OCEAN CITY — A successful petition blocking the town’s transfer of a right-of-way along Baltimore Avenue to help the proposed Margaritaville project was confirmed this week and could be heading to a special election.
Last year, local resident and former councilperson Margaret Pillas launched an effort to petition to referendum an ordinance passed by the Mayor and Council to abandon and convey a narrow strip along Baltimore Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street to accommodate the proposed Margaritaville project’s planned overlay district (POD) requirements. On Tuesday, the town’s Board of Election Supervisors announced it has verified and authenticated the required number of signatures to successfully bring the petition to referendum.
What happens next remains to be seen. Pillas’ petition drive to overturn the ordinance was completed in advance of the town’s municipal election in November but did not meet the timeline to get on the ballot because of signature verification timing, for example. As a result, there could be a special election on that referendum question alone, or it could be folded into the next municipal election in 2024. In either case, time is of the essence for the significant project.
City Clerk Diana Chavis on Tuesday submitted the Board of Elections Supervisors’ verification of the petition’s signatures. She explained the petition needed the confirmed signatures of 40% of the voters in the 2020 municipal election. There were 1,528 voters in the 2020 municipal election, meaning the petition required the signatures of 612 qualified voters to meet the standard. Chavis on Tuesday confirmed the Board of Elections Supervisors had verified 639 valid signatures, meaning the petition for referendum was successful and the voters will ultimately have the opportunity to weigh on the property abandonment and conveyance along Baltimore Avenue. She said the petition submitted contained 825 signatures, but the board had confirmed 639 as valid.
“On Dec. 20, the Board of Elections Supervisors conducted a signature verification process,” she said. “The board has confirmed 199 petition pages containing 825 valid signatures were received to submit the ordinance to a referendum vote by the voters of the town of Ocean City.”
Ruuut Roooow City Fail!
Anybody else confused? Must be an OC thing.
Off season on the island. Happens every single year. Majority of owners in OC dont live there so cant vote. We that do are about 7k….but it has gotten much smaller. There are so many vacancies mid week of the season, yet the City keeps building and building and building BIGGER. Its always a quick money grad short term then another project comes to light. Its decades now that the mid season week (Tues Wed Thurs) problem have not been solved. Some bars and restaurants either close earlier then or close all together because no one is in town.
Thats a problem that no one wants to address….hence a few of us trying to slow down the constant super building. Not stop it, just slow it down.
Who does want to be there? Between the thugs and the high prices, no one wants to spend their hard earned money there.