Plans for RV campground in Wildwood rile residents

Residents of a South Jersey Shore town are fighting a plan to put an RV park on the beach.

Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano says the RV park is designed to handle only luxury recreation vehicles. He believes it’s a good use of the beach in the resort town.

“Our beach is growing at about 50 feet a year and it’s becoming a wasteland of inactivity,” he said. “A group of people sat down and said, ‘Turn this into more than an abandoned desert,’ so to speak.”

The mayor says the goal is to support his town’s legendary free beaches by bringing in those who can afford the luxury real estate on the beach.

“It’s revenue and we do have a free beach, it’s free to everyone except those who come here and pay taxes,” he said, adding it costs about $1.5 million in taxes to maintain the beach.

The campground is just below the Wildwood Convention Center. Even through neighbors are protesting the experiment, Troiano stresses it’s a work in progress and targeted at self-contained motorhomes.

“These are your high-end RVs that normally are 30 to 40 feet long, $100,000 to $300,000 or $400,000 units,” he said.

The spaces will rent for between $100 to $150 a night.