Ocean City to Allow Summer Demolition Work

City Council gave final approval on Thursday to an ordinance that permits demolition during the summer weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Demolition work (normally prohibited in the summer) will be limited to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays (except July 4). The amended ordinance applies only to summer 2013.

The ordinance was proposed to provide relief to owners whose properties were damaged during Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, and the wording of the ordinance allows demolition work only to properties damaged by the storm.

In discussions over the course of two City Council meetings, council members and citizens debated whether the amended ordinance would open a window to allow developers to work through the summer and cause substantial disruptions to the summer season. Council considered various revisions of the ordinance language.

Simpson Avenue resident Michael Hyson argued for council to limit demolition to substantially damaged homes and to homeowners contracting work for their own properties. He said owners just now addressing mold issues are victims of their own inaction and not of Superstorm Sandy.

In the end, City Council decided there was no easy way to determine a threshold to allow demolition work. 

In a 4-2 vote with Michael DeVlieger and Pete Guinosso dissenting, City Council approved an ordinance that limits the work to "real property damaged by Super Storm Sandy."

The city's Construction Code Division will determine which properties are eligible.