SNOW HILL – A text amendment that would allow special events in more waterfront areas will move on to the Worcester County Commissioners following consideration by the planning commission last week.
The commission voted 4-3 on Thursday to forward a text amendment that would permit special events in the Resource Protection District by special exception on to the county commissioners with a favorable recommendation. Attorney Mark Cropper said the amendment was similar to those that had been approved to allow special events on properties with estate or agricultural zoning.
“I’m just asking for the same thing here that’s already been done in the A-1 and E-1 zone,” he said.
The proposed text amendment would allow special events such as weddings and parties on properties in the Resource Protection District. According to Cropper, with its proximity to water many properties in Worcester County were zoned partially agricultural and partially resource protection.
Cropper pointed out the Rackliffe House was zoned resource protection and frequently hosted special events.
“To my knowledge nobody’s ever complained or felt those activities at the Rackliffe House are disturbing to the environment or disruptive, and obviously Rackliffe House is used because of the scenic amenity of using that property, looking out over the shoreline to Assateague,” he said.
Though the text amendment would not be site specific, Cropper said his client had a property next to the bay north of Route 90. He said it would provide a waterfront venue for people to host weddings or similar events.
“I don’t see it any different than the events that occur at Rackliffe House,” he said.
Cropper added that uses already allowed in the Resource Protection District included aquaculture and seafood processing.
“I’m bringing these to your attention to compare these uses to the text amendment I’ve applied for, which I find to be not even comparable,” he said. “These other uses are much more intense, much more commercial.”
Cropper said that if the text amendment was approved, special events would be allowed as a special exception use and would still require approval from the board of zoning appeals.
Commission member Brooks Clayville said he thought the impact of Cropper’s proposal would be minimal. He pointed out that if the Resource Protection District had existed when places like Ocean City and Ocean Pines were being built, they’d likely have that zoning designation.
“And yet we built on them and the world hasn’t ended quite yet,” he said. “I really don’t think there’ll be that many party barns built. It’s kind of a fad. I think the impact will be minimal … Looking at it from a mid-to-south end of the county perspective, there’s not a lot of things we can do down here.”
Phyllis Wimbrow, the county’s deputy director of development review and permitting, said she was concerned about the cumulative impact of minor changes to the zoning code.
“My problem is this continual erosion of the zoning code …,” she said. “Someday you’re going to end up with a mess.”
The commission voted 4-3, with commission members Mike Diffendal, Jerry Barbierri and Jay Knerr opposed, to forward the amendment to the county commissioners with a favorable recommendation. Cropper will ask the commissioners to consider the amendment at the same time they review a parallel proposal to amend the county’s natural resources article to allow special events in the Resource Conservation Area.
