Resort planning commission talks employee housing

By Hunter Hine Staff Writer

(May 12, 2023) Members of the Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission heard public comments at their May 2 meeting about possible amendments to the zoning code that would make developing employee housing easier.

Since 2022, the commission has discussed plans to revise employee housing regulations in order to elevate living standards, expand housing options for seasonal employees and incentivize developers to build more housing. The pandemic exacerbated a seasonalworker housing shortage as landlords shifted from employee housing to vacation rentals.

Proposed changes stem from public recommendations at a commission in May 2022 meeting. In a September joint work session with City Council, the commission analyzed the public comments and since drafted the ordinance, which was the topic of concern on May 2.

Planning and Zoning Director Karen Gordy introduced the draft to commissioners. She was followed by Bill Neville, the city’s director of planning and business development, who dove into more detail on the proposed code changes.

“It’s hard work to find suitable housing for our workforce. It’s hard work for the employers, for the sponsor agencies, for landlords, for the tenants,” Neville said. “What we’re proposing with this code amendment is to try to make the provision of that housing a little bit easier. It doesn’t solve all the problems.”

The draft includes an amendment to expand the definition of employee housing to include non-accessory employee housing. It would also ease parking requirements for such projects.

“Accessory housing” refers to livingquarters located on the same premises as the employee’s place of work,

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