Location: Atlantic City
Dateline: 08.08.11
ATLANTIC CITY — On July 28 this column brought to light the passage of Ordinance 49 in Atlantic City prohibiting Transient Vacation Rentals of less than 90 days in the 1-R and 2 – RF (Single Family Detached) Districts, and 3-RF (Single Family Attached District) and the RM-1 and the RM-2 (Residential Multi Family) Districts, with fines up to $1,000 daily for non-compliance.
The column was intended to inform, not get people angry.
As I read through the close to 100 posted comments, thoughts came to mind about our responsibility:
1) The root of the problem is not the law; the root is “WE, the people.” WE ignored our safety net of public hearings until after the fact. WE reacted, instead of taking positive proactive steps in advance.
2) Atlantic City, the State of New Jersey, and the United States of America face crossroads of monumental proportions. Something is broken, and WE have to fix it. America just had our credit rating lowered by S&P for the first time since 1917. WE allow that to happen too, when many of us ignore our combined privilege and responsibility to vote in elections.
3) The American experiment, designed over 200 years ago, through what our founding fathers described in the Federalist Papers as "Divine Providence" is being "called out" every day.
James Madison wrote in Federalist 51: “In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
Now is the time to get involved in our neighborhoods, our political process, and our economy’s future.
Most elected officials across the nation mean well. Then, the broken system we perpetuate by our non-involvement and corporate lobbying takes over.
To govern ourselves, we must point direction, not fingers. The most important part of leadership is the ability to follow and lead simultaneously. Our leaders know this intuitively. Further, most do their best.
It is up to us to re-empower our officials to do better, by doing our best.
It’s not about Republicans vs. Democrats, or "Us" vs. "Them"; it’s about “WE.” Concentrating on those things WE agree on would make many of our disagreements go away.
We are spending millions of dollars telling folks to DO AC. We can’t welcome them to town by telling them they are doing it illegally.
Atlantic City is at the bottom of an economic heap, trying to dig herself out of a hole where underemployment and unemployment is well over 25 percent. We live in a county where 35 percent of the work force is tied to the casino industry in a town that has reported so many declines in gambling revenue the state had to step in and take over.
Nothing about real estate is like it should be, but it’s better than you might think.
Some year-round residents have empty pockets from money needed. Tourist dollars flow through many hands. They are spent over and over again by locals paying their bills. We need to bring back the old Atlantic City where we concentrated on spreading affluence and money everywhere.
Congress is considering legislation that would mostly stop lending to any homebuyer who does not put down 20 percent toward the purchase of their home. QRMs (Qualified Residential Mortgages) are being argued by the FDIC as a solution to the weak housing market.
Renovated housing attracts better tenants, which attracts more renovations in the neighborhood. By fixing what we have already, we can immediately put local people to work without the politics of the unions and commercial construction or out of town development interests.
"Investments which finance dreams are those same loans that built our nation."
Originally built as a HUD project, and now called The View, the building was constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers between the years of 1959 to 1962. Shaped like a half circle, the idea was to deflect hurricane-strength winds in its’ curve and turn them back to sea.
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1. AC_Fan said... on Aug 8, 2011 at 04:26PM
“another great column...WE need to do something whatever that is”
2. acrevolt@hotmail.com said... on Aug 8, 2011 at 06:21PM
“Instead of criticizing, complaining, and pointing fingers at the leadership of Atlantic City Government and their operatives, WE must adhere to the founding Fathers principle and their foresight to resolve the current dilemma and crisis that bestowed upon AC homeowners, especially to those who opt their homes for transient rentals as a mean to support their mortgage payments and to get their ROI on equity invested. We must also learn from Mr. Rodney King of Los Angeles, California who eloquently said in 1992: "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?" This timeless message is fitting to all AC homeowners, neighbors, government officials and to the PEOPLE OF ATLANTIC CITY whether they are FOR or AGAINST Ordinance 49 and 50. If Mr. King were here to decipher between Transient Rental Homeowners and their Government's enactment of the Ordinance the way they got it passed, he would simply utter his words again:"People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?”
3. Rodney King said... on Aug 9, 2011 at 09:34AM
“Hey Brothers and Sisters of the City of Atlantic City, New Jersey:
I am responding from LA, just got bailed out of the Jail Cell for DUI charges.
AC Revolt misquoted me: The exact way I uttered my famous line and got me into the world stage was "Can't we all just get along?"
My sincere hope and prayer that YOU AC PEOPLE will work this one out, so that people in your town can make an honest living for the greater good and cause. Y'all hear.”
4. Grievance? said... on Aug 10, 2011 at 06:30AM
“Grievance is best handle with Civility as demonstrated time and time again, including Mr. Rodney King Police brutality incident in 1991 that causes uproar in the LA community because of the 1992's jury verdict. To return to calmness, Each side must present compelling reason to Coexist. By the look of the interest level shown by the public in this forum, all interest has subsided, or in conclusion, whoever has any gripe, already spoken, and written his or her comments in this Geoff's Page.
Now is time to bury this Geoff's Page and hang it up.Take this baby to the next level, to work in the service of life and living, in search of the answers of questions unknown.To be part of the movement and part of the growing, part of beginning to understand.
”
5. turiya said... on Aug 11, 2011 at 10:27AM
“ONCE AGAIN, GEOFF, YOU ARE SO ON POINT!”
6. Tina said... on Aug 11, 2011 at 06:19PM
“I can't believe this issue persists. I wonder how much more wasted tax dollars will be spent on this matter.
”