OCEAN CITY — Contractors will face restrictions on where they can park dumpsters and construction trailers and how long they can keep them there after City Council unanimously approved amended rules Aug. 7.
City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson said the administration has been working on the ordinance for months, talking to the construction community, whose opposition blocked an earlier version, and the city’s code office to make sure it is both workable and enforceable.
“We rearranged some things so a contractor coming to Ocean City not familiar with the code, which is lengthy, can more easily find the rules governing his trade,” McCrosson said Thursday. “What really drove this, though, was the use and parking of construction vehicles, construction trailers and commercial trailers.”
She said the major uptake from the ordinance is restrictions on trailers being parked on the street overnight.
“What this ordinance provides is that from May 1 through Sept. 30, commercial trailers, construction trailers, construction vehicles and construction equipment may be parked on the street overnight only if they’re parked adjacent to the work site with which they’re associated,” McCrosson said.
During the busy summer season, when finding parking is difficult in the popular resort town, builders must remove all other vehicles from the street overnight.
“In the wintertime, that’s not the case, but when parking is at a premium, you won’t see those construction trailers on the street unless they are adjacent to a construction site for which a permit has been issued,” McCrosson told members of council July 17, when the amended ordinance was presented.
She noted there is language allowing for flexibility should special circumstances arise.
The ordinance also deals with damage caused to city streets, requires fencing on sites, tightens up maintenance of construction sites and sidewalks, and requires dust control.
In December, council voted 7-0 on first reading on a more restrictive ordinance that included a ban on construction vehicles and trailers after 6 p.m. daily, limiting the size of dumpsters on the streets to 10 cubic yards and other rules.
Two weeks later, about 16 different home builders and contractors appeared before council and said the ordinance would cause too many problems for them. Some called the ban a political move, but others said it was based on a limited number of contractors who were causing the problems and giving the rest a bad rap.
City Council listened and tabled the ordinance, leading to the new version presented July 17.
Other provisions in the ordinance allow dumpsters, with a permit, for as long as one year in 30-day increments but they must be in the work zone adjacent to the work site. The maximum size is 20 cubic yards, but the city can approve dumpsters up to 30 cubic yards.
Dumpsters must remain covered when not in use and during transit. When on streets, they must have wood or similar materials under the rollers to protect the streets from damage.
Portable toilets and construction materials must be in the work zone but cannot be in the public right of way.
There must be 2-foot-tall fencing — plywood or silt fence — around the entire work site, but that may allow entrance and exit at the front or rear.
During public comment, Steve Jasecki of Margate discussed the section concerning dust control. He said he had noticed a lot of plastic was being cut and realized it needed to be controlled.
“Taking responsibility and having contractors take responsibility means putting tents and vacuums and things to suck up this plastic. I think is a very positive thing. It is a way of remediating some of this stuff,” he said.
Jasecki added that the control measures have been very successful in Margate, where contractors are placing hoods over their saws to limit the dust.
“It makes the neighborhood a lot cleaner,” he said, adding that he is part of a group trying to get more towns to adopt such measures. Ocean City would be the 17th town that has adopted similar rules, he said.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff