OCEAN CITY – The attorney for the proposed Margaritaville project said his client is exploring other options after the Ocean City council denied the developer’s request to hold a public hearing for the purchase of right-of-way along Baltimore Avenue.
In a work session Tuesday, the Mayor and Council had before them a request from the connections of the Margaritaville project to consider abandoning a portion of unused right-of-way along Baltimore Avenue – between 13th Street and 14th Street –and selling it to the developer.
Attorney Hugh Cropper said his client was seeking to purchase the easternmost 20 feet of right-of-way along the site of the proposed Margaritaville project. That additional land, he said, would allow the developer to meet the 90,000-square-foot site requirement to qualify for a planned overlay district (POD) designation.
“We’re not asking for a yes vote,” he told the council. “All we’re asking for is that you set a public hearing, so you can take public comments on this request.”
Earlier this year, resort officials agreed to rescind an ordinance allowing the town to abandon a narrow strip of right-of-way between 13th and 14th streets to the developer of the Margaritaville project after Ocean City resident Margaret Pillas submitted a successful petition for referendum challenging the legislation. Cropper said the referendum had stopped the project from moving forward.
What a great opportunity for OC. Too bad politics will keep OC from growing and prospering.
Good ole boys!
With so much building, won’t OC tip over? I’m asking for Baltimore friends who can’t swim.