Margate solicitor John Scott Abbott, shows commissioners an old overhead photo of the bayfront before Amherst Avenue was created.
MARGATE – City commissioners listened intently Thursday, Jan. 3 as Amherst Avenue residents spoke during a public hearing against an ordinance that would transfer ownership of seven parking spaces along the bayfront to a private developer in exchange for replacing the deteriorated city-owned bulkhead.
The attorney for the Harbor Vista Homeowners Association, Robert S. Baranowski Jr. of Hyland Levin, LLP of Marlton, who filed a lawsuit on behalf of the association to stop the transfer, told commissioners the ordinance is “deficient.”
Barbary Coast Marina owner Jim Leeds plans to build new bayfront offices and two residential units at the old Integrity Marine site. The city agreed to convey the seven parking spaces in exchange for replacing and maintaining 175 feet of deteriorated city-owned bulkhead. Leeds has already replaced the bulkhead at a cost of $443,681.70, which the city contends meets or exceeds the fair market value of the land.
In his filing, Baranowski stated that the city failed to demonstrate that the parking spaces are no longer needed for public use. He said the city was simply “bartering away its obligation” to replace the bulkhead to the benefit a private developer and to the detriment of the public. The legal suit also states the city failed to properly determine fair market value of the land.
The re-authorization of Ordinance 21-2018 approved on Sept. 6, 2018 addresses terms and conditions filed in the complaint regarding the transfer of the 25- by 75-foot strip of land and requires the deed be held in escrow until the legal suit is resolved.
At first reading of the ordinance on Dec. 6, conflict attorney Dorothy F. McCrosson of McCrosson & Stanton, PC of Ocean City said revisions to the original ordinance would “narrow the issues in that litigation and make it a simpler case.”
McCrosson was hired to replace solicitor John Scott Abbott to eliminate a conflict of interest charge brought by the litigants.
“You should be establishing the sale price of the property by way of putting it out to bid, not by way of negotiating fair market value,” Baronowski said. “The existing property as is prior to your proposed subdivision is contiguous to more than one owner. It is only after your proposed subdivision that the piece you are proposing to convey is not contiguous to the other properties next to it.”
He also questioned if the city is the actual owner of the bulkhead and said the city’s assertion that the parcel has not been used for public parking in the years leading up to the sale is false.
Commissioner John Amodeo previously said a prior owner deeded the parcel, which was designated as private parking spaces, to the city in a quit claim deed, dated April 20, 2017.
Amherst Avenue resident Scott Caris said the property is constantly used for parking all summer long and people wait on the side of the road for others to pull out of the spots.
“The paragraph that says the area has not been used in that manner for several years leading up to the sale is not true. It’s not even close to true. I have been watching an unsafe parking issue which I’m sure everyone here knows about,” he said.
Resident Ray Romino agreed with Caris stating that people are driving around the block and into the residents’ private driveways looking for spaces to park and causing a safety hazard for pedestrians and children on bicycles, including his own grandchildren.
“It’s like vultures looking for a space,” he said.
If business owners don’t provide parking for their customers, they will go elsewhere, he said.
“You need to think about the residents in Margate. We live here 24-7,” he said.
Resident Fred Tursi said the city should not be selling any parking spaces, and that private developers should be providing public parking in other areas if they can’t be provided onsite.
“There’s a shortage of parking cited in the Master Plan,” he said.
The amount of fair market value recited in the ordinance includes other costs, including architectural fees and sidewalks, he said.
Despite residents’ comments and the threat of continued litigation, Mayor Michael Becker and Commissioner John Amodeo voted to approve the ordinance. Commissioner Maury Blumberg was absent.
In a bulkhead-related matter, the city announced the owner of Lamberti’s Restaurant and Sunset Marina has started replacing 588 feet of city-owned bulkhead in exchange for transferring ownership of the building, which Lamberti leases from the city. The agreement also calls for Lamberti to open 24 parking spaces on his privately-owned parking lot on Monroe Avenue for public parking from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the summer season.
Construction is underway to replace 588 feet of deteriorated bulkhead along Amherst Avenue.
