Atlantic City Councilman Warns Workforce Housing Must Keep Pace With Development Boom

ATLANTIC CITY — Atlantic City is seeing one of its strongest waves of residential development in years, but Sixth Ward Councilman Jesse Kurtz says city leaders must ensure the boom doesn't come at the expense of housing for the local workforce.

During an appearance on WOND's Off The Press with Scott Cronick, Kurtz praised several major housing projects now under construction but cautioned that rising property values and the expansion of short-term rentals could make it increasingly difficult for casino workers and other employees to live in the city.

"A lot of the positive actual development that's happening right now is residential," Kurtz said.

Among the projects he highlighted were new residential construction in the city's First Ward, development near the former Atlantic Club parking lots and ongoing work in the Inlet neighborhood.

While he welcomed the investment, Kurtz said he worries about the shrinking supply of housing affordable to working residents.

"When you're mentioning the workforce, I get nervous about the fact that we're kind of pushing out workforce housing," he said. "Housing for people that are shift workers, people that work in the industry, they're going to have to move further and further out of town."

He said the issue extends beyond affordability.

"If you have a big group and you have to call in extra workers, it's one thing when the people live in town. It's another thing if they live in Harbor City and have to rely on a bus route in order to get to town."

Kurtz also suggested Atlantic City should revisit how it regulates short-term rentals, arguing that the same rules should not apply uniformly across every neighborhood.

"I think short-term rentals should be treated differently in different neighborhoods," he said. "If you did that, you would be able to protect more of the residential character of certain neighborhoods."

He said the current market is encouraging property owners to convert long-term rentals into vacation rentals instead.

"What's happening in the natural dynamics of the market is that they're starting to chase out owner-occupied people and people that would rather rent out for a long-term rental to a casino worker are doing short-term rentals in all neighborhoods," Kurtz said. "That's not good for the city long term."

Despite those concerns, Kurtz said he remains encouraged by the level of investment taking place throughout Atlantic City and believes city leaders should continue encouraging new residential construction while ensuring housing remains available for the local workforce.