Ocean City is considering a local rule to deter drivers from sending waves into homes and businesses when streets flood. Mayor Jay Gillian told NJ.com that the municipal solicitor is drafting an ordinance that could come before City Council. The city has not announced when it might be considered or what penalties it could carry.
Storm flooding brought the issue into focus
The proposal follows severe flooding during the Sept. 26 coastal storm. OCNJ Daily reported that many Ocean City streets were impassable and bridges into the city were temporarily closed. Gillian warned that driving through floodwater endangered motorists and could damage nearby properties through vehicle-generated waves. Those reports describe the storm’s impacts; they do not establish how a future ordinance would be enforced.
The city’s flood-hazards page says the entire island is within a flood plain and will flood at some point. That is general flood-risk information, not an assessment of any particular address or evidence about damage from vehicle wakes, according to the City of Ocean City.
Earlier shore-town rules offer examples, not a template
Local no-wake measures predate Ocean City’s proposal. Ship Bottom’s ordinance and a similar North Wildwood measure were among earlier rules addressing wakes from vehicles in flooded streets. Separately, Shorebeat reported that Seaside Park added a no-wake clause in 2019.
Seaside Park’s rule bars driving through flooding or standing water fast enough to cast a wave beyond the street’s edge, according to Shorebeat. Fines there range from $45 to $2,000, Toms River Patch reported. These are examples of how another borough defined and penalized the conduct; Ocean City’s draft terms have not been made public, so its eventual rule could differ. The examples also do not show whether such violations have become more frequent.
For now, the proposal remains under development. Its timing, wording and possible fines are unknown, according to NJ.com.
