Cape May council votes to allow theater demolition, angering preservationists

Proponents of saving a circa 1950 beachfront movie theater in Cape May from demolition are vowing to fight a "secretive, immoral" vote by the City Council to let the owners of the property move ahead with plans to build condos on the site.

Members of the nonprofit Beach Theatre Foundation had been urging the council for more than a year to designate the theater, designed by noted regional architect William H. Lee, as a historic structure - believing the declaration could help bolster the fight to preserve the property.

Although the building is not in keeping with the Victorian-era theme of the Cape May County town, some historians say it helps tell the story of the development of the beach resort. Others say the demolition of such a structure and the construction of a "faux Victorian" building on the site could irreparably damage the town's historical credibility.

Cape May was designated in its entirety as a National Historic Landmark City in the 1970s, spurring a successful effort to rehabilitate and preserve hundreds of homes, hotels, storefronts, and other structures in what is now a premier vacation destination at the southern tip of the Shore.

But instead of giving the building a historic designation, in what some termed a "surprise move" council members voted unanimously Tuesday night to allow the demolition, settling a lawsuit with the property owner, Frank Investments.

In March, the Palm Beach, Fla., company sued the city in Superior Court, contending that local officials had said the demolition approval the company had obtained in 2007 had been automatically extended by a 2008 state Permit Extension Act.

"We are extremely disappointed by this action, shocked to say the least," said Steve Jackson, founder and president of the Beach Theatre Foundation. "It appears to us as if City Council has acted in defiance of its own laws and circumvented due process to have taken this vote in such a secretive manner. On top of that, I think they have broken the law morally in a town where historic preservation is supposed to be key."

Jackson said those in attendance at the regular council meeting where the vote was taken were "flabbergasted" that action involving such a hot-button issue over the last four years was listed on the agenda only as "approving a resolution involving litigation."

City Solicitor Anthony Monzo said that the agenda item was properly executed and that the council was fully within its right to override any pending zoning matter to settle the suit.