OCEAN CITY – It took a little creative thinking, but resort planners last week figured out a way to give conditional approval to repurpose a downtown amusement facility for employee housing.
The Ocean City Planning Commission last week had before them a request to convert what has historically been an amusement facility at Worcester Street to seasonal workforce housing for as many as 78 seasonal workers. The facility has most recently been Selfie Fantasy, but in the past hosted a haunted house.
While all embraced the concept, the change of use came with challenges. The property is zoned B-1, or business district, and in order to convert it to workforce housing, the planning commission had to figure out a way to define the project. It could be considered workforce housing, which would require onsite parking, or it could be considered a rooming house, which would get around the parking non-conformity issues.
After considerable debate, the planning commission decided it could be a hybrid of the two classifications, and approved the conversion with conditions imposed. Planning and Community Development Director Bill Neville explained the challenges for the planning commission.
“This has been a complicated review,” he said. “It’s a hybrid project. The only two permitted uses are employee housing or a rooming house. If it’s not on the list, you can’t consider it. Is it employee housing or a rooming house? They came up with a hybrid. It includes a large area and sleeping areas divided by a wall system that does not go up to the ceiling.”
It is who ya know and who ya blow in OC.
Planning Commissioner Palmer Gillis:
“They’re used to this in Europe?” Living in sub-par conditions with no privacy? Or is this what they are used to when they come to OC?
“This is the best we can do with what we have to work with.” Or is it a buddy’s project and you need to ensure code is altered to make it work?
Enslavement much? Bring foreign kids here to make them work 12+ hours a day for low wages and house them in sub par housing with no privacy. Every kid’s dream. Nothing like showing them what it is like to be in OC MD.
Use anyone for a buck.
Palmer Gillis is only involved in this with/through Planning and Zoning. As broke as me and my siblings were when we were in middle and high school we worked whatever hours we could get. Quit babying your children as you can work extremely hard when you are young and trust me, you can’t when you get older. These kids come here for one purpose only, the make money and compared to the countries they come from, what they get paid here is a small fortune compared to where they come from and use your head, they wouldn’t come here if it wasn’t worth it. It’s more our parenting and spoiling OUR kids that has screwed up everything. Let them make less and LEARN while even providing food and a roof over their heads so they can experience what it was like for us when WE were young. Perhaps many of you have forgotten???
Twist words much?
LOL you are comparing the unethical crap that went on when we were kids to today and what to subject your children to that? Yea that’s f’-ed up. I really do not want my daughter to experience having her breasts grabbed by her manager at the age of 17. Or her tip money stolen from her, or have her intentionally under paid. I would rather teach them to be mindful of where they work and how much abuse they tolerate.
It is wholly unnecessary to subject ANYONE to the illegal employment practices and disgusting living conditions these foreign kids are subjected to. I can tell by your words that you have not experienced it.
I worked thru highschool and had an apt by 18 yrs old that did not include bunk beds and no privacy. Putting a roof over your head isn’t living in a dorm or hostel with no privacy.
Have another cup of coffee and get off your high horse because you are clueless on this subject. So you rented hotel rooms out. Doesn’t compare, unless you were one of those sleeze balls putting 8 kids in a room the size of a closet.
Need I say more Folks! This person was obviously groped as a child and wants to make sure her child is never groped because all people are bad people. It’s a shame about the tip money but I was mugged on the D Train in the Bronx because my Mommy or Grandmother wasn’t there to protect me.
As for the horrible living conditions, I was on my own at 17, good for us. In my case I was renting a room in someone’s home, it was all I could afford. Have you ever looked into the living conditions in other countries, I can assure/guarantee you that you have not.
As for renting rooms, I commend Mark Odachowski for the accommodations he provided at the Alamo. You’ve got a big mouth Anonymous. No one will ever believe you’ve ever stepped into any rooms provided for J1’s on the shore. I can assure you the Alamo was by far one of the nicest. Now wrap you and your kids in bubble wrap so they can go off to work well protected.
Having grown up in an OC family business I can tell you that employees did not have a hard time finding places to live. However the places they found were not on prime ocean/boardwalk front property.
Joe while I get what you are saying the prior commenter may have noticed that to get around code the walls won’t go to the ceiling. So we are housing workers on prime real estate and having them sleep in cubicles. I see problems coming.