VENTNOR – A waterfront redevelopment plan under consideration in Ventnor could help bayfront property owners raise or replace their aging bulkheads along Inside Thorofare, West Canal and Beach Thorofare. The goal of the plan is to reduce flooding during coastal storm events and extreme high tides, officials said.
In certain areas during high tides, water breeches bulkheads that are in disrepair or where there are none. The water flows into the storm drains and cause nuisance flooding, affecting everyone in the neighborhood.
Bulkheads along the bayfront need to be repaired and upgraded to conform with the latest FEMA bulkhead height requirements, although homeowners don’t always have the money to do the upgrades.
According to planning consultant James Rutala of Rutala Associates LLC of Linwood, who conducted a survey of the area, several property owners have already expressed interest in a program that would provide them with the upfront cost of replacing their bulkheads.
Following a public hearing last year, the Planning Board recommended the study area – a 5 feet wide strip of land along the backbay area – be considered an area in need of redevelopment, and on Sept. 13, 2018, the commissioners agreed to provide the designation according to the statutory requirements contained in the state’s Local Redevelopment and Housing Law.
The proposed ordinance would allow the city to partner with bayfront property owners to bring bulkheads into compliance with new flood elevations on a voluntary basis, Rutala explained.
Sixteen bayfront property owners have already said they would be interested in replacing or raising their bulkheads in the coming years. Ventnor on the Bay has also expressed an interest, Rutala said.
Additionally, the city has 7 street ends and the Winchester Avenue area bulkhead that are also in need of replacement, he said.
Administration is working with the city’s financial advisors to discuss how the city could fund the replacement project, most likely through a bond ordinance.
If a bond were approved, homeowners could get money from the city to replace their bulkhead and pay back the loan through a special 10-year assessment, Rutala said.
The special assessment scenario would offer the best protection for the city in paying back the bond, he said.
Rutala said each property has its own particular situation, including some properties where the house would have to raised before the bulkhead below could be replaced.
The city could issue a bond to pay for the work, hire the contractor, and the property owner could receive a maintenance bond for the work. Property owners would have 10 years to pay back the cost through a special assessment.
“This is a unique program, this not something most communities are doing,” Rutala said. “But it is something you can see from the interest that there is a need.”
Previous efforts to partner with the Army Corps of Engineer and the Atlantic County Improvement Authority on funding did not pan out, Commissioner Lance Landgraf said.
“We are looking for a way to do it ourselves and create a fund to help these bulkheads get raised to the proper elevation, which can help with flooding and erosion on our back bay,” Landgraf said.
A special assessment is a “fail safe” tax on the property for a select group of participants, Administrator Maria Mento said.
“It’s just like a regular tax. If they don’t pay their taxes, you have a tax lien process,” she said.
“Municipalities have used this for sewer line and water line installations, sidewalks and curbing,” Landgraf said. “It’s pretty common and a good solution to the problem.”
The special assessment is a better solution than partnering with an outside agency to obtain the funds for the bulkhead repairs, Landgraf said.
The city updated its bulkhead requirements last May and set clear guidelines for property owners to maintain existing bulkheads to prevent erosion of the land, not only for the subject property, but also for adjacent properties. Construction permits are no longer issued for bayfront properties without a bulkhead, or one that does not meet the minimum height requirements. The requirement is also tied to the sale of waterfront land.
A public hearing on the ordinance creating the Ventnor Waterfront Redevelopment Plan will be held at the Board of Commissioners meeting 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 25.
