OCEAN CITY, Md. -- Two public hearings about a Margaritaville Resort between 13th and 14th street are scheduled for September. The first, set for September 5th, will allow neighbors to voice their thoughts on the town selling an alleyway.
Washington Lane, which runs North to South and connects 13th and 14th streets, is the alleyway up for debate. The first public hearing will be about the town abandoning or selling the alleyway. If needed, the second hearing, scheduled for the middle of September, will be about the town giving up air-rights.
At the end of those public hearings, the decision will ultimately fall on the mayor and city council. Hugh Cropper, the attorney representing the projects developers, said buying the entire alley is the first choice.
"If that is successful, they'll[developers] qualify for the square footage needed for a planned overlay district or POD, which is their preferred form of development," said Cropper.
It means the larger scale project, first proposed about a year ago, could move forward. That project would include a swimming pool, retail shops, roughly 250 rooms and conference space.
City Manager Terry McGean said the alleyway itself is not used by the town for infrastructure purposes, but it is used by cars and people as a cut-through. Even if the alley is bought out, Cropper said it will remain open for through traffic.
"If the council determines that that is not in the publics interest, then the air-rights hearing would move forward," said McGean.
At which point, the project would be smaller.
"The conference center, the conference room, the amenities, the babysitting facilities, the cooking classes, the yoga classes, these are the things that are being shrunk out of the POD," said Cropper.
The future of Margaritaville, up in the air until Ocean City neighbors make their voices heard and town officials come to a decision.