By BILL BARLOW
Special to the Sentinel
OCEAN CITY – City Council on Thursday re-introduced an amendment to city zoning that will remove senior housing as a conditional use on the boardwalk.
The ordinance had been approved earlier in May but was back before City Council because of an issue with the public notice.
“To ensure that it’s properly enacted, we’re bringing it back to you for first reading,” said city attorney Dorothy McCrosson. At an earlier meeting, she reported that residential use is mostly disallowed in the boardwalk business zone, but senior housing had been listed as a conditional use.
She said senior housing was added as a conditional use in all city zones some time before she began serving as the municipal attorney. Senior housing is distinct from affordable housing, she said. In municipal land use law, it refers to housing that is limited to those 55 or older without regard to the cost.
Members of council supporting the move described the conditional use as a loophole that could allow residential projects on the boardwalk.
The ordinance will again be reviewed by the city Planning Board before a final vote June 24, McCrosson said. In the meantime, notice will go out to every property owner within the zone.
Councilman Pete Madden has been skeptical of the ordinance. He voted no on May 13 and sought to table the ordinance when it came back on May 27. He said the ordinance is moving forward “for no apparent reason” and called for a complete review of the boardwalk zone instead.
“I still don’t understand why we’re doing this, and I prefer to table it to look at the zone as a whole,” he said. When Councilwoman Karen Bergman seconded his motion to table, Councilman Keith Hartzell could be heard to exclaim “Oh, Jesus.”
Hartzell supports the ordinance, arguing that it is important for a city to maintain retail areas. Bergman had previously supported the ordinance but joined Madden in voting against it this time.
At the May 13 City Council meeting, Madden said he did not necessarily oppose the move, but said it should be part of a coordinated evaluation of boardwalk zoning.
“I understand it went from council to the solicitor to the Planning Board, which is kind of backwards for how this should go,” Madden said at that time. He suggested zoning amendments should come from the Planning Board or the city engineer to the city attorney and then be recommended to City Council. “My thought is to table it because you want to look at a more comprehensive plan for the boardwalk.”
He cited issues at the boardwalk, saying there are some buildings in poor condition. He also mentioned the fire over the winter at the arcade entrance to Playland/Castaway Cove, calling the ordinance a “knee-jerk reaction.”
The Planning Board reviewed the ordinance before the May 13 vote, as required for a zoning change, and found it consistent with the city’s master plan, a fact Hartzell cited in his defense of the zoning amendment.
“We exactly did our jobs up here,” Hartzell said. “Our job is to write, create and pass ordinances. That doesn’t come from the Planning Board. It comes from us and then it goes to the Planning Board.”
At the May 13 meeting, Council President Bob Barr said he asked McCrosson to review the zoning on the boardwalk.
Hartzell said someone with a good idea for senior housing within the commercial zone could still seek a variance from the Planning Board or Zoning Board.
Councilman Jody Levchuk, who supported the change, said he grew up in an apartment above a boardwalk business and said it is not as glamorous as people imagine.
The existing residential apartments in the commercial zone on the boardwalk either received a variance or pre-dated the city zoning ordinance. According to Levchuk, they are primarily apartments for the business owners, although some are rented for the summer or year-round.
“Structures in this zone should be family friendly entertainment. The boardwalk is a major attraction in Ocean City. We need to keep it that way,” David Breeden, the president of Fairness in Taxes, said at the previous meeting.
“I’m not saying we should do or shouldn’t do residential on the boardwalk. What I am saying is we should table this to make it better, comprehensive law,” Madden said.
Barr said without the amendment, a developer could do almost anything if the project fit the category of senior housing, describing it as like the Wild West.
“We have to be very, very careful to maintain the character of our boardwalk as it currently stands. We have to make sure this is here for future generations to enjoy,” Barr said.