Ocean City’s Planning Board delivered a pivotal — though nonbinding — decision last week on the future of the former Wonderland Pier site, voting 4-4 on passing a resolution that would have recommended declaring the vacant Boardwalk property an area “in need of rehabilitation.”
The tie vote, taken Jan. 7, effectively denied a recommendation sought by developer Eustace Mita, who is proposing a 252-room, eight-story luxury hotel on the former amusement park site. According to OCNJ Daily, Planning Board members who voted against the designation said the property did not meet the legal criteria required under state law.
Mita had requested the rehabilitation designation as a necessary step to allow hotel construction in a section of the Boardwalk where hotels are currently prohibited. During the hearing, a team of engineering and planning professionals representing Mita argued that the site is deteriorated, largely abandoned and in need of redevelopment.
Opponents argue that the designation was being used to justify a major zoning change rather than a true rehabilitation of an existing use.
Following the vote, Mita told OCNJ Daily he was “shocked” by the outcome and said he would consider withdrawing from the project and placing the property on the market if it isn’t redesignated.
Although the Planning Board’s vote marked a significant moment in the debate, city officials stressed that it does not determine the outcome of the proposed redevelopment.
“This was not what I would call your typical Planning Board hearing,” City Councilman Jody Levchuck told Shore Local. “The bottom line is, this was a nonbinding hearing. There’s no action that comes out of it.”
Levchuck emphasized that the Planning Board serves in an advisory role and that City Council retains full authority over whether the rehabilitation designation advances, but the goal of the process is to remain as transparent as possible.
“City Council has the right to accept their recommendation, ignore their recommendation, deny their recommendation,” he said. “However we handle it, that’s up to us.”
Those concerns were echoed Thursday night, when representatives of Ocean City 2050, a community group opposed to the hotel, presented City Council with copies of an online petition urging officials not to move forward with the designation, OCNJ Daily reported.
Group spokeswoman Susan Cracovaner said 425 people had signed the petition and warned that approving the designation would set “a dangerous precedent for Ocean City’s family-friendly Boardwalk.”
Levchuck said his support for continuing the process is rooted in concern over prolonged vacancy at a prominent Boardwalk location.
“We do not want this to turn into a scenario where action is not taken and the property sits vacant or unattended to,” he said. “That’s the last thing we want. That’s the last thing anybody wants.”
He cautioned against viewing the Planning Board’s deadlock as a final verdict. “It comes back to City Council. [The] ball is in their court,” Levchuck said.
He also emphasized that it’s important to him to make decisions based on listening to his constituents and remaining objective.
No timeline has been announced for when City Council may revisit the rehabilitation designation, but officials have indicated the issue remains active as the city weighs competing visions for one of its most visible and debated properties.
Julia graduated from Rider University in 2024 with a BA in multiplatform journalism and minor in social media strategies. In addition to reporting on local news for Shore Local, she is a social media strategist for small businesses. Connect with her: shorelocaljulia@gmail.com or @juliatrain on Instagram.
