From the Press of Atlantic City
W’wood code issue makes nightmare of dream homes
Southern New Jersey’s shore and summer vacations were synonymous for the May family.
“As a kid, my parents used to go down to the Wildwoods,” Richard May said. “To us, North Wildwood was the shore.”
So as an adult, it seemed fitting that May, 64, would buy a vacation home here. He hoped his three children and five grandchildren could create equally lasting memories.
But a cloud overshadowed what should have been a sun-filled summer at the shore for May and many of his fellow condominium owners. They found out their properties may not have been built up to code.
The Joint Construction Office of the Wildwoods, which oversees construction projects for Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood and West Wildwood, notified the owners of nearly 500 units primarily in Wildwood and North Wildwood of the possible violations this year. Most received word in the first few months of 2006, but some, including May, only learned of the problem in June.
Owners were told their buildings may have been improperly inspected by the construction office or not built to code, and that an array of violations, such as a lack of firewalls, had to be repaired.
The construction office, according to its attorney, Glenn P. Callahan, is also reviewing other buildings, as many as 2,000, constructed between 2000 and 2005 to determine if the problem is more widespread. The review will then extend to other multifamily buildings erected prior to 2000, Callahan said.