Ocean City community groups have filed a lawsuit challenging the Wonderland rehabilitation designation
“This lawsuit was a difficult but necessary decision to make,” said Jack Gutenkunst of Plaza Place Civic Association.
Four community groups in Ocean City filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to void City Council’s June 25 designating the old Gillian’s Wonderland Pier as “in need of rehabilitation.”
That vote started a negotiation with developer Eustace Mita, the owner of the property who has been seeking approval to build a seven-story, 242-room hotel on the site.
Mita said earlier this month he is submitting a revised proposal for a hotel on the 2.42 acre property. His initial proposal called for a luxury hotel that preserved the Ferris wheel, carousel, and some kiddie rides.
Hotels are not a permitted use under current zoning, requiring either variances or a negotiation under a rehabilitation designation. Mita sought the rehabilitation route.
He said earlier this month that it was no longer viable to restore or replace the Ferris wheel.
The lawsuit notes that Wonderland Pier served for generations as “a civic anchor for the northern end of the Boardwalk,” and that the pier “has been a focal point of the City’s identity as a low-rise family-friendly resort community.”
The groups filing suit in Cape May County Superior Court include two neighborhood groups, Plaza Place Civic Association and each Watch Motel Condominium Association, the government watchdog group Fairness in Taxes, and Ocean City 2050, a group that has been advocating for an alternative to Mita’s luxury hotel proposal.
Defendants named are the City of Ocean City and the City Council.
“This lawsuit was a difficult but necessary decision to make,” said Jack Gutenkunst of Plaza Place Civic Association, in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “Council’s Wonderland rehabilitation designation is deeply flawed and seeks to improperly strip away important planning protections that residents have long relied upon.”
The lawsuit alleges that Mayor Jay Gillian’s failure to recuse himself from Wonderland Council discussions constituted “substantial financial and ethical conflicts of interest.”
» READ MORE: As a hotel looms, tiny neighborhood fears losing its small-town feel
Gillian, whose family operated Wonderland for 65 years, sold the property to Mita in 2021, but continued to operate the amusement park under a lease arrangement. He made the decision to close Wonderland in 2024. The lawsuit notes financial entanglements that remain between the mayor and Mita.
Reached by text message, Gillian declined to comment on the lawsuit.
“The city cannot comment on pending litigation,” Doug Bergen, public information officer for Ocean City, said by email.
» READ MORE: Before closing Wonderland, Mayor Jay Gillian was on shaky financial footing
The lawsuit also alleges that the designation failed to satisfy the state’s legal requirements under New Jersey’s Local Redevelopment and Housing law.
“This lawsuit is not about stopping progress,” said Howie Atkinson of the Beach Watch group, in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “But no project is important enough to justify abandoning transparency, ignoring conflicts of interest, or shutting the public out of the progress.”
The groups said the lawsuit should not stop the city from continuing to examine recommendations by its Boardwalk subcommittee. City Council tabled action related to the subcommittee at its last meeting due to the pending lawsuit.
