Absecon council introduces bond, shortens hotel stays and narrows solicitation near ATMs

Absecon City Council President opened the July 17 meeting by unveiling a multi-item ordinance package that council leaders said is aimed at public safety, housing oversight and infrastructure.

The council introduced Ordinance 05, a bond ordinance to appropriate $1,000,000 for 2025 capital improvements and to authorize the issuance of about $952,000 in bonds or notes. "The reason for this bond is the road program — we cut that from $1,000,000 to $500,000 — and it also includes two police cars, a dump truck and a modest working-capital buffer," said the council member leading the finance discussion. Council members said $250,000 in remaining proceeds could reduce next year’s bonding needs.

Council also introduced Ordinance 07 to amend the city's hotel and motel registration rules and limit how long an individual can continuously occupy a transient lodging unit. City Solicitor John said the proposal reduces previously allowable continuous stays and adds enforcement tools: "What we've done is shrink the continuous-stay allowance from 28 days to 14 days in a consecutive period, add higher fines and create a registry so we can better monitor who’s in these properties," he said.

On public-safety policy, the council introduced Ordinance 08 to restrict aggressive solicitation near ATMs, banks and designated outdoor-dining areas. The police chief and the solicitor described the ordinance as narrowly tailored to avoid constitutional challenges, with enforcement focused initially on a roughly 500-foot perimeter around ATMs and transactional locations. "We’re trying to contour this as narrowly as possible so we don't face constitutional challenges," the solicitor said.

Other code changes introduced included regulations for roll-off container parking (Ordinance 09), limits on commercial-vehicle parking in residential zones (Ordinance 10), and an update to the peace-and-good-order chapter of the municipal code to supersede older provisions (Ordinance 11). All were introduced for first reading and scheduled for a public hearing, second and final reading on Aug. 7, 2025.

The meeting also advanced routine business. By motion the council moved a consent agenda that included the city’s fourth-round housing element endorsements and a proposed affordable-housing trust fund spending plan, plus several construction change orders and the allocation of $2,100 in state highway-traffic-safety revenue. The bill list — totaling $3,291,449.50 — was approved by roll call.

During the public comment period, resident Greg Sayers raised concerns about the housing element’s allowance for counting second units toward the city’s affordable-housing obligations. "If second units are counted broadly, every single-family home could become a duplex," Sayers warned, urging the council to require owner-occupancy safeguards and careful zoning review; council members and staff said they will review those points during the subsequent ordinance and planning work.

The city engineer announced a pedestrian-safety project: a flashing crosswalk sign at New Jersey Avenue and Highland Boulevard, funded on a 50/50 basis with the county. The engineer also listed the 2025 road program, a raised-crosswalk traffic-calming plan and ADA improvements to the City Hall entrance among projects in design or engineering.

Mayor Tommy highlighted community volunteers recognized at the meeting and raised concerns that some neighboring municipalities may be placing homeless individuals into Absecon motels or onto the city’s streets, saying the city has been "very proactive" in following up with police and partners.

Next steps: all introduced ordinances will be posted and laid over for a public hearing and final reading on Aug. 7, 2025; council staff and the solicitor remain available to answer detailed questions about specific ordinance language prior to that date.