OCEAN CITY – Ocean City’s Planning and Zoning Commission failed to make any concrete decisions last week on the OC Brewing Company’s proposed plans for an outside expansion and have agreed to continue the open hearing once the applicant provides more detailed site drawings.
General Manager Matthew Rankin submitted a request to amend OC Brewing’s conditional use application to include additional decking, an outdoor playground and a grain silo, which will be placed inside the building and will protrude from the roofline an additional 16 feet, 10 inches.
The silo, which was already purchased, will be placed on the southwest side of the building and is meant to reduce the cost of grain from 48 cents a pound to 11 cents, according to Rankin.
“The grain silo itself would help cut costs when it comes to production, safety and to help continue the growth of our business,” he said. “We would like to make it as less intrusive as possible. There is some attraction to it, but that isn’t our main purpose.”
Yet, residents of the neighboring Maresol, to the southwest of OC Brewery’s location, argued the silo would detract from their view.
Monica Whitehead of Rusty Management presented a letter from the condo owners and Board President Tom James.
The letter stated complaints about unkempt landscaping on the neighboring property and possible harm to the condominiums’ resale value. Yet, commission member Palmer Gillis argued there was no validity to the latter claim.
“I’m not saying an opinion doesn’t matter,” he said. “But it isn’t supported by anything.”
Arnold, Md. native and condo owner Steven Jones said he drove from Annapolis to Ocean City last Tuesday to oppose the silo.
In prior plans submitted by OC Brewery, the silo was located on the outside of the property. The commission approved the renderings and sent the plans to the mayor and city council, which ultimately denied their request and suggested the silo be placed inside.
According to Zoning Administrator Blaine Smith, the silo did not “keep with the tradition of the neighborhood.”
“Once the Supreme Court [the mayor and council] rules on something … you are the lower guys,” Jones said. “Don’t you abide by that? Can you keep coming around every six months even though the highest court in OC has ruled no? I don’t get it. Would you folks really want that in your line of sight? I doubt it. So I am already pleading from that particular perspective.”
Condo owner John Stern went even further by stating the added silo would produce a manufacturing facility on the island without the added employment or payroll.
The commission expressed their desires in the meeting to make the town business-friendly. But Stern said OC Brewing’s production was going to the business’s two locations in Bel Air, Md., and Reisterstown, Md., for sale.
“This isn’t going to help this place survive,” he said. “It’s helping some other places. I think it’s ridiculous to be there.”
Gillis proposed cosmetically concealing the protruding silo with a covering, of which most condo owners in the meeting agreed would do nothing.
Debates over the silo remained at a standstill as the meeting concluded, but commission members and condo owners held little reservation about the proposed playground and additional decking.
The outside dining area, currently located in a front, eastern portion of the building along Coastal Highway, will expand to the left of the original decking an additional 490 square feet, eliminating one of the business’s two parking lot entrances. The playground will replace the three parking spaces in front of the building.
To accommodate the 71 required parking spaces, site plans have relocated the three parking spaces to the left of the building, next to Coastal Highway.
Commission member Lauren Taylor said she would prefer to eliminate the parking space closest to the highway, to avoid collisions between cars backing out of the space and those entering the parking lot.
Smith said eliminating the space is possible because the brewery currently has 72 spaces.
The commission agreed to table the discussion for a second hearing once Rankin has more detailed renderings of the landscaping, sidewalk, entrance, playground area and silo. Testimonies from the condo owners will be placed on the record before the next meeting commences.
If the amendment passes in the next hearing, the permit will go to the mayor and city council for final approval.
