Short-Term Rentals, Pickleball Fees Among Items Up For Vote At Ocean City Council Meeting

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Four proposed ordinances that were introduced at the June 8 Ocean City Council meeting will be up for a final vote this week. Council meets on Thursday night, June 22, 7 p.m. at City Hall.

One of those proposals concerns relaxing the city’s restrictions on overnight parking.

If it passes final approval, overnight parking would be prohibited from 2 a.m.-5 a.m., as opposed to the current ordinance, which calls for no overnight parking from 2 a.m.-7 a.m. This would help some businesses that open before 7 a.m. Customers are forced to park elsewhere before 7 a.m., and those businesses may lose clients altogether due to the ban.

Location changes include:

• Asbury Avenue, from 6th Street to 14th Street, instead of 6th to 12th;
• Eighth Street, from West Avenue to the boardwalk. Currently, parking is prohibited in the early morning along the entire length of Eighth Street;
• Parking on Asbury Avenue from North Street to 17th Street will no longer be prohibited; and
• The prohibition on parking of commercial vehicles between 6th and 10th streets from June 1-Oct. 1 of each year would no longer be in effect.

Parking will still be prohibited for the entire length of 9th Street. There is no change to this part of the ordinance, outside the time change.

Another proposed ordinance seeks to allow the city to fix the sidewalks in the downtown that have have shifted and become uneven, presenting an unsafe environment for strollers, wheelchairs and pedestrians using canes, walkers and crutches.

The sidewalks were installed under outdated ordinances. The ordinance didn't mandate all sidewalks be built using the same contractor, and some business owners failed to maintain their sidewalks over the years.

Another proposed ordinance calls for homeowners who are looking to rent out even part of their property to have a mercantile license. It’s an amendment to an existing ordinance that covers residents looking to rent out their entire property.

Home will also be required to have a smoke detector/carbon monoxide detector inspection. The fee for the license is $30, plus a $145 Ocean City Tourism Commission fee.

Finally, council will give final consideration to proposed pickleball fees. The daily fee would be $5, while weekly passes will be $15. An annual pass will be available for $50.

There are no ordinances up for first reading. The city will also recognize the high school girls swimming and basketball teams. There are also 13 items on the consent agenda.

To view the full agenda, visit ocnj.us.

Patch file photo