SNOW HILL – Despite support from the public, county officials this week voted against a zoning change for a Snow Hill property.
Following a public hearing Tuesday, a motion to approve the rezoning of a property on Market Street from agricultural to commercial failed with a 3-4 vote by the Worcester County Commissioners. The change, requested by the connections of Black Water Relics, would have allowed an antique shop to take over a vacant warehouse. Several people spoke up in support of the change, which they felt would be a good thing for Snow Hill.
“What better way to recognize Economic Development Week than to open up a new opportunity for economic development for our town and our area?” said Snow Hill Town Manager Rick Pollitt, who came to support the rezoning at the request of Mayor Mike Pruitt.
County staff told the commissioners Tuesday that attorney Hugh Cropper filed a rezoning request for property at 4432 Market St. His client, Black Water Relics, sought a change from A-1 zoning to C-2 zoning in order to open an antique store in the vacant warehouse on the site. The change was given a favorable recommendation by the Worcester County Planning Commission.
Matthew Laick, deputy director of development review and permitting, said the property was zoned B-2 general business in the 1960s but in 1992 was rezoned to A-1 agricultural.
“The planning commission concluded that there was a mistake in the 1992 rezoning…” he said. “The proposed rezoning is consistent with the growth area land use category of the comprehensive plan.”
Cropper said Amy Kelly of Black Water Relics purchased the roughly one-acre property earlier this year with the intention of turning it into an antique store, as she’d done something similar in Pocomoke previously. Cropper said that while the property had been zoned commercial for decades, it was relabeled agricultural in 1992. Cropper said that was a time when officials believed the county had too much commercially zoned land.
“I think it’s pretty clear that there was a mistake on March 10, 1992…,” he said, adding that a lot of commercial land had been downzoned. “This got thrown out as part of that broad brush approach.”
Cropper said the warehouse on the site had had various uses over the years but had never been used as an agricultural accessory building.
Kelly said she’d turned an old building into a successful antique store in Pocomoke and wanted to do the same thing in Snow Hill. She said she’d been approached by people who wanted her to offer consignment sales, something she’d be able to do in the large warehouse, as it’s more than 10,000 square feet.
Cropper said that if the land was rezoned to C-2, there was little Kelly could do with the site other than an antique store, as other uses would require things like sewer and forestry plans. He added that the site, even though it was zoned agricultural, technically didn’t even qualify as a farm, as it was less than five acres.
Pollitt said he was voicing support of the rezoning at the request of Pruitt, who hadn’t been able to attend.
“He just wanted me to share that he is totally in support of the new business coming to the area,” Pollitt said. “He feels it would be an appropriate use of the property.”
Chuck Martin, former sheriff, also supported the project, as did Mandy Gladden, executive director of the Snow Hill Area Chamber of Commerce.
“We believe this kind of development can have several positive effects on the community,” she said.
Gladden said the rezoning would support economic growth, creating new jobs and tax revenue. She said rezoning would allow the property to be developed into a local attraction, bringing more people to town.
“This can lead to increased foot traffic for other local businesses,” she said.
Cropper told the commissioners that when Kelly purchased the property, she’d seen its use listed as “commercial” on the state’s SDAT website and figured she could turn it into a retail space.
“In these challenging economic times that you’re dealing with here’s an opportunity to take a piece of property, you change the zoning and this assessment is going to go way up,” he said.
He stressed that the planning commission had supported the rezoning request and that the land was in a designated growth area. Cropper said the change to agricultural zoning in 1992 had been a mistake.
“It had a large commercial building on it,” he said. “It’s asphalt all the way to the road. There’s nothing about it agricultural.”
Commissioner Jim Bunting asked about how the building could be used with its current zoning. Staff identified various permitted uses but said that a retail use such as Kelly proposed would require commercial zoning.
Bunting suggested a change in zoning here could set a precedent, resulting in other requests from neighboring properties.
“It could,” said Jennifer Keener, director of development review and permitting. “We’re also going to be looking at the comprehensive plan and land use map in the next year. All of this can be reevaluated in that process.”
Commissioner Eric Fiori pointed out that the property was zoned A-1 when Kelly purchased it. He suggested it would be more valuable if it was rezoned commercial.
Cropper didn’t disagree but pointed out that most commercial uses would need more sewer, forestry, parking and other requirements than the site had room for.
“It’s a tough piece of property,” he said.
Fiori asked why C-2 was being sought rather than the less intense C-1.
Cropper said he’d initially asked for C-1 but had been told by staff that wouldn’t work. In C-1, each business has to be less than 2,500 square feet, or less than 5,000 square feet if a special exception is acquired. The building on this site is more than 10,000 square feet.
He added that as far as the potential agricultural uses of the property, most weren’t feasible because the site was only about an acre.
“This property doesn’t meet the lot requirements or setbacks for any of those…,” he said. “The size of this property really restricts it.”
While Commissioner Joe Mitrecic made a motion to approve the rezoning request, it failed with a 3-4 vote. In opposition were Bunting, Fiori, Commissioner Chip Bertino and Commissioner Caryn Abbott.
Several of those in attendance were surprised by the decision. Kerrie Bunting, president of the Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that the commissioners had started the meeting with a proclamation recognizing Economic Development Week. She said she’d had both a personal and professional interest in the project.
“Listening to Mr. Cropper’s presentation to the commissioners, it seemed absolutely an open and shut case,” she said. “The bewildering no votes quickly became of interest to me professionally as the president of a local chamber of commerce. Especially when just moments before, the commissioners presented us with a proclamation celebrating Economic Development Week. How can we encourage new businesses to come to Worcester County when our commissioners set the precedent of nonsensically turning businesses away?”
Following the meeting, Abbott and Fiori said they’d voted against the rezoning because it didn’t fit in with the county’s comprehensive plan.
“There’s farmland on all sides of this property,” Abbott said. “It’s a stretch to think we’d change it to C-2.”
Fiori agreed it was a jump to C-2 and pointed out the importance of the county’s agricultural heritage.
“This would hurt our comprehensive plan and what we’re looking at for the future,” he said.
Bertino said he voted against the zoning because he didn’t feel a mistake had been made when the property was labeled A-1.
“I did not believe it was a mistake,” he said. “I was concerned that if it was approved it’d be the beginning of a cascading number of rezoning requests for that area.”
