WORCESTER COUNTY, Md. - A request to rezone nearly 15 acres near Ocean Pines was withdrawn Tuesday following concerns from county commissioners and community members.
The Worcester County Commissioners held a public hearing July 21 on Rezoning Case No. 453 seeking to rezone about 14.72 acres along Route 589, west of the North Gate of Ocean Pines, from R-2 suburban residential to R-3 multi-family residential.
The change would have increased the property’s maximum density from approximately 59 homes to 88 homes. The applicants proposed building a townhouse community with recreational space and a 100-foot vegetated buffer between the development and existing Ocean Pines properties.
Attorney Hugh Cropper, representing Ocean Pines Plaza Partnership and the James B. Vito Revocable Trust, argued that the additional density would help offset the cost of extending water and sewer service to the property. He also said the project would provide more attainable housing and reduce sprawl.
The applicants’ traffic engineer testified that 88 townhouses would generate fewer daily trips than 59 single-family homes.
Several commissioners questioned that comparison, noting the property’s existing zoning also allows townhouses. They also challenged whether townhouses advertised as “luxury” would provide the affordable or workforce housing cited by the applicants.
Members of the Ocean Pines community raised additional concerns about congestion along Route 589, water and sewer infrastructure, emergency services, schools, and wetlands.
Ocean Pines Association President John Latham asked commissioners to deny or delay the request until those concerns could be addressed. Another resident told commissioners that more than 900 people had signed a petition opposing the rezoning.
“The petition clearly shows that there's not a concern of only a few neighboring properties, but the entire neighborhood,” one neighbor said during the meeting.
Following those comments, Cropper officially withdrew the rezoning application on behalf of the property owners. He acknowledged that the applicants cannot submit the same rezoning request again for one year.
The commissioners did not vote on the case, and the property will remain zoned R-2 for now.
