OCEAN CITY — At the neighboring property owners’ request, the city agreed last week to formally abandon a little-used, city-owned alley in the north end of town and begin proceedings to transfer the property.
The Mayor and Council last Tuesday voted unanimously to abandon an alley that runs east to west between 86th Street and Bering Road and ultimately sell it to the neighboring property owners. The council voted to abandon the alley after City Engineer Terry McGean assured them there was no planned use for the alley by the city, nor were there any utilities or necessary easements.
“There is no current use for the alley,” he said. “Our recommendation is to close the alley and the next step is getting an appraisal and scheduling a public hearing to begin the transfer.”
The request came from the owners of property on either side the east-west lane between Bering Road and 86th Street. Resident Matt Covell, representing the adjacent property owners, told the Mayor and Council the alley had become a nuisance and a safety hazard. Covell also said he and the neighboring property owners had been sharing the effort and expense of maintaining the lane.
“We’d like you to consider abandoning this undeveloped and unimproved alley,” he said. “It’s a matter of maintenance and it’s also become a matter of people walking through there at all hours of the night. We’d like to make it a little more private.”
Another adjacent property owner, Jim Carl, said the problems with the alley have existed for decades.
“It’s been a problem for 20 years with the noise and the trash and people speeding through there,” he said. “It’s just a nuisance and now it’s becoming a hazard. There is no stop sign and cars come rolling through there. I’m afraid they’re going to hit my house or my renters’ house.”
Councilmember Mary Knight said abandoning the alley was exactly the kind of grassroots action the council could help residents with almost immediately.
“This fits into our strategic plan to make the community more livable,” she said. “I love it when people come to us with a need and we’re able to do something about it.”
However, City Solicitor Guy Ayres asked McGean if he was certain all of the adjacent property owners were represented by Kovell.
“If you want to proceed, there is an appraisal that costs money and advertising the public hearing costs money,” he said. “Typically, the property owners would share in those costs because they stand to gain value. We need to see where they stand on this before we initiate the process.”
McGean said he had assurances from Kovell that he was speaking on behalf of his neighbors. With that said, the council voted 7-0 to begin the disposal and transfer process for the alley.