OCEAN CITY – Resort officials this week agreed to extend a conditional use agreement with Delmarva Power as a land swap nears completion.
On Tuesday, the Mayor and Council agreed to extend a conditional use agreement, which will allow Delmarva Power to establish a battery energy storage system, or BESS, at 100th Street. Planning and Community Development Director Bill Neville told the council this week the extension request was the result of delays in a land swap between the company and the town.
“Because of the nature of this particular conditional use being conditioned on the land swap, that time has been extended in order to be able to set up the land swap agreements and to schedule that to occur,” he said.
Last year, the Mayor and Council approved a conditional use permit allowing Delmarva Power to establish a BESS, contingent upon completion of a land swap agreement with the Town of Ocean City.
Simply put, the utility company owns the northerly lot at 100th Street, while Ocean City owns an adjacent lot of a similar size immediately to the south. As part of the land swap, the town would acquire the northerly parcel – which is contiguous with other town-owned property – while Delmarva Power would acquire the southerly parcel for the installation of the BESS.
Officials have argued the swap would be beneficial to both the town and the utility company, as a BESS would provide a fallback energy source in the resort during times of peak energy use. Uptown residents, however, have voiced their concerns about the aesthetic impact of the above-ground battery field and potential health risks.
In an update earlier this year, the town shared that there had been delays regarding the land swap and that those issues were being worked through.
On Tuesday, Neville announced that the land swap was nearing competition, but that the conditional use permit had since expired.
“The issue before you today is that under normal circumstances a conditional use approval follows a path that’s granted one year to accomplish site plan approval and to complete substantial improvements on the property …,” he said. “At this point, staff is recommending that council consider granting the extension of the conditional use agreement at a minimum of one year from the completion date of the land swap. That would be consistent with the prior approval and agreement, and the conditional use agreement would be revised accordingly.”
With no further discussion, the council voted unanimously to extend the conditional use agreement with Delmarva Power.
