Ocean City Considers Land Sale for Bulkhead Replacement

Ocean City, NJ -- A bulkhead is falling into the canal on West 17th Street, and Demosthenes and Kathleen Vasiliuo are ready to fork over the money to fix it. They just need approval from the Ocean City first.

Ocean City Council unanimously approved a proposed ordinance on first reading to sell a 5-foot-wide and 5-foot long strip of land between a home on West 17th Street and the channel that is currently owned by no one to the Vasilious, owners of the only adjacent home, for $1 during its meeting Thursday night at City Hall.

The Vasilious said they would repair the bulkhead at a cost of $56,250, not including permitting and engineering fees.

After adjustments for lack of utility for anyone other than the Vasilious, the piece of land would be worth about $18,000.

If the city gives the ordinance final approval following a public hearing at the April 28 meeting, it will not be able to claim ownership of the property in the future.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Vasilious would become the owner of the land.

The Ocean City Bayous Company owned the land in the area in the early part of the 20th Century, with the city owning all the land that is under water in the area, according to City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson.

Ocean City Bayous has since folded, and it is unclear who owns that particular piece of land. The land is not needed for public use, so the city is permitted to sell it to a contiguous owner for no less than fair market value.

The land is on the north side of West Avenue, just before the county-owned bridge. McCrosson said there would be no issue if there ever needed to be work done on the bridge, including a bridge replacement plan that is in the works.

Councilman Anthony Wilson said he would only vote in favor of the ordinance if the bulkhead replacement were done in place, and not leaning seaward.

McCrosson said the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) said the bulkhead should be repaired in place, but she couldn’t guarantee that would actually happen.