OCEAN CITY – With a successful petition for referendum opposing the conveyance of an narrow section of right-of-way between 13th and 14th streets verified last week, resort officials on Tuesday voted to rescind the ordinance approved last year setting in motion that process, thereby avoiding the need for a possible special election.
As part of a larger discussion on Tuesday about the proposed redevelopment of the Baltimore Avenue corridor from North Division Street to 15th Street, the Mayor and Council had before them several options on how best to handle a successful petition for referendum opposing the conveyance of an abandoned narrow strip of right-of-way between 13th Street and 14th Street.
By way of background, the town in recent years has been in the process of planning a major redevelopment of the Baltimore Avenue corridor from North Division Street to 15th Street including the undergrounding of unsightly utilities, widening sidewalks and an overall streetscaping project. The $40 million Baltimore Avenue redevelopment project is not without its complexities.
For example, deeds platted decades ago show the Baltimore Avenue right-of-way at 75 feet, but the current roadway utilizes just 45 feet from curb to curb, creating a narrow strip of property not needed for the corridor. Over the years, adjacent property owners have steadily encroached on the no man’s land of sorts with signs, parking, driveways and landscaping, for example.
As part of the larger redevelopment project, the plan has been to convey that narrow strip of unused right-of-way back to the adjacent property owners. The initial approach was to work through that process piecemeal, property by property, or at least in sections, and it just so happened the first applicant for the conveyance was the block between 13th Street and 14th Street that could support the proposed Margaritaville project in that area.
In order to meet the requirements for a planned overlay district, the developers of the Margaritaville project would need that narrow strip of unused right-of-way to make the minimum 90,000 square feet needed to qualify for the special zoning district. Again, all of the adjacent property owners along the corridor can, and likely will, apply for conveyance of the unused portion of Baltimore Avenue right-of-way, but that block just happened to be first and the Mayor and Council last year approved Ordinance 2022-23, which began the conveyance process.
However, last year, local resident and former councilperson Margaret Pillas launched a petition for referendum challenging that ordinance. The petition required the signatures of at least 40% of the voters who participated in the last municipal election in 2020, although there is some dispute arising if a successful petition would require 40% of all of the registered voters in the town whether they voted in the 2020 election or not.
Last week, the Board of Elections Supervisors confirmed Pillas’ petition met the required number of signatures. That left town officials with multiple options, including holding a special election at a later date specific to the ratified petition, holding off until the next scheduled municipal election in 2024, or other options allowed by the town’s charter. On Tuesday, the council veered in a different direction, voting to simply rescind Ordinance 2022-23, thus avoiding the need for a special election on the issue. It remains to be seen if that action ends the issue, although there have already been veiled hints at another petition if the town moves forward with conveying all of the abandoned right-of-way along the corridor.
City Manager Terry McGean on Tuesday outlined the lengthy process for conveying the abandoned right-of-way. Steps include preparing new plats, sending letters to the property owners with the new plats, meeting with property owners as necessary to discuss their options, receiving approval from the property owners, crafting an ordinance to abandon the town-owned property and, finally, recording the amended plats.
During Tuesday’s work session, a series of motions were made and ultimately approved by the majority of the council on the conveyance issue. Council Secretary Tony DeLuca made a motion to rescind or remove the approved ordinance related to the area between 13th Street and 14th Street.
McGean said the abandonment of the unused right-of-way and ultimate conveyance of the property to the adjacent property owners could be achieved in different ways. For example, the application for the conveyance of the abandoned right-of-way between 13th Street and 14th Street was just the first of what could be many and was needed to accommodate the proposed Margaritaville project. McGean on Tuesday outlined different options for proceeding with the abandonment process.
“One option is to complete it in multiple ordinances beginning with phase one immediately,” he said. “The other option is to craft a single ordinance for the entire scope of the project.”
City Solicitor Heather Stansbury explained there were multiple options on the table in terms of dealing with the successful petition for referendum.
“One option would be to hold a special election but the timeline for that would be no less than 90 days,” she said. “The other option is to wait until the next municipal election. We need some direction.”
Again, DeLuca made a motion to simply rescind the ordinance approved last year providing for the conveyance of the section of right-of-way between 13th and 14th streets, a motion ultimately approved unanimously by the council.
“I choose option three,” he said. “I make a motion to rescind or remove Ordinance 2022-23.”
Essentially, that option takes the existing verified petition for referendum out of the current equation altogether. DeLuca then made a motion to immediately begin the right-of-way abandonment process for the approved first phase of the Baltimore Avenue corridor renovation from 9th Street to 15th Street, a motion seconded by Councilman Frank Knight. McGean explained the timeline for that process was estimated at around 90 days.
However, Councilman Will Savage raised questions about simply rescinding the ordinance passes last year to bypass the special election question.
“We all work for the public, whether you are staff or an elected official,” he said. “We have a segment of the population that petitioned to oppose the abandonment of this property. I think many of the people that signed the petition aren’t opposed to the Baltimore Avenue project. It’s a separate issue.”
Savage asked if the Baltimore Avenue corridor project as planned relied on the conveyance of the abandoned right-of-way. McGean explained the project could still be completed without conveying the narrow right-of-way strip. McGean said the abandonment of the unused right-of-way and ultimate conveyance of the property to the adjacent property owners could be achieved in different ways.
However, Savage pointed out rescinding the original ordinance related to the area between 13th and 14th streets, essentially ending the referendum issue and the need for a possible special election for now, and then starting a new abandonment process for the first phase of the Baltimore Avenue project simply set the stage for another petition for referendum drive.
“I think it’s absurd,” he said. “We have a successful petition with enough voter signatures. It’s just going to go back to another referendum. If we’re going to do this, I would prefer to do the entire corridor all at once.”
Mayor Rick Meehan agreed a blanket approach was likely to be more successful than the piecemeal approach.
“I think it changes the entirety of the issue,” he said. “It makes sense to consider doing the entire area at one time.”
Council President Matt James said he wasn’t entirely sure about the concept of conveying the abandoned strip of right-of-way to all of the adjacent property owners in one fell swoop but said approving the motion as presented would at least begin the process.
“I don’t support this fully,” he said. “I support the motion in the sense that it begins to get this into ordinance form and starts the process and affords the public with a chance to weigh in.”
McGean said approving the motion as presented would not mean it would come back in ordinance form almost immediately. He said the signers of the successful petition likely did so for a variety of reasons but moving forward with at least a plan on Tuesday would set in motion what will likely be a lengthy process.
“It will be months,” he said. “It’s not like it’s coming up again at the next Monday meeting. We believe some didn’t entirely understand what they were signing. Others were against any right-of-way abandonment, while some signed because they were specifically opposed to the Margaritaville project.”
After considerable debate, the council on Tuesday rescinded the initial ordinance allowing for the abandonment of the right-of-way between 13th Street and 14th Street, thereby ending, for now, the referendum issue. The council then voted 5-2, with Savage and Councilperson Carol Proctor opposed, to begin the process of conveying all of the abandoned right-of-way along Baltimore Avenue to the adjacent property owners, a process that will likely take multiple months.
