Newsletter

Message from CWCA President Brian Shane 

Here’s wishing a belated Happy New Year to our members and families. After a remarkably challenging 2020, we’re excited for what 2021 might bring our residents and homeowners.

I can share with you an update on our efforts to improve traffic safety along 142nd Street: The city plans to re-stripe the intersection at Tunnel Avenue and 142nd Street, so it’s at more of a right angle. Rumble strips have been installed on both ends of the 142nd Street curve.

City Engineer Terry McGean has put this project, including physical changes to 142nd/Tunnel and bump-outs, into the city’s FY 2022 Capital Improvement Plan. This will include costs for speed and volume studies for 130th, 136th, 139th and 142nd Streets in his FY22 operating budget. The city’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.

The last few months have represented a mini-boom in construction, not only in Caine Woods but throughout Ocean City. I’m told City Hall has been overwhelmed with building and renovation permits.

City Zoning Administrator Kay Gordy tells me permit applications in Caine Woods for construction of single-family dwellings are on the rise: two building permits were issued in 2019, nine in 2020, and three already have been issued in the first six weeks of 2021.

In fact, one particular build that stands out is a jaw-dropping project by Caine Woods resident Tim Jones, proprietor of landscape company Resort Palms. His family is building a show-stopper of a home on the corner of 142nd Street and Sinepuxent Avenue.

Clad in a delightful shade of teal and sure to be landscaped in gorgeous fashion by Tim himself, the show-stopping Jones residence will make a statement as the first home drivers see when entering the neighborhood from Coastal Highway onto 142nd Street. My sincere congratulations go out to the Joneses on their new homestead, and to everyone who’s building or renovating a home in our neighborhood this year.

We continue to keep tabs on two major projects in our neighborhood: the 59-unit townhouse project called Sanibel Seas located adjacent to the uptown bus depot and movie theater at 144th-145th Street, and a 44-unit condo project on the former Phillips Seafood property at 141st Street and Coastal Highway.

Both projects currently are under review by city planning and zoning officials. Some members of the CWCA Board of Directors have expressed serious concerns about the implications of adding dozens of residential units to our part of town, including a looming disaster for street parking. At this point, we’re just grateful that our elected officials and appointed board members are listening to our feedback. We will keep you posted with e-mail blasts as to the status of these landscape-changing projects.

Of course, the big story continues to be how the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped the course of all our lives, not only over the last 12 months but for the foreseeable future. Personally, I am very encouraged to see distribution of vaccines beginning in earnest, and how schools are bringing more kids back into classrooms.

In the meantime, while we can expect more masks and distancing, my fingers are crossed for a safe, happy and productive summer here at the beach for all.