One Jersey Shore city is cracking down on noise complaints in an effort to get rid of rowdy rental homes during the summer months.

Wildwood
Wildwood (Flickr User Javier Rapoport)
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The Wildwood Board of Commissioners has given the thumbs up to three ordinances that require the review of all mercantile licenses, which are required by landlords in order to rent their properties.

"Wildwood is a fun place to go, it's about having a good time. But, you can have a good time and not interrupt your neighbors that either live here or are vacationing," said Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr.

Troiano said kids show a whole new persona when they get away from their parents, and it's that persona that creates problems for Wildwood. He said they receive complaints of noise, vulgarity and drinking during the summer months.  "It's not something new to vacation areas when you have a high concentration of senior weeks and proms."

Compounding the problem is that many of the property owners renting to teenagers are absentee landlords who live elsewhere, and leave the city to handle all of the problems, Troiano said.  "We're not babysitters, nor do we want to be."

Under the ordinance, the city won't renew any mercantile license until there is a review of the property and the police and fire departments give their approval.  "Multiple calls will trigger situations where they will not sign," Troiano said.

The ordinance, Troiano said, gives the Board of Commissioners the ability to put conditional mercantile licenses on the problem properties while putting the emphasis on the property owner to maintain the property in a manner that he would want to live next to. "If you don't want it next to you, then we don't want it next to us," Troiano said.

Some of these properties, according to Troiano, have 30, 40 or 50 complaints a season.

"Sometimes, these young kids come down here and for some reason, they think the laws in the city of Wildwood are different from the laws in New Jersey and they drink and get rowdy and out of control," Troiano said. "But, when people are getting obnoxious in the wee hours of the morning and waking people up, we're not going to deal with it anymore."

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