A lot at the corner of Sixth Street and Wayne Avenue near Gillian's Wonderland Pier in Ocean City, NJ, has been cleared and used as a commercial parking lot.
The agenda for the next Ocean City Planning Board meeting on Aug. 13 includes review of a final site plan for a commercial parking lot at Sixth Street and Wayne Avenue.
But the parking lot has been operating for the past couple weeks without the Planning Board approval.
The applicants are Roy and Patricia Gillian, and the privately owned lot is across the street from Gillian's Wonderland Pier, the Boardwalk amusement center owned by Roy's son, Mayor Jay Gillian. The connections have led some to question whether the Gillians are following the same rules required of other property owners in town.
Ocean City Community Operations Director Roger McLarnon said Monday that he gave the applicants a temporary license to operate.
McLarnon said a commercial parking lot is a conforming use in the Hospitality Zone where the property is located. He said the applicants are properly licensed and insured. And he said he's "done that with other places" that meet the same criteria.
Continued use of the property as a parking lot will be contingent on site plan approval.
The new parking lot, which appears to accommodate about 40 cars, is not the only new parking facility on the beach block of Sixth Street.
Earlier this summer, city crews painted stripes on a grass practice field behind Carey Stadium. The property is owned by the City of Ocean City but used by Ocean City High School teams.
The lot was used to accommodate some of the crowds during Fourth of July Weekend.
"I ask that you not use our practice football field for a parking lot," said Marcia McCulley, who was born and raised in Ocean City and has two sons at Ocean City High School. "The ground has always been used for recreational purposes."
McCulley spoke at a City Council meeting on July 10, along with another OCHS parent, Jamie Levai. The two parents cited concerns for the health and safety of players practicing on a field potentially packed and rutted by cars.
At the time, Jim Mallon, assistant to Mayor Jay Gillian, said the temporary parking lot would be used only as needed to accommodate overflow on peak weekends.
The field does not appear to have been used for parking in recent weeks, but McLarnon said it still could be used on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays as needed.
Parking anywhere near the beach and boardwalk is always hard to come by in the summer, and Ocean City brought in about $2.8 million in revenue last year from parking lot and parking meter fees.
