Worcester County officials this week stopped short of tweaking the zoning code in order to prevent an offshore wind developer from legally operating as a public utility in the West Ocean City fishing harbor.
The county’s Board of Commissioners at its Feb. 18 meeting considered a bill that would make immediate zoning changes to the Commercial Marine District, where the harbor lies.
One section of text would be changed to prohibit any “portside infrastructure or associated facilities that are intended to support offshore energy production.” Another bans “public utility structure” as a permitted use.
The zoning zinger aims to stymie developer US Wind, who plans to build an operations and maintenance facility at the mouth of the harbor that would service a planned 114-turbine wind farm located about 11 miles offshore.
Faced with legal uncertainty, however, the commissioners instead decided to table the vote following a public hearing for further deliberation and legal review.
“I don’t know that we need to move forward with this today,” said Commissioner Joe Mitrecic (District 7, Ocean City), who moved to postpone the vote for a future meeting. “I’m telling you right now that this is, to me, to protect our commercial fishing harbor moving forward.”
Most of the 16 people who spoke at the bill hearing Tuesday were supportive of the county’s counterpunch in its ongoing slugfest against US Wind. They included Jim Motsko, founder of the famous White Marlin Open fishing tournament, as well as several representatives from the fishing and marina community.
Having to buy this so called green energy (wind and solar) is one of the excuses delmarva power is using to raise our rates. How’s that working out for us locals. Our rates will go up again to maintain the windmills once they start producing. U.S. winds will get rich by using energy grants to build a project that us consumers will be charged to maintain by paying unaffordable electric bills. Not to mention confusing migrating whales and national security by blocking radio signals used by the military for alerts of possible incoming threats. This invasion must be stopped using any means possible. Also, who cares that pat and april reese’s property values will not increase by not letting U.S. Winds take over West Ocean City.