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Hotel managers and residents press Absecon to consider waivers to 14-day stay limit; council cites safety and enforceability concerns
Summary
Hotel manager Ava Florence asked the council for an exception process to allow workers and stable guests to remain beyond a new 14-day limit. Council members and staff said the ordinance aims to prevent long-term occupancy that can create safety and code problems; they directed continued discussion through the code enforcement committee.
Ava Florence, who identified herself as manager of the Days Inn on Absecon Boulevard, urged the council to consider case-by-case waivers to the city's 14-day transient-occupancy limit so that working guests and local contractors could stay longer without being displaced repeatedly.
Florence said many guests are employed locally and seek stability; she estimated "between 20 to 40 people" at any time who stay longer for work. She asked for a process that would allow hotels to retain such customers when they are lawful, taxpaying workers.
Council members and city staff pushed back on enforceability and safety grounds. A council speaker noted the ordinance evolved from a previously adopted 28-day limit and that enforcement issues and the placement of vulnerable individuals in motels prompted the stricter rule. A public-safety representative and others described examples where long-term motel occupancy had created hoarding conditions or placed families near higher-risk individuals; they said code and fire standards for transient rooms differ from long-term housing standards.
The council suggested the issue remain with the code enforcement committee for further discussion and possible policy refinement. "We'll bring it up" in the next code enforcement meeting, a council member said.
Next steps: Council asked staff and the code enforcement committee to continue examining potential exemptions, enforcement mechanisms and legal risks; the hotel manager was invited to follow up with the committee.
