OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting – December 2, 2025

Mayor and City Council & Boards — Tuesday, December 2, 2025
BodyOcean City, Maryland
SessionMayor and City Council & Boards
DateTuesday, December 2, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:37:38

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

That he says, Oh, that was Dick Henson.

0:01

He can do anything he wants.

0:03

I don't know if you guys know how bottom I was a big Henson.

0:05

He he is the greatest guy in the world.

0:07

He is the greatest guy.

0:08

He just is awesome.

0:09

I didn't know him at that moment, but um anyway.

0:13

CrossPath's law.

0:16

In supporting this document's principles outlined in the land use housing, fair housing, and other sections.

0:22

We're happy to partner with the town now and in the future to achieve the goals set forth in the comprehensive plan and are willing participants in furthering the town's fair housing goals being a resource in the development of land use and housing initiatives.

0:35

We'd like the opportunity to assist in helping support the legislation passed in 2025, requiring local governments to adopt accessory dwelling policies in single family zones by October of 2026.

0:48

Please let me know when there's an opportunity to participate in these discussions.

0:52

Thank you again for your dedicated work on this comprehensive plan, and I look forward to seeing you as the work moves forward.

1:01

Best Hunter.

1:02

And again, a copy of this email has been provided for the transcript.

1:07

Yeah, Hunter actually he called me this afternoon and said he couldn't make the public hearing, but wanted to offer his support for the for the plan and also offered a collaborate with the town on anything that they could help with.

1:18

So we have something that needs to be woven into this.

1:21

I don't know that it needs to be woven into this necessarily.

1:31

Um and we'll we'll go ahead and note that that's a request.

1:34

What's this what would be his in that letter?

1:37

Did he expand on what he thought or how he thought it could be implemented?

1:42

A to use?

1:43

He did not.

1:44

I mean, there's a lot of there's so many variables in that.

1:47

It's great to have the comment, but that's like saying I want um pie for Thanksgiving.

1:52

There's like different pies.

1:54

I mean, right there's different ways to skin the cat, if you will.

1:57

So just to note um to make the commissioners aware of it, since you will be working on this, um the state of Maryland adopted a um new regulation that requires municipalities to explore accessory dwelling units um in their uh zoning regulations by October.

2:17

Um you can either October 26.

2:19

Uh 2026, yes.

2:21

Um we are waiting for comments from the state in regards to that right now before we bring that in front of you.

2:26

Um we hope that will be coming soon.

2:29

Um there is mandate that you have it or you uh can opt out of doing it, but you would have to do a parking study.

2:39

Uh we want to see what that parking study looks like before we bring in comments and review that.

2:46

How is the parking study overfit overlay into a ADU ordinance?

2:50

That's what we're waiting for comment on.

2:52

Uh is that commented by the state?

2:55

Yes.

2:56

A parking study?

2:57

How does that connect with ADUs?

2:59

That's what we're looking for guidance.

3:01

Okay.

3:02

Yeah.

3:03

I think that you know, broader, just broader strokes, you know, areas across Maryland are struggling with housing and struggling with affordable housing.

3:11

And a lot of times things that come out of Annapolis may not work in our community, but they work in other communities across Maryland.

3:18

Right.

3:18

So I think that disconnect is probably comes out of hey, this might work really well in Baltimore City, right?

3:24

Um, for them to explore that, but it might not have the same impact.

3:27

I agree.

3:27

I think that's probably important.

3:28

But I do think ADUs are a good idea.

3:30

Yeah.

3:31

Yeah.

3:32

The state legislation has some specific um ideas and guidelines and standards that are part of the legislation.

3:40

Over the last year, the Maryland Department of Planning hosted m, I think quarterly um meetings of an advisory council that was made up of folks from all over the state uh representing county local government um real estate building industry folks.

3:59

Um there was a very detailed discussion of the topic, all the uh alternatives that are possible, and all of that was wrapped into uh this legislation that was adopted.

4:11

There's a wealth of information on a state planning web page that we can, you know, when that comes up as a as an agenda item, we can give you all kinds of background of what they discussed, um, the different ideas that are out there, how they think this can be implemented.

4:26

So that's um that's a big topic, probably more than one meeting worth.

4:33

So is there any action that we need to take to weave this into the draft comprehensive plan other than dub cameling under notes?

4:42

This is um item number two on your priority work list of items uh that will be in chapter nine implementation.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Transportation Safety████████████████████20%
Parking Management███████████████████19%
Zoning And Land Use█████████████████17%
Procedural████████8%
Water And Wastewater Management███████7%
Active Transportation██████6%
Short Term Rentals████4%
Environmental Protection████4%
Energy Policy███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting – December 2, 2025

The Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission met on December 2, 2025, at 6:00 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. The primary agenda items included a public hearing on the 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update, a continued discussion on off-street parking regulations for the Boardwalk Commercial District, and approval of minutes from November 18, 2025. No public comments were made in person, but an emailed comment from Hunter (representing an organization) was read into the record supporting the comprehensive plan. The commission discussed numerous proposed changes to the plan and directed staff to compile a list of revisions for review at the December 16, 2025 meeting, where a vote on the plan's adoption is expected. The parking discussion focused on potential reduction or elimination of minimum parking requirements in the BC-1 district, but no action was taken.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The commission unanimously approved (6-0-1, with Tony Butta absent) the minutes from the November 18, 2025 meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Hunter (via email): A letter from Hunter was read into the record expressing support for the 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update, particularly its land use, housing, and fair housing sections. Hunter offered to partner with the town on future initiatives, including the state-mandated accessory dwelling unit policies required by October 2026. The commission acknowledged the comment but noted that many details on ADU implementation are pending state guidance.

Discussion Items

  • 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update (Public Hearing): The commission held a public hearing, closed it after no in-person speakers, and then deliberated on proposed amendments. Commissioner Palmer Gillis led a page-by-page review, suggesting various modifications, including adding a sentence to acknowledge the need to protect R1 residential zones from short-term rental impacts, updating language on boardwalk tram alternatives (citing a comment from Regan Smith), strengthening opposition to offshore oil and gas to match offshore wind opposition, and considering a conditional use process for converting commercial property to residential. Other commissioners raised concerns about e-scooters, beach replenishment, dredging of canals, and the need for a two-way bike lane on Baltimore Avenue. Staff and the commission agreed to compile all suggested changes into a bullet list for review at the next meeting. The commission decided to postpone a vote on the resolution approving the plan until the December 16, 2025 meeting, after staff incorporates the discussed revisions.
  • Off-Street Parking Regulations (Section 110-932): Staff presented an overview of parking requirements in the BC-1 (Boardwalk Commercial) district, noting a typographical error in the code (B1 vs. BC1) and suggesting a discussion on whether to modify or eliminate minimum parking requirements for commercial uses in that district due to abundant public parking and multimodal transit options (8 bus stops, over 2,000 public parking spaces, bike racks). Zoning Administrator Sabrina Hecht cited examples like Baltimore eliminating minimum off-street parking and noted that a 2019 parking study showed occupancy rates in the 1st–10th Street area were 85–90% during peak season, not 100%. Commissioners expressed mixed views: some supported eliminating requirements for commercial uses, while others warned against unrealistic expectations for transit and biking given Ocean City's tourism-driven car culture. No formal action was taken; the discussion was to inform future code amendments.

Key Outcomes

  • The commission approved the November 18, 2025 meeting minutes (6-0-1).
  • The public hearing for the Comprehensive Plan was closed.
  • The commission directed staff to compile a list of all discussed amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and bring a revised draft for a vote at the December 16, 2025 meeting.
  • No action was taken on the parking regulation discussion; it will continue as part of broader code review.
  • The next meeting is scheduled for December 16, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

That he says, Oh, that was Dick Henson. He can do anything he wants. I don't know if you guys know how bottom I was a big Henson. He he is the greatest guy in the world. He is the greatest guy. He just is awesome. I didn't know him at that moment, but um anyway. CrossPath's law. In supporting this document's principles outlined in the land use housing, fair housing, and other sections. We're happy to partner with the town now and in the future to achieve the goals set forth in the comprehensive plan and are willing participants in furthering the town's fair housing goals being a resource in the development of land use and housing initiatives. We'd like the opportunity to assist in helping support the legislation passed in 2025, requiring local governments to adopt accessory dwelling policies in single family zones by October of 2026. Please let me know when there's an opportunity to participate in these discussions. Thank you again for your dedicated work on this comprehensive plan, and I look forward to seeing you as the work moves forward. Best Hunter. And again, a copy of this email has been provided for the transcript. Yeah, Hunter actually he called me this afternoon and said he couldn't make the public hearing, but wanted to offer his support for the for the plan and also offered a collaborate with the town on anything that they could help with. So we have something that needs to be woven into this. I don't know that it needs to be woven into this necessarily. Um and we'll we'll go ahead and note that that's a request. What's this what would be his in that letter? Did he expand on what he thought or how he thought it could be implemented? A to use? He did not. I mean, there's a lot of there's so many variables in that. It's great to have the comment, but that's like saying I want um pie for Thanksgiving. There's like different pies. I mean, right there's different ways to skin the cat, if you will. So just to note um to make the commissioners aware of it, since you will be working on this, um the state of Maryland adopted a um new regulation that requires municipalities to explore accessory dwelling units um in their uh zoning regulations by October. Um you can either October 26. Uh 2026, yes. Um we are waiting for comments from the state in regards to that right now before we bring that in front of you. Um we hope that will be coming soon. Um there is mandate that you have it or you uh can opt out of doing it, but you would have to do a parking study. Uh we want to see what that parking study looks like before we bring in comments and review that. How is the parking study overfit overlay into a ADU ordinance? That's what we're waiting for comment on. Uh is that commented by the state? Yes. A parking study? How does that connect with ADUs? That's what we're looking for guidance. Okay. Yeah. I think that you know, broader, just broader strokes, you know, areas across Maryland are struggling with housing and struggling with affordable housing. And a lot of times things that come out of Annapolis may not work in our community, but they work in other communities across Maryland. Right. So I think that disconnect is probably comes out of hey, this might work really well in Baltimore City, right? Um, for them to explore that, but it might not have the same impact. I agree. I think that's probably important.

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