Some New Jersey beach towns to allow rentals after Memorial Day
TRENTON, New Jersey (WPVI) -- New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy extended New Jersey's public health emergency by another 30 days on Wednesday.
"I want to make it absolutely clear that this action does not mean that we are seeing anything in the data which would pause our path forward," said Murphy during the daily state briefing in Trenton.
Meanwhile, state officials are in talks with Cape May County officials, who unveiled a reopening proposal on Tuesday.
READ MORE on the proposal below.
Cape May County Freeholder Leonard Desiderio spoke with the governor's chief of staff.
"The governor is the ultimate decision maker on this and he has shown strong leadership throughout this. We just need some help to get moving now," said Desiderio.
One aspect that the state has left up to local governments is restrictions on short term-rentals.
Cape May County banned short term rentals last month, but will allow short term rentals to resume on June 1.
Wildwood and North Wildwood have opted for a slightly earlier date to allow short-term rentals - May 26.
"I think it's just a matter of continuing the good social distancing habits that you've established at home and make sure that you're continuing them if you're down the shore," said North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello.
The boardwalk and beaches in Wildwood and North Wildwood will open for running, walking and biking on Friday. Parks and playgrounds will also open on Friday with social distancing measures in place. Officials say masks should be worn inside businesses and when encountering someone outside.
At Cape Islands Realty in North Wildwood, renters have been calling with questions about their summer plans.
"Most of our questions have been, 'What's going on? Are rentals going to be allowed?' Tenants wanting to know if their landlord will issue a refund if they're not allowed to come - that's the biggest question we get," said Bill O'Connell, broker and owner at Cape Islands Realty.
Several realtors Action News spoke with said they are working on plans to allow social distancing measures for key pick up/drop off, and are considering later check-in and earlier check out times to allow more time for cleaning in between weekly renters.
In Atlantic County, each municipality is making its own decision on short term rentals so you should check with your town or city to see if they're putting any restrictions in place. Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small said Wednesday afternoon there are no plans to lift restrictions on short term rentals at this time.
Long Beach Island's Chamber of Commerce issued a list of restrictions and policies by municipality.
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