In one West Ocean City neighborhood, a fight over parking spaces has escalated into a bitter battle over short-term rentals, with residents now threatening to haul their homeowners association into court.
Worcester County last month notified 16 owners in The Landings at Bayside community along Route 611 that their short-term rental licenses were being revoked, because they were out of compliance with parking rules by not providing a third parking space to renters. The letter to owners also said their original rental licenses had been issued in error by county staff.
Some owners then reached out to their management company, Legum & Norman, which led to the HOA’s board of directors sending out a note that licenses were pulled because of the parking issue.
However, in a three-page letter shared with OC Today-Dispatch on Sept. 4, two dozen residents from 15 households allege the conflict was the fault of the homeowners association. They specifically said it was the HOA’s board of directors that created the problem when they raised the complaint with the county – allegedly as a way to target and weed out short-term rental properties.
“Homeowners purchased their properties with the reasonable expectation… that the common area parking facilities sufficiently meet the requirements for all permissible uses, including short-term rentals,” the letter says. “Short-term rentals have been an integral part of this community for 20 years.”
According to the zoning code, for any unit to be rented on a short-term basis – that’s 28 days or fewer – it must provide an additional off-street parking space beyond the two required. The rule applies only to homes built after January 1, 2020, which affects nearly all the recently built townhouses in The Landings, county officials have stated.
at least your not stuck with year round rentals with 3 or 4 illegal immigrant families living in one unit, parking on lawns and destroying what was once a lovely neighborhood. DemonicRats turning your world into the turd world!
I wouldn’t live in a neighborhood with an HOA if they gave me the house.