OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission Approves Zoning Text Amendment on February 3, 2026

Mayor and City Council & Boards — Tuesday, February 3, 2026
BodyOcean City, Maryland
SessionMayor and City Council & Boards
DateTuesday, February 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 35:29

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

It's it's um Sandy says, How do you ever get anything done?

0:03

I'm like, look, what you you have a whole a board with like ten or twelve pieces, and you gotta move this one forwards.

0:08

You can move this one forward today.

0:10

This one maybe a month from now you can move it two spots, you know.

0:13

Or sometimes backwards.

0:14

Well, yeah, try not to do that.

0:15

I uh I I run pipeline soccer club.

0:18

We have a hundred teams.

0:19

Uh huh.

0:19

So we just started down here.

0:21

So if you ever get uh property with some soccer fields, let me know, because we we play in Pittsville now.

0:26

Okay.

0:27

Strawberry Fields.

0:28

Yep.

0:28

We we rent that place.

0:30

So we have a hundred teams all together.

0:32

We only have five or six feet down here.

0:34

Well, do you ever get over to Salisbury?

0:36

Yeah.

0:36

The Crown Center and uh the um fruitland yeah fruitland.

0:42

Yeah, yeah.

0:42

Yeah.

0:43

So we we we actually rent a really nice field there, but it would be great to have lights.

0:47

Yeah, he's a neat guy.

0:48

Um God the guy was the name of the fields you just said, but um or strawberry field I don't remember his last name.

0:58

I mean, we're gonna we have we're in a good spot right now.

1:00

Well, my kids own the Crown Center with the fields beside it.

1:02

Yeah.

1:03

Brad Gillis and Chris and Joey Gilbert.

1:05

I didn't realize that was yours.

1:06

Yep, yeah.

1:07

Yeah, I mean that that's our competition really.

1:09

Oh, okay.

1:11

My partner's able to be like um Amazon, and then they shot that down or something like that.

1:19

I will go ahead and call tonight's planning and zoning commission meeting to order.

1:23

Today is Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026.

1:25

Regular session, first idle item on the agenda is approval of the minutes from our January 21st, 2026 meeting.

1:32

Any revisions to the minutes?

1:35

No, I don't entertain a motion for approval.

1:38

Janet one, Pam two, all those in favor?

1:41

Aye.

1:41

I was absent.

1:42

Okay.

1:44

Got two abstentions uh from Palmer and Kevin.

1:47

All right.

1:48

Uh moving on, we will go ahead and get the public hearing moving.

1:55

Uh yes, is there anybody in the audience before the public hearing begins?

1:58

I have to ask, is there anybody in the audience who objects to any of the commissioners participating, seeing none?

2:04

Uh we will go ahead and George get us get us going.

2:07

All right, George Vegans, where are you in?

2:09

Yes, please.

2:10

Um, do you solemnly swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in front of the planning commission.

2:16

I do.

2:16

Um state your name and address for the record.

2:18

My name is George Beller, Director of Planning and Community Development.

2:21

Address is 301 Baltimore Avenue, Ocean City, Maryland.

2:27

Okay.

2:29

Well, everyone, thank you for joining us this evening.

2:31

Um, we are here to consider amending chapter 110 of the ocean city code to revise bulk regulations within the BM1, which is our Bayside Marine, or DM, Downtown Marine, our L C One, local commercial zoning district, and our BMUD, Baside Marine Mixed Use District, and our SC One shopping center district.

2:51

Changes apply to yard setbacks to include subdivided two family dwellings and townhouses.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████82%
Procedural████████14%
Parks and Recreation██4%
Summary of Proceedings

Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Summary – February 3, 2026

The Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission met on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers. The Commission approved the January 21, 2026 minutes and held a public hearing on proposed amendments to Chapter 110 bulk regulations, ultimately approving a modified version of the ordinance.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the minutes of the January 21, 2026 meeting. Motion by Commissioner Hough, second by Commissioner Robertson. Commissioner Rohe initially abstained, but after staff confirmed he had attended the prior meeting, he approved the minutes; Commissioner Gillis abstained because he had been absent.

Public Hearing

  • Staff: George Beller, Director of Planning and Community Development, presented PZ File #26-14100001, an ordinance to amend Chapter 110 zoning bulk regulations in the BM-1 (Bayside Marine), DM (Downtown Marine), LC-1 (Local Commercial), BMUD (Bayside Marine Mixed Use), and SC-1 (Shopping Center) districts. The amendments add standards for subdivided two-family dwellings and townhouses by referencing Section 110-906, increasing residential front yard setbacks to 20 feet, rear yard setbacks to 15 feet, and setting side yards at 5 feet for buildings up to three stories and 10 feet for four- or five-story buildings. Staff said the additional space would accommodate utilities, trash enclosures, HVAC equipment, stormwater management, and landscaping.
  • No members of the public offered testimony.

Discussion Items

  • Commissioners discussed whether all five districts should be included. Commissioner Wilson proposed removing the BM-1, DM, and BMUD districts, citing downtown density and built-out areas. Other commissioners noted the need for future redevelopment standards and expressed concern about downtown clutter. The Commission reached consensus to remove only the BM-1 and DM districts and keep LC-1, SC-1, and BMUD in the ordinance. Commissioner Wilson dissented from the final vote because he preferred tying the residential setback directly to Coastal Highway rather than using district-wide setback changes.
  • Commissioner comments included discussion of a proposed alley closure on 26th Street for a new hotel on the former Flagship site. Staff said the alley segment is already effectively closed or built over and that the developer agreed to resurface the alley of concern. Commissioners also briefly discussed longer-term ideas about city-county governance and requiring conditional-use approvals for piecemeal commercial-to-residential conversions; no action was taken.

Key Outcomes

  • Voted to approve the amended ordinance, with the BM-1 and DM districts removed, keeping LC-1, SC-1, and BMUD. The motion by Commissioner Gillis, seconded by Commissioner Butta, carried with one dissenting vote.
  • Closed the public hearing after the vote.
  • The amended ordinance will be forwarded to the Mayor and City Council for further consideration.

Meeting Transcript

It's it's um Sandy says, How do you ever get anything done? I'm like, look, what you you have a whole a board with like ten or twelve pieces, and you gotta move this one forwards. You can move this one forward today. This one maybe a month from now you can move it two spots, you know. Or sometimes backwards. Well, yeah, try not to do that. I uh I I run pipeline soccer club. We have a hundred teams. Uh huh. So we just started down here. So if you ever get uh property with some soccer fields, let me know, because we we play in Pittsville now. Okay. Strawberry Fields. Yep. We we rent that place. So we have a hundred teams all together. We only have five or six feet down here. Well, do you ever get over to Salisbury? Yeah. The Crown Center and uh the um fruitland yeah fruitland. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So we we we actually rent a really nice field there, but it would be great to have lights. Yeah, he's a neat guy. Um God the guy was the name of the fields you just said, but um or strawberry field I don't remember his last name. I mean, we're gonna we have we're in a good spot right now. Well, my kids own the Crown Center with the fields beside it. Yeah. Brad Gillis and Chris and Joey Gilbert. I didn't realize that was yours. Yep, yeah. Yeah, I mean that that's our competition really. Oh, okay. My partner's able to be like um Amazon, and then they shot that down or something like that. I will go ahead and call tonight's planning and zoning commission meeting to order. Today is Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026. Regular session, first idle item on the agenda is approval of the minutes from our January 21st, 2026 meeting. Any revisions to the minutes? No, I don't entertain a motion for approval. Janet one, Pam two, all those in favor? Aye. I was absent. Okay. Got two abstentions uh from Palmer and Kevin. All right. Uh moving on, we will go ahead and get the public hearing moving. Uh yes, is there anybody in the audience before the public hearing begins? I have to ask, is there anybody in the audience who objects to any of the commissioners participating, seeing none? Uh we will go ahead and George get us get us going. All right, George Vegans, where are you in?

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