Site Plan Revision Sought For New Seacrets Venue

OCEAN CITY – Officials say site improvements to the area behind Atlantic Beverage Center liquor store will allow the connections of Seacrets to prepare for a new events venue at 51st Street.

On Tuesday, the Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission voted to amend a recently approved site plan and issue a building permit for utility and landscaping work on the west side of the parking lot between the Atlantic Beverage Center building and the 51st Street bayfront. Architect Keith Iott said the applicant, Seacrets, wanted to install utilities and planter walls for what will eventually be a private events venue.

“The desire is to build these landscape structures and install the site utilities in anticipation of the work that will happen,” he told the commission.

Last fall, Leighton Moore went before the Worcester County Board of License Commissioners to expand his licensed premises to include the beach area at 51st Street. He said at the time the plan was to dedicate the area for private events.

Zoning Administrator Kay Gordy told commission members Seacrets would go before the technical review committee next week for its change of use request at the site. Plans for the events venue would then be presented to the commission in May.

In the meantime, however, Seacrets representatives said they were seeking a revision to the site plan approved for the Atlantic Beverage Center and a building permit for utility and landscaping work.

“The purpose of this this evening is to allow the construction of utilities within the parking areas and to create some planter walls that are going to be used to clean up some of traffic flow on that north parking lot …,” Iott said. “This is part of the ongoing site improvements.”

Iott noted that while proposed site improvements would reduce the number of parking spots, the property would remain within its parking requirements.

“We’re going to still be 40 spaces to the good at the end of the exercise,” he added. “We’re only cleaning up traffic patterns, we aren’t changing traffic patterns.”

Seacrets representatives ultimately asked the commission to approve its request.

Iott noted that plans for the events venue would be presented to the body at its May 2 meeting.

“We are respectfully asking you approve this so we can go ahead and get a building permit for some of these site improvements in anticipation of the May 2 meeting at which you will hear the overall case,” he said.

With no further discussion, the commission voted unanimously to revise the site plan and approve the construction of planter walls and site utilities.

About The Author: Bethany Hooper

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Bethany Hooper has been with The Dispatch since 2016. She currently covers various general stories. Hooper graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2012 and the University of Maryland in 2016, where she completed double majors in journalism and economics.