SNOW HILL – County leaders are set to consider a rezoning request that would allow for the development of 18 acres of farmland on Route 50.
The Worcester County Commissioners will host a public hearing on the proposed rezoning of property at the intersection of Route 50 and Route 346 on Jan. 21. The rezoning would allow Ernest Gerardi’s M&G Land LLC to move forward with plans for a convenience store and other commercial uses on the site. Attorney Joe Moore, citing the property’s location and irregular shape, told the Worcester County Planning Commission this fall he believed the current agricultural zoning was a mistake.
“The planning commission unanimously agreed with our position,” he said.
The commission voted 5-0 in October to forward the rezoning request on to the Worcester County Commissioners with a favorable recommendation. The commissioners will now host a public hearing on the request Jan. 21.
While the hearing will provide members of the public with an opportunity to share their views on the proposed rezoning, Moore will also have the chance to make his case. In an interview this week, he said he planned to make a few key points during his presentation. He said the property, located on the triangular piece of land currently home to a “Welcome to Berlin” sign, was the first entrance to a Worcester County municipality that motorists came across if they were traveling from Wicomico County toward Ocean City.
He added that the property’s irregular shape and the fact that it was bounded by highways on two sides and an electrical substation on the other made it inappropriate for agricultural use. Instead, his client wants it to serve as a gateway into Berlin. Though Gerardi initially approached the town about annexation, the two parties were not able to come to agreement. That’s when Gerardi began pursuing a county rezoning instead.
Moore said the property had been included as a site for future development in local planning documents.
“We are in the county’s growth area,” he said.
He added that the property wasn’t suitable for residential development because of its proximity to the electric substation.
“It’s too close to that significantly industrial property to be utilized for residential use,” he said.
