OCEAN CITY – A public hearing and site plan review for the proposed Margaritaville project have been postponed as the developer works to modify plans.
While a public hearing and site plan review were scheduled this week for the planned Margaritaville project, Hugh Cropper, attorney for the developer, said both meetings have been postponed. As two plans make their way through the approval process, he said he is hoping his client can work with the city to develop a hotel and conference center that meets code requirements.
“We postponed it to address challenges with the city,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “We’re revising both the planned overlay development and height-by-right plans.”
Since 2021, the connections of the Margaritaville project have been seeking a planned overlay district (POD) designation for a large hotel and conference center that would encompass an entire oceanfront block between 13th and 14th streets. To secure that designation, however, the developer must meet the 90,000-square-foot site requirement.
To that end, Cropper came before the Mayor and Council last month with a request to hold a public hearing for the abandonment of a portion of Washington Lane, which bisects the property. He said his client was willing to purchase the alleyway to qualify for a POD zoning designation.
“This is a request to ask you to schedule a public hearing to accept comment on our request to purchase Washington Avenue, 16 feet wide, at fair market value,” he said at the time. “We will hire and pay for an appraisal of your choice and offer to pay fair market value to purchase Washington Lane.”
After a lengthy discussion, the council voted 4-3 to move the request to a public hearing. And on Sept. 5, the Mayor and Council was expected to hear testimony from community members to determine if the alleyway continues to serve a public purpose.
Last Friday, however, the town announced the public hearing had been postponed and removed from the Mayor and Council’s meeting agenda.
“The public hearing for the abandonment and closure of Washington Lane between 13th and 14th Street has been postponed,” the notice reads.
It should be noted that while they continue to seek a preferred POD project, the connections of the Margaritaville development have concurrently submitted a new site plan to the town’s planning and zoning department that includes fewer amenities, less square footage and a different configuration. The second plan, which would be built under the height-by-right statute if a POD designation is not secured, also includes a request to convey air rights above Washington Lane to the developer.
In an interview this week, Cropper said a site plan review scheduled for the Sept. 6 planning and zoning commission meeting has also been postponed. He said the delay would give his client time to address the city’s interpretation of the code.
“I originally postponed the public hearing so I can do my height-by-right plan first …,” he explained. “Unfortunately, I’ve had to postpone that too.”
Cropper said his client would be revising both the POD plan and height-by-right plan in the coming days. He said there is also the issue of the property’s nonconformity for density, which officials say is set to expire on Sept. 21.
“There’s the issue with the timeline with respect to the nonconformity,” he said. “At this time the nonconformity is valid. As we work with the city, I certainly hope the city will continue to honor everything we’re working towards.”
