Your Support Requested at This Thursday’s Council Meeting 8/6/2026
Dear Friends and Supporters,
We wanted to make sure you know about two items on the agenda for the Council meeting this Thursday Aug. 6:
Resolution 26-235 is asking Council to adopt the Boardwalk Subcommittee’s Final Report as a reference document for future planning decisions on the Boardwalk; and
Resolution 26-236, which would refer the report to the Planning Board for comment.
We fully support both these resolutions and believe they deserve wide public support.
First, they tell everyone who spent eight months on that report — Council members, Planning Board members, business owners, and residents — that their work matters, and that their thoughtful suggestions will be appropriately considered.
Second, they would incorporate the Subcommittee’s analysis, findings, and recommended next steps into the city’s actual planning process. It’s important to note here that it would not bind Council to any single outcome. The report itself calls for further study, and that additional work may well lead to some reevaluation along the way. But adopting it now would give the public real comfort about the direction and strategy for the Boardwalk going forward, with more details to come.
That said, these are small steps — and we want the city to do more, faster.
The Subcommittee report calls for specific surveys and research to determine what the Boardwalk actually needs. Regardless of these resolution adoptions, that work should start now. The city should also begin negotiating with the developer. The research will tell the city what the market wants, and the negotiations will determine what the developer can realistically deliver — and there’s no reason to wait for one before starting the other. In addition to reviewing the comments that come back from the Planning Board, the city should also ask the Planning Board to move forward with its broader master plan update.
Equally important, the city should COMMUNICATE.
Council should outline its go-forward plan to the public, and not just let it drip out on 48 hours notice before city council meetings.
In particular, the city should state:
What reports and studies it intends to commission and a timeline for that work.
How it intends to staff its negotiations with the developer such that all voices are heard.
What its timeline is for reaching a proposed plan for both 600 Boardwalk and the rest of the commercial boardwalk as well.
How it plans to communicate its goals and progress regularly.
This clarity will provide the public with a much needed roadmap, preventing rumors about what will happen when, and also demonstrate the city’s control over this critical process.
Lastly, it’s important to point out that the lawsuit we will be filing challenging the rehabilitation designation does not stand in the way of any of this work by the city.
The suit will challenge the legitimacy of the process that led to the rehabilitation designation — it will not prevent positive and productive discussions for the right project at 600 Boardwalk. As we have said numerous times, negotiations can and should take place irrespective of a rehabilitation designation, and a hotel is a possible outcome, so long as it is of an appropriate size. More importantly, any development needs to include publicly accessible entertainment that enhances the north end and addresses the actual issue found by the Boardwalk Subcommittee — a lack of entertainment, not a lack of lodging.
The delay we’re all frustrated by was not caused by residents asking for a fair process. It was caused by a city that failed to lead when it mattered most. That’s something the city can correct, starting now.
What you can do
Please take a moment to email your Council member and let them know you support adopting the Subcommittee Report. A short note goes a long way — something as simple as:
“I support Resolutions 26-235 and 26-236 adopting the Boardwalk Subcommittee Report and referring it to the Planning Board. Please vote yes, and please move forward quickly with the surveys, research, and developer discussions the report calls for.”
Council members’ emails are below for your convenience.
Thank you for your ongoing support. We will continue to share updates as we have them.
Sincerely,
Bill Merritt
President, Ocean City 2050
Find Your Ward & Council Member
First Ward: Extends from the Ocean City-Longport Bridge to the north side of 4th Street.
Terry Crowley Jr. (Council President)
Cell: 609-374-4232
Email: tcrowley@ocnj.us
Second Ward: Encompasses the area from the south side of 4th Street to the north side of 12th Street.
Keith Hartzell
Home: 609-289-1484
Email: khartzell@ocnj.us
Third Ward: Covers the region from the south side of 12th Street to the north side of 26th Street.
Jody Levchuk
Cell: 609-385-2187
Email: jlevchuk@ocnj.us
Fourth Ward: Includes the area from the south side of 26th Street to 59th Street, along with the Ocean Reef neighborhood off Tennessee Avenue.
Dave Winslow
Cell: 954-401-2889
Email: dwinslow@ocnj.us
Council members at large representing all wards:
Sean Barnes
Cell: 609-412-4080
Email: sbarnes@ocnj.us
Tony Polcini
Cell: 609-432-1270
Email: jpolcini@ocnj.us
Jim Kelly
Cell: 215-694-5192
Email: jkelly@ocnj.us
