Lower Township, New Jersey


Lower Township is a township in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 22,866, reflecting a decrease of 79 from the 22,945 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 2,125 from the 20,820 counted in the 1990 Census.
New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Lower Township as its 34th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.

History

Before the region was settled by Europeans, the Kechemeche tribe of the Lenape Native Americans inhabited South Jersey, and traveled to the barrier islands during the summer to hunt and fish. On August 28, 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson entered the Delaware Bay and stayed one day on land, north of what is now Cape May Point. In 1630, representatives of the Dutch West India Company purchased a tract of land along the Delaware from indigenous people, and additional land in the county was purchased 11 years later. Due to the large number of whales in the region of Cape May, Dutch explorers founded Town Bank around 1640 as a whaling village, in what is now Lower Township as a whaling village around 1640. It was the first European settlement in Cape May County. The village once functioned as the court house for the county, along with Coxehall, built by Dr. Daniel Coxe to be a center for a manorial style of government.
Lower Township was formed as a precinct on April 2, 1723, and was incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships established by the Township Act of 1798. The township's name came from its location when Cape May was split into three townships in 1723 at the same time that Middle Township and Upper Township were created.
Portions of the township were taken to form Cape Island Borough, Cape May Point borough, Holly Beach, South Cape May, Wildwood Crest and North Cape May.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 31.015 square miles, including 27.740 square miles of land and 3.275 square miles of water.
Diamond Beach, Erma, North Cape May and Villas are unincorporated communities and census-designated places located within Lower Township. Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Bennett, Cold Spring, Cold Spring Inlet, Ephraims Island, Fishing Creek, Higbees Landing, Miami Beach, Schellingers Landing, Sewells Point, South Cape May, Sunset Beach, Town Bank, Weers Landing, and Wildwood Gables.
Lower Township borders the Cape May County municipalities of Cape May City, Cape May Point Borough, Middle Township, West Cape May Borough, Wildwood City, Wildwood Crest Borough, as well as Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

Demographics

Census 2010

The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that median household income was $51,101 and the median family income was $62,587. Males had a median income of $50,572 versus $35,978 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $28,175. About 6.6% of families and 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.4% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 22,945 people, 9,328 households, and 6,380 families residing in the township. The population density was 813.0 people per square mile. There were 13,924 housing units at an average density of 493.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the township was 96.26% White, 1.39% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.88% of the population.
There were 9,328 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the township the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $38,977, and the median income for a family was $45,058. Males had a median income of $35,201 versus $24,715 for females. The per capita income for the township was $19,786. About 5.3% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Lower Township operates within the Faulkner Act, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the Council-Manager form of government which was adopted in 1984. The council has five members, each elected on a partisan basis to four-year terms on a staggered basis, with either two seats or the three ward seats are up for election every other year on an alternating basis as part of the November general election. The Mayor presides at all Council meetings and has a voice and vote in the proceedings. Powers are limited to those expressly conferred by the Charter. The Manager serves the Council for an indefinite term of office and may be removed by a majority vote of the Council. The Manager is the chief executive and administrator of the Township.
, members of the Lower Township Council are Mayor Frank Sippel, Deputy Mayor David Perry, Thomas Conrad, Kevin Coombs and Roland A. Roy Jr..
In February 2020, the Township Council selected Keven Coombs to fill the Ward II seat expiring in December 2022 that became vacant when David Perry was chosen to serve as deputy mayor. Earlier that month, Perry had been shifted to deputy mayor after Frank Sippel was selected as mayor to replace Erik K. Simonsen, who resigned to take office in the New Jersey General Assembly.
In January 2017, Roland Roy was selected from three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the Third Ward seat vacated by Erik Simonsen when he took office as mayor; Roy served on an interim basis until the November 2017 general election, when he was elected to serve the balance of the term through December 2018.
Erik Simonsen won a special election in November 2013 to fill the seat of Glenn Douglass, who had resigned two months earlier and whose seat had been filled on an interim basis by Jackie Henderson.

Federal, state and county representation

Lower Township is located in the 2nd Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 1st state legislative district.

Politics

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 14,612 registered voters in Lower Township, of which 3,000 were registered as Democrats, 5,902 were registered as Republicans and 5,702 were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 8 voters registered to other parties.
In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 52.6% of the vote, ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 46.2%, and other candidates with 1.1%, among the 10,534 ballots cast by the township's 15,217 registered voters, for a turnout of 69.2%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 52.2% of the vote, ahead of Democrat Barack Obama, who received 45.1%, with 11,177 ballots cast among the township's 14,435 registered voters, for a turnout of 77.4%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 54.3% of the vote, outpolling Democrat John Kerry, who received around 44.1%, with 10,961 ballots cast among the township's 14,709 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 74.5.
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 70.8% of the vote, ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 27.6%, and other candidates with 1.7%, among the 7,142 ballots cast by the township's 14,910 registered voters, for a turnout of 47.9%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 51.6% of the vote, ahead of both Democrat Jon Corzine with 40.1% and Independent Chris Daggett with 6.0%, with 7,190 ballots cast among the township's 14,989 registered voters, yielding a 48.0% turnout.

Education

The Lower Township School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. As of the 2017–18 school year, the district, comprising four schools, had an enrollment of 1,718 students and 143.0 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1. Schools in the district are
David C. Douglass Veterans Memorial School with 410 students in grades PreK-K,
Carl T. Mitnick School with 401 students in grades 1–2,
Maud T. Abrams School with 436 students in grades 3-4 and
Charles W. Sandman Consolidated School with 449 students in grades 5–6. The Lower Township School District participates in the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program, which allows non-resident students to attend the district's schools without cost to their parents, with tuition paid by the state. Seats in the program for non-resident students are specified by the district and are allocated by lottery.
For seventh through twelfth grades, public school students attend the schools of the Lower Cape May Regional School District, which also serves students from Cape May City and West Cape May, along with students from Cape May Point who attend the district as part of a sending/receiving relationship. Schools in the district are
Richard M. Teitelman Middle School with 458 students in grades 7-8 and
Lower Cape May Regional High School with 871 students in grades 9-12. In the 2011–12 school year, the city of Cape May paid $6 million in property taxes to cover the district's 120 high school students, an average of $50,000 per student attending the Lower Cape May district. Cape May officials have argued that the district's funding formula based on assessed property values unfairly penalizes Cape May, which has higher property values and a smaller number of high school students as a percentage of the population than the other constituent districts, especially Lower Township. The district's board of education is nine members, who are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year Seats on the board are allocated based on population, with Lower Township assigned seven seats.
Students are also eligible to attend Cape May County Technical High School in Cape May Court House, which serves students from the entire county in its comprehensive and vocational programs, which are offered without charge to students who are county residents.
There are two private Catholic schools in close proximity to Lower Township, Cape Trinity Catholic in Wildwood and Wildwood Catholic High School in North Wildwood, both of which operate under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden.

Transportation

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Cape May County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.
The most prominent highway serving Lower Township is the Garden State Parkway, which has its southern terminus at the intersection with Route 109, within the township. U.S. Route 9, Route 162 and Ocean Drive are other significant roadways within Lower Township.
NJ Transit offers bus service on the 313 and 315 routes between Cape May / Wildwood / Philadelphia, on the 552 between Cape May and Atlantic City, with seasonal service on the 319 route serving shore points between Cape May and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City's Midtown Manhattan.
The Cape May–Lewes Ferry terminal is located in North Cape May. Operated by the Delaware River and Bay Authority, the ferry makes the trip between Lower Township and Lewes, Delaware in 85 minutes, carrying passengers and vehicles. The Delaware River and Bay Authority operates a shuttle bus service that connects the ferry terminal with the Cape May Transportation Center in Cape May in the summer months and to the Cape May County Park & Zoo in July and August.
Cape May Airport is in Lower Township.

Points of interest

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Lower Township include: