VENTNOR – As rumors fly across Facebook news feeds, Ventnor commissioners Thursday, Sept. 13 squashed rumors that a needle exchange program would open at the former Wawa store on Dorset Avenue.
According to Commissioner Lance Landgraf, needle exchange locations are not an approved use in any Ventnor zoning district and can only open with the blessing of the NJ Department of Community Affairs.
“That is a non-happening event. A rumor. I implore you to stop listening to rumors on the Community Forum,” Landgraf told a group of residents who attended the commissioners meeting to voice opposition for any such proposal. “That is not the city’s official page, for anything.”
“There is no way we would accept a needle exchange in the City of Ventnor,” Landgraf said, receiving a round of applause from more than 20 concerned citizens.
Landgraf said DCA officials assured him in an email that there is no way the Wawa would ever become a needle exchange site, “unless the city wants one.”
The city has full control over establishing a needle exchange, the email stated.
The city could pass an ordinance to approve one, or the commission could mandate it, but that’s not happening, Commissioner Tim Kriebel said.
“Neither is being contemplated in our wildest dreams,” Kriebel said. “It’s just a rumor that grew legs.”
No one has contacted Zoning Officer Jimmy Agnesino to inquire about use of the site, Landgraf said. The site is located in a commercial district and would need a use variance for anything other than existing approved uses.
Landgraf is the commission’s representative on the Planning/Zoning Board but is not eligible to vote on use variances according to New Jersey’s land use regulations.
“I can guarantee you, as long as I am up here, it will not happen,” Landgraf said.
Calvert Avenue resident and builder Gary Tavella said Dorset Avenue is a gateway to the city and should represent the city in its best light, especially because the city is starting to rebound.
“It’s a rumor but it gets people upset,” especially if they are trying to sell their houses, Tavella said.
Police Chief Douglas Biagi said when the rumor first appeared on the Ventnor Community Forum months ago, he answered question. He advised residents to call the city to ascertain if the rumors they are hearing about have substance.
As is his custom, Biagi elicited laughter with his straight-talking response.
“This was answered months ago, then someone decides to stir it up again. It’s like pass it down the lane, you can never track it back to the original moron, there I said moron, who started this. There’s no facts. It’s not going to be a marijuana dispensary, its not going to be a petting zoo and we are not going to put great adventure there, no water rides. It’s just ridiculous,” Biagi said.
“The main thing is we can rest easy,” Tavella said.
Wawa closed the store on Sept. 28, 2017 but still owns the building.
Wawa call center analyst Timothy J. Lemoine in November said closing the store was made after a careful and extensive evaluation that determined the store “could not deliver the experience customers deserve.”
The site previously housed Dorset Market, which faced Dorset Avenue, and before that, it was a gas station.
