Ocean City $9 Million Land Deal Appears Off

By Maddy Vitale Mayor Jay Gillian told City Council at Tuesday night’s meeting that the city will not be making a $9 million purchase of a large lot adjacent to the Ocean City Community Center between 16^th and 17^th streets that he had hoped to preserve as open space. Fairness In Taxes, a local government watchdog group, submitted an amended petition Monday in an effort to force a public referendum on the proposed property deal. FIT’s issue was not with the purchase, but with the price, believing the city was going to grossly overpay for the land. Funding for the purchase was approved by City Council in September to protect the tract from high-density housing construction, Gillian said. However, the sales agreement between the city and the owners, brothers Harry and Jerry Klause, expires Oct. 31. The petition makes the agreement null and void. “This petition prevents the city from completing the purchase before then,” Gillian said, noting that the next City Council meeting would fall after that date. “Because buying the property is no longer an option, there will be no need for a public vote,” Gillian said. “I will recommend that City Council repeal the funding ordinance at the next public meeting.” Members of City Council listen to the mayor talk about the petition drive. FIT attempted earlier this month to collect enough signatures from registered voters to put the land deal on the ballot. City Clerk Melissa Rasner ruled on Oct. 10 that the petition contained 399 valid signatures, far short of the 597 she said were needed for a referendum under state law. On Monday, FIT submitted the amended petition containing more signatures. The number of signatures has not yet been made public pending a review by Rasner. “The city clerk is in the process of certifying the petition, and it appears to include a sufficient number of signatures,” the mayor said. FIT is not opposed to the city buying the land for public use, but believes the $9 million price tag is between $2.5 million and $3 million too high. The organization has disputed the findings of two independent appraisals conducted for the city that valued the land at $8.3 million and $9 million, respectively. “The mayor’s statement speaks volumes. We agree with the purchase, but not for $9 million,” FIT Vice President Dave Breeden said in an interview after the Council meeting. Dave Breeden, vice president of FIT, local watchdog group, says the members are not opposed to the deal, just the price. Over the months, the mayor has expressed concern that a referendum would delay the land deal from going through, possibly forcing the city to engage in a bidding war with housing developers over the property. A bidding war, Gillian has said, could doom the city’s attempt to buy the property, and the tract could end up in the hands of housing developers. Encompassing nearly an entire block, the land is bordered by Simpson and Haven avenues between 16th and 17th streets and was formerly occupied by a now-closed Chevrolet dealership. Gillian and City Council have stated the property deal would be a benefit for the community. They discussed the possibility of preserving the land for public use or using it as the site for a new police station. The alternative could be 29 coastal cottages, a type of densely packed housing construction that city officials warn would add to the town’s overdevelopment.