OCEAN CITY — One week after viewing grim pictures of stacked bunk beds and blocked doors and windows, Ocean City officials got a different perspective this week as they passed on first reading a tweak in the occupancy calculations for seasonal workforce housing.
Ocean City’s current calculation calls for 40 square feet of bedroom space for each occupant in rental housing, a local standard that has been in place since 1979. The widely accepted international code standard is 50 feet per occupant, leaving Ocean City’s standard about 10 feet smaller than most neighboring communities.
Faced with a growing seasonal housing shortage now deemed critical, there have been discussions about tweaking the occupancy calculation. The issue arose when city officials learned some season housing landlords were seeking a credit for closet space, for example, to meet the 40-foot standard. For example, a typical 150-square foot bedroom would accommodate only three summer workers, but a credit for the 10 square feet of closet space would allow a fourth tenant.
During a debate on the proposed changes to the occupancy calculation last week, including the 10-foot closet credit, Councilman Doug Cymek presented several pictures of deplorable seasonal housing bedrooms with bunk beds blocking doors and windows and suitcases and other property blocking pathways to exits to illustrate the potential dangers of cramming too many occupants into a room.
On Monday, Councilman Wayne Hartman countered with a few pictures of his own of typical rental rooms set up properly with clear pathways to exits and open access to windows and doors to illustrate how the 40-foot rule would work and accomplish the life safety goals while maximizing the number of occupants.
“When the rooms are set up reflecting the 40-square-foot rule, you can see how the windows and doors are easily accessible and the pathways are clear,” he said. “I would feel comfortable having my children stay in there.”
While the debate has focused largely on seasonal student housing, Hartman pointed out the 40-foot standard and the 10-foot closet credit would apply to all housing, including vacation rentals, for example.
“These aren’t student housing guidelines, these are our housing guidelines,” he said. “It affects all sectors and I just wanted to make that clarification.”
Cymek said he didn’t support the square footage reduction and the closet credit and couldn’t vote for the ordinance change on first reading in good conscience. He said pictures like Hartman displayed were acceptable, but unfortunately they were the exception and not the norm. He pointed out one building at 79th Street last year that had 30 more people staying in it than what the code allowed as an example.
“Wayne does a good job with his properties and he and his properties are not the problem,” he said. “The problem is with some of the landlords and sponsors that try to maximize the number of people in the rooms.”
Cymek said he didn’t support the 40-foot rule and the 10-foot closet credit during the prior debates and could not vote of the ordinance change on first reading on Monday.
“I feel the council made an error in 1979 when they lowered the standard and we’ve lived with it all these years,” he said. “A further reduction with a closet credit is not something I can live with.”
Most seasonal housing landlords are aware of and adhere to the 40 square-foot rule, but a few less scrupulous landlords look the other way and cram far too many student workers into undersized bedrooms. Others have found a loop-hole and are reconfiguring floor plans and removing closets altogether to meet the 40-square-foot standard and gain an extra tenant per bedroom.
It has created a conundrum in the resort facing a seasonal housing crunch and the potential loss of summer employees, but paramount to all of that is the health, welfare and safety of the student workers. Of course, regulating the amount of square footage per person in seasonal housing is only effective if the housing is inspected and the regulations are enforced.
“The other side of this is the enforcement side,” said Hartman. “Some people are going to do it right and some are going to do it wrong.”
Chief Building Inspector Kevin Brown and his small crew do a good job of inspecting the hundreds of seasonal housing units despite limited resources, but more than a few slip through the cracks. For that reason, the Mayor and Council last week urged the city manager to find more funding in the budget for increased inspections and enforcement and encouraged that to happen sooner rather than later.
After more debate, the Mayor and Council voted 6-1 with Cymek opposed on Monday to pass the ordinance retaining the current 40-foot standard with the 10-foot closet credit on first reading.