Yellow brick pavers will be preserved on 22nd Avenue in Longport.
LONGPORT – In an effort to preserve the yellow brick pavers that line both sides of 22nd Avenue, the Board of Commissioners is revising two of its developmental ordinances.
According to Planning Board Chairman Tom McAllister, who recommended the ordinance revisions, 22nd Avenue is the “nicest street in town” and the borough should preserve its decorative integrity, he said.
The street is the only one with a center median and has curb-to-property line yellow brick sidewalks.
Two homes that were recently reconstructed have removed the pavers and installed concrete sidewalks and placed grass in the governor’s strip, which is the strip of land between the sidewalk and curb. Another home on the beach block has replaced the brick with another type of paver. There is one lot in the middle of the block that is vacant.
“We want to allow homeowners to use concrete for sidewalks, but leave the brick in the governor’s strip,” McAllister said.
Borough engineer Richard Carter recommended concrete sidewalks be permitted for safety reasons.
The ordinance also prohibits additional curb cuts for driveways, other than what’s already there, McAllister said. Instead, all vehicular access to the home should be on the alley behind the house.
Although there is nothing “historically significant” about the inlaid brick, “we want to keep it the way it has always been,” McAllister said. “With the rest of the town being torn up for bigger houses, we want don’t want to change the look of 22nd Avenue.”
The ordinances, which revise Chapter 147 Streets and Sidewalks Ordinance and design standards contained in Chapter 167 Zoning Ordinance, states sidewalks on 22nd Avenue must be constructed of concrete, not less than 4 feet in width and 4 inches thick. Also, for homes on both sides of the street and the corner properties with frontage on Atlantic Avenue, yellow brick must be set in a 3-inch-thick mortar bed, with tight joints to ensure proper drainage and with the longest line of the brick perpendicular to the curb line.
A public hearing on Ordinances 2 and 3 will be held 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20 at Borough Hall, 2305 Atlantic Ave.
