SNOW HILL – Discussion of a derelict garden center on Route 589 led to several county officials expressing concerns about nuisance properties within their districts.
County staff asked the Worcester County Commissioners this week to begin the process of declaring the Planted Pleasures Garden Center on Route 589 a nuisance. Ed Tudor, the county’s director of development review and permitting, said the property was overgrown and its abandoned buildings were falling down.
According to staff, the Planted Pleasures property has been a cause for complaint since 2015. Though the property owner has cooperated somewhat in the past, there has been no cooperation recently.
Tudor asked the commissioners to give the property owner 15 days to abate the nuisance or request a hearing. If the nuisance is not abated and a hearing is not requested, county staff will clean up the property and bill the owner.
Commissioner Chip Bertino said constituents shared concerns regarding the property with him regularly.
“This piece of property has come up numerous times at my town meetings,” he said.
Commissioner Joe Mitrecic said he wanted to see the greenhouse parcel cleaned up but added that he’d advised officials previously of an equally messy property on Madison Avenue in Ocean City.
“It’s the same situation,” he said. “Neighbors have complained about it and I’ve mentioned it to you before. Why didn’t we take this route with that too?”
Tudor said his department was generally instructed not to bother owner occupied properties. He said the one on Madison Avenue was, at times, occupied. He assured Mitrecic that he would take another look at it however. The commissioners voted unanimously to send notice to the property owner advising him he had 15 days to clean up the property or request a hearing.
“I support this,” Mitrecic said, “but I also support everybody else getting their neighbors’ properties cleaned up.”
Commissioner Jim Bunting said he was concerned about a property at the intersection of Bishopville Road and St. Martins Neck Road. He said he’d looked at the health-related nuisances outlined in the county’s code and thought there were several issues at the property in question.
“It’s a terrible mess,” he said. “Bishopville is trying to improve the looks of the town.”
He asked Tudor to take a look at the property and said other county departments might need to be involved as well.
“I want you to look at this code again real good and see if we can have nuisance abatement on that property,” he said.
