OCEAN CITY – Local group Save Wonderland said its petition opposing Eustace Mita’s proposed 252-room, eight-story hotel at the former Wonderland Pier has garnered more than 5,000 signatures.
The group made the announcement Monday afternoon in response to plans by Ocean City Council to vote this week on a measure toward designating the Sixth and Boardwalk site of the former amusement park as “an area in need of rehabilitation.” The resolution on council’s agenda is to refer the issue to the Planning Board for its recommendation on the property. If council approves the resolution and the Planning Board recommends the designation, it would help open the door for Mita’s project, which currently isn’t allowed under zoning regulations.
Any redevelopment plan would still have to go before the Planning Board for approval.
Save Wonderland (savewonderland.org) is opposing zoning changes.
Save Wonderland asserts its petition reflects the “overwhelming opinion” of the majority of the resort’s residents and vacationers. Save Wonderland is among a number of groups, including Friends of OCNJ History & Culture and Ocean City 2050, that formed in response to the closure of the amusement park last year. (See related stories on page A1.)
In a press release, Save Wonderland cited inadequate parking for Mita’s plan, which would have parking beneath the hotel and retail complex, and that approving it would set a precedent for more high-rise properties that would displace popular attractions on the boardwalk.
The group also cited the shadow that would fall over neighboring residential areas should the hotel be built.
Helen Struckman, spokesperson for Save Wonderland, criticized Mita’s proposal.
“Mr. Mita says his hotel will lift the boardwalk like a rising tide. But the truth is tides can also turn into destructive tsunamis — and this one would wash away the very things that make Ocean City special,” she said in the release. “A luxury high-rise is where people go to shut the public out. A commons is where the public comes together to meet. That’s the choice before Ocean City.”
The group is urging residents and visitors to sign its petition at change.org/p/save-ocean-city-s-boardwalk and stand against a development it says would change Ocean City forever.
The group will present its petition and concerns to City Council at the Aug. 21 meeting.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Council Chambers on the third floor of City Hall.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff