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SEPTEMBER 9, 2022
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
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Mayor’s veto of parking plan stands City Council majority backs Meehan’s decision to nix zoning code amendment By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (Sept. 9, 2022) A city zoning code amendment that would have allowed developers of large downtown commercial projects to meet parking re-
quirements with valet-managed stacked spaces is officially dead at the hands of Mayor Rick Meehan and five council members. And the road to killing was anything but smooth. At a meeting Tuesday, council members were tasked with deciding whether to override Meehan’s Aug. 2 veto of a zoning measure the City Council had approved in a 6-1 vote in
July. The change would have allowed developers of commercial projects in the downtown and upper downtown districts that require 100 spaces or more to meet 20 percent of their parking obligations with valet parking of cars in a bumper-to-bumper fashion in an off-site lot. Meehan objected to the amendment, however, when the council de-
cided to eliminate language from the code that made tandem parking subject to planning commission approval. The idea for the change was prompted by a proposal from the developers of the Margaritaville resort planned for the oceanside of 13th and 14th streets. Seemingly coming up short on the number of parking See COUNCIL Page 4
Police seek information on shooting Suspects at large following Monday incident downtown
PHOTO COURTESY WORCESTER COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
BACK TO SCHOOL
Linda McGean walks with students through the hall at Ocean City Elementary on the first day back to school on Tuesday.
City letting go of downtown rights of way OC council abandons rights to alley, helps Margaritaville qualify for overlay district By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (Sept. 9, 2022) A planned downtown Margaritaville resort inched a little closer to reality Tuesday with
approval of the first reading of an alley abandonment needed to solidify the project’s footprint. Council members voted 6-1 on Tuesday — with Council President Matt James opposed — to abandon an oceanside 16-foot alley between 13th and 14th streets known as Washington Lane for the proposed 13story, 265-room project.
While spearheaded by the developers, the abandonment was not solely a Margaritaville-related move, as the alley is one of multiple rightsof-way the city intends to give up as part of the planned Baltimore Avenue utility-burying project. City Manager Terry McGean said Tuesday that letters are going out to See MARGARITAVILLE Page 3
By Greg Wehner Staff Writer (Sept. 9, 2022) Ocean City Police are looking for the assailants who shot a man in the downtown section of the resort early Monday morning. Police responded to the area of N. Division Street and the Boardwalk at approximately 2:30 a.m. on Monday where an 18-year-old man was shot. The man was taken to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional Hospital in Salisbury by members of Ocean City EMS with non-life-threatening injuries. The investigation is active, according to police, but preliminary findings indicate the shooting occurred after a brief altercation. The department added that there was no threat to the public that morning. Police are combing through City Watch camera footage to identify the suspects, and on Monday and Tuesday released video clips with hopes the public could help with the search. The videos, which were posted to the Ocean City Police Department Facebook page, depict five Black men See POLICE Page 6