OCEAN CITY – Just how much government input is too much for conditions of approval on a new business or development was the subject of a lively debate this week.
On Tuesday, the Mayor and Council met with the Ocean City Planning Commission for a second joint meeting to discuss a wide variety of issues related to comprehensive plans, zoning code amendments and the like. The two bodies met earlier this year for the first of what will likely be many joint sessions to clear the air over certain issues, and the second was Tuesday afternoon at City Hall.
One of the topics for discussion right off the bat on Tuesday was the planning commission’s frequent recommendations on conditional use requests. Developers or business operators frequently apply for a conditional use to allow their project to be located in an area where the existing zoning might not otherwise allow it.
There are many examples of a conditional use request for a business operation in an area otherwise zoned residential. By definition, a conditional use request is just that. The planning commission reserves the right to put conditions on their favorable recommendations that ultimately head to the full Mayor and Council for approval.
For example, the planning commission might ask for, and receive, from the developer conditions that might make a project more palatable for the neighborhood in which it is proposed. In one recent example, the planning commission recommended a conditional use request for an axe-throwing facility and conditions included a supervisor of a certain age must be on hand and the axes should be carefully stowed away when the business is not in operation.