation for decades, although this summer the owner opened it only to family and friends. Built in 1923, the building has been used as a motel since 1959. In an application filed with the township Zoning Board, the owner describes the current building as outdated.
“There is no location in Strathmere where a hotel is a permitted use, and this location is well-suited for the use,” reads the application on behalf of owner Stephen Maloney, who bought the property in 2011. “A hotel is an entirely appropriate and beneficial use in a shore resort, the subject lot size is able to accommodate that use, and the size and design of the hotel is consistent with comparable uses in comparable zones.”
Many neighbors strenuously disagree.
“We have not heard from anyone in town who is not opposed to this,” said Linda Bateman, president of the Strathmere Improvement Association. That includes more than 500 people the organization has emailed about the proposal, as well as about 1,800 who are part of a social media group. “We are very confident that the majority of people want the new ordinance upheld.”
This year, Upper Township approved new zoning limits for Strathmere, aimed at limiting development. The ordinance was developed and recommended by a subcommittee of the township Planning Board. Final approval was delayed for about year after some Strathmere property owners objected, fearing it could impact the value of those properties.
Township Committee approved a new version in the spring, in a vote that was delayed by the pandemic. Township officials said the concerns raised by property owners were incorporated in the new version.
Planning Board member Ted Kingston was on the subcommittee that worked on the changes. After the plans for the new hotel in Strathmere became public, he took the extraordinary step of writing a lengthy open letter to the Zoning Board, suggesting that it undermines the zoning in Strathmere with multiple variances.
“Every single variance that comes before the zoning board gets approved,” he wrote. “The result, where there was a small group of tiny one-room cottages, now there are two massive duplexes. Where there was a restaurant, there is now going to be a duplex. For a town zoned as single-family housing, there are more and more and more duplexes. It’s just not right.”
Opponents of the plan spoke at a recent Township Committee meeting, but were told that it would not be appropriate for the municipal governing body to take any position on an application before the Zoning Board, which is an independent body under state law.
Bateman believes that if approved and built, the new hotel will fundamentally change the nature of Strathmere. She lives within 200 feet of the property, which is the area in which applicants are required to notify neighbors when seeking a variance. In a recent interview, she sought to separate her personal views about the project from her position with the Strathmere Improvement Association.
“Overall, people are just heartsick to think that this is a possibility,” she said. “We’re going to do everything in our power to push back.”
She feels confident that the Zoning Board will decline the needed variance, even though the property has already operated as a motel.
“If we are to remain as a residential community, then we can’t have this project,” she said. “The sheer size of this is staggering.”
As proposed, the new building would include the parking lot to the north of the current building and incorporate parking underneath. It would have 15 units, one fewer than the current building, with those larger than what exists, to include small kitchens.
In the application, proponents of the project say it is not just “a large box with windows,” but is instead designed to resemble a series of buildings. It would not block anyone’s view of the beach, the application states.
Most of the building is just over 40 feet tall as proposed, with the first level above flood plain elevation. The highest point is 43 feet and 6 inches to accommodate the elevator.
One neighbor has hired an attorney to oppose the application. Contacted this week, however, she declined to comment for this story.
“A hotel is an entirely appropriate and beneficial use in a shore resort, the subject lot is able to accommodate that use, and the size and design of the hotel is consistent with comparable uses in comparable zones,” reads the application.
“If these variances are approved, Strathmere as we know it will be gone. The commercial zone from the blinker light to the trailer park will turn into four-story condos. Every single house built in the residential areas will be a duplex. There is no evidence to think otherwise,” reads Kingston’s letter.
The meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8. It is expected to be held remotely as have most township meetings since the onset of the pandemic.