ATLANTIC CITY - City Council moved forward Wednesday on a redevelopment plan that would bring a gas station and convenience plaza to the South Inlet.
Council's 5-4 vote came despite promising two weeks ago to block the measure until developer Revel resolved a lawsuit preventing a doctor from building an office nearby.
City Council originally voted 4-4 on the plan at its meeting Wednesday, failing to pass it, but 6th Ward Councilman Tim Mancuso arrived late and then voted in favor of the measure.
Councilmen Marty Small, George Tibbitt and newcomer Rizwan Malik supported it as well. So did Frank Gilliam, who two weeks ago suggested tabling the redevelopment plan until Revel drops its lawsuit against Dr. Peter Kuponiyi.
Council President William "Speedy" Marsh opposed the plan Wednesday - the first of two votes required before the decision becomes official - along with Councilmen Mo Delgado, Steve Moore and Aaron "Sporty" Randolph, who represents the 1st Ward that includes the properties.
Kuponiyi got approval in 2002 to build the office, as long as he found a way to provide more parking. Seven years went by before that happened and Kuponiyi, a city resident, returned to the city Zoning Board for final approval - a delay his attorney has attributed mainly to market conditions.
Citing zoning inconsistencies, Revel has opposed the project, first at the hearings leading to the updated approval and then through filing a lawsuit. Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Nelson Johnson ruled against the casino operator July 13, 2011; arguments for the company's appeal of that decision are scheduled to be heard March 19.
The proposed parking lot also sits where Lighthouse Park has been proposed in the Atlantic City Tourism District Master Plan - and likely would be condemned by the state Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to enable that project, Revel's attorney Lloyd Levenson has said.
Officials from the CRDA, which controls planning and zoning in the Tourism District, did not respond to calls or emails seeking comment Wednesday.
Levenson said Revel made an offer to buy the parcel from Kuponiyi, whose attorney was unreachable Wednesday.
Kuponiyi has offices in the center of the city and in Egg Harbor Township. He said the third facility would make medical care easier to access for South Inlet residents, many whose mobility, incomes - or, often, both - are limited.
Kuponiyi's proposed office would sit on Rhode Island Avenue off Atlantic Avenue - nearby, but not within, the redevelopment area at Massachusetts and Atlantic avenues.
Plans for the 1-acre redevelopment tract call for a gas station and convenience plaza built by Revel, whose megaresort will open a couple of blocks away April 2.
The proposal also has provoked complaints from the neighborhood's small-business owners, including Mel's Furniture owner Phil Weinberg - concerns that are separate from the doctor's office issue.
"No one wants anything other than for Revel to prosper," Weinberg said. "We should all have the same opportunities they do. They've come here, got everything they wanted. We have a gentleman across the street who just invested $125,000 in his store, don't know what's going to happen to him. We have the gas station across the street. Maybe all this could be worked out, but there's a lot more to do for all this to be ironed out ... (and) we all can be on the same playing field."
Gilliam explained his earlier opposition and support Wednesday this way:
"I never ... disagreed," he said after the vote. "I (delayed the vote) because my colleagues needed clarification as to what was going on."
That hasn't completely been resolved, however.
"I have too many questions," Delgado said of his vote against the plan.
Contact Emily Previti:
609-272-7221
