Revisions to project pass commissioners after initial rejection last year
Worcester County officials approved a zoning change this week that gives developer Todd Ferrante the go-ahead to build apartments for seasonal workers on the same property as his Park Place retail complex in West Ocean City.
The county commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a zoning amendment that allows detached multi-family dwellings as an accessory use to a commercial development. It means new residential units can now be built as detached accessory dwelling units on the same commercially zoned lot.
Before this, the zoning code dictated that new residential units had to be directly attached to or adjoining a commercial structure – which is why Ferrante, with plans to develop seasonal workforce housing along his Route 50 property, launched his bid to have the law changed nearly two years ago.
“I’m very happy that the commissioners felt it was the right thing for the community,” Ferrante said Wednesday. “I was very appreciative that the commissioners agreed with what we had presented to them and look forward to offering the community much-needed year-round rentals.”
Tentative plans call for a three-story, 12-unit apartment building with two- and three-bedroom units behind Ferrante’s Park Place Plaza shopping center on Route 50.
The property can accommodate the housing project because it extends hundreds of feet back into a densely wooded area, while his retail storefronts are close to the highway.
“It makes sense to do residential where it abuts residential, which is what we did. The unit is so far back away from commercial activity that it’s more in the residential community,” Ferrante said.
Ferrante said he hopes to start construction next spring after getting clearance from the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
amazing the lengths someone will go to, to enrich themselves! why not pay a living wage?