OCEAN CITY — The Mayor and Council this week approved a conditional use request that will allow for a new escape room in a midtown shopping center.
Last week, the Ocean City Planning Commission had before them a request for a conditional use in an LC-1, or commercial, zoning district that would allow for the development of an escape room in the shopping center facing Coastal Highway at 56th Street. The applicant, MazeGame LLC, expressed a desire to create an escape room where the TCBY was located, but the town’s LC-1 zoning designation did not include language that would permit the relatively new concept.
Satisfied the conditional use met the requirements, the commission last week unanimously approved the request and forwarded a favorable recommendation to the Mayor and Council, which took up the issue at the regular meeting on Monday. Planning and Community Development Director Bill Neville explained the applicant already had two escape rooms in the resort and there had been no issues with the existing operations.
“He already has two other escape rooms at 2nd Street and 120th Street,” he said. “Each one has a different theme. The planned theme for this new one is Alice in Wonderland.”
Neville explained the town’s LC-1 zoning designation did not include language regarding escape rooms, a recent concept gaining popularity in which players solve a series of puzzles and riddles and follow clues to complete the objective and, as the name suggests, escape. However, the conditional use that will allow the new escape room could be dovetailed into the code’s existing language for amusements in the LC-1 zone.
The commission last week included prior conditions that were imposed on the existing escape rooms in their recommendation to the council. For example, the new escape room’s games must be family-oriented and appropriate for all age groups.
In addition, all age stipulations would have to be observed. The commission also required video monitoring within the escape room. Finally, at the request of the fire marshal, there can be no locking mechanism installed that could keep participants inside.
The council unanimously passed the conditional use request.
