Real Estate
THE COASTAL REAL ESTATE RESOURCE Coastal Association of Realtors - OC Today-Dispatch
Published by OC Today-Dispatch for the Coastal Association of Realtors. Advertising in this publication is limited to members and affiliated members of the Association.
The COASTAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (CAR) is a trade organization for real estate professionals in Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset Counties on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Its membership consists of more than 1,000 REALTORs® and affiliate members serving the home-buying and homeselling needs of the public since 1957.
The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark, which may be used only by real estate professionals who are members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribe to its strict Code of Ethics.
The COASTAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS is located at 314 Franklin Avenue, Suite 106 • Berlin, MD 21811. Phone: 410-641-4409. On the Web: www.coastalrealtor.org
OC TODAY-DISPATCH is the leading newspaper publisher on the Maryland coast, with OC Today-Dispatch publishing weekly on Friday, Bayside Gazette and Ocean City Digest publishing on Thursdays and Real Estate, the Coastal Real Estate Resource publishing key weekends throughout the year.
On the Web: www.octodaydispatch.com
Editor......................................................................... Stewart Dobson
Executive Editor................................................................ Steve Green
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Classifieds/Legals ........................................................ Pamela Green
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Publisher..................................................................... Christine Brown
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INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
OC Council votes to pass short-term rental restriction
By Bethany Hooper Associate Editor
(March 7, 2025) Following a fourhour hearing, a council majority supported an ordinance banning short-term rentals in single-family zoning districts beginning in 2027.
The Ocean City Council voted 4-3 to support an amended ordinance that establishes a five-day minimum length of stay for short-term rentals in the R-1 residential and MH mobile home districts for the 2025 and 2026 season, and a 31-day minimum stay beginning in 2027.
As the city code defines short-term rentals as 30 days or less, the ordinance approved this week would essentially ban short-term rentals in those districts in two years.
beginning this season. That restriction was lessened from the 31-day minimum stay the Ocean City Planning Commission had initially recommended earlier that month.
However, during a second reading of the ordinance in February, the council reversed course, opting to phase in a short-term rental ban in those two districts by 2027. Following public comments, four of the seven council members opined that the planning commission was correct in its recommendation and that shortterm rentals were a business.
“I think it’s a difficult decision, but I think the motion that’s on the floor was well thought out,” Mayor Rick Meehan said this week. “After numerous hearings and listening to what the public has to say, I think it gets us moving in the right direction.”
In late January, the council agreed to move forward with a moratorium on the issuance of any new short-term rental licenses in the R-1 and MH districts and to set a five-night minimum length of stay for any existing rentals,
“We’re losing our sense of community, and we’re losing our R-1 neighborhoods and residents because of a commercial opportunity to run a business in the R-1 neighborhood, and that contradicts the comprehensive plan and that’s what’s happening,” Meehan said at the Feb. 18 meeting. “Doing nothing, or kicking the can down the road too far, really is a very poor option because this is going to continue to happen.”
Staff presented the City Council with an amended second reading of the ordinance, which would phase in the short-term ban by 2027. The ordinance was revised so minimum
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Coastal Assoc. of Realtors Welcome New Members
18 new Realtors joining several local brokerages
(Feb. 19, 2025) The Coastal Association of Realtors welcomed 18 new members during New Member Orientation.
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New Member Orientation is a requirement for all members of the Coastal Association of Realtors. Attendees are introduced to the many services and resources provided by the association, helping them lay the foundation for a successful real estate career. The orientation is held quarterly.
New members include:
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-Glenn Ballo, Northrop Realty
-Cindy Boluk, Re/Max Advantage Realty
-Stacy Bonkowski, Long & Foster Real Estate
-Michael Browne, Spence Realty Group
-Katherine Burdett, Keller Williams Realty Delmarva
-Jonas Demko, Coldwell Banker Realty
-Taylor Fowlkes, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty
-Rachelle Guillaume, Keller Williams Realty Delmarva
-Hanna Harrington, Coldwell Banker Realty
-Dianna Harris, Atlantic Shores Sotheby’s International Realty
-Valerie Hughes, Keller Williams Realty Delmarva
-Samantha Livingston, Keller Williams Realty of Delmarva
-Michael Panco, Holiday Real Estate
-William Schaeffer, Long & Foster Real Estate
-Omar Shahzad, eXp Realty
-Abby Yesko, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty
The Coastal Association of Realtors represents more than 1,000 real estate professionals in Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties. These members are engaged, informed, and active in their communities. They support the American dream of homeownership, as well as the purchase and use of all types of real property. For more information, visit www.coastalrealtors.org.
OC Council tweaks shortterm rental moratorium
By Bethany Hooper Associate Editor
(March 7, 2025) City officials this week agreed to modify a moratorium on the issuance of short-term rental licenses.
The Ocean City Council in February passed an emergency ordinance, which established a moratorium on the issuance of new short-term rental licenses in the R-1 residential and MH mobile home districts.
However, council members then agreed to modify the moratorium to allow a new property owner to apply for a rental license if the property that was sold had an existing rental license.
“It has been amended to allow a new owner, based on being a bona fide purchaser of property that has an existing rental license already with that property, the ability to apply for a rental license and the supplementary short-term rental license,” City Solicitor Heather Stansbury said, “and if obtained, that license would stay with that new property owner for the remainder of this license year.”
Council members last month agreed to an 11-month pause in the issuance of short-term rental licenses, an effort they said would give the city
time to evaluate the effectiveness of new short-term rental regulations. The moratorium states that a rental license cannot transfer with a property, but that the city manager could consider exceptions if a property with a rental license is transferred upon the owner’s death.
Later on, however, the council directed staff to develop new language that would allow a rental license to be renewed or issued if a property with existing rentals on the books is sold.
“Someone who owns a rental agency and is a real estate broker said they have many homes that have rentals on the books for this upcoming season, and he is concerned some may have a desire to sell, and his company will be responsible for ensuring the renter gets a place to rent,” Council President Matt James said at the time.
“With how the [moratorium] is currently written, it will not allow for the new owner to assume or apply for and obtain a rental license on the property,” James added. “It’s going to cause a problem for a handful of properties, if I had to guess.”
To that end, city staff on Monday presented the council with an ordinance to modify the existing morato-
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OCEAN BLOCK
Rental ban takes effect in ‘27
Continued from Page 4
length-of-stay requirements would not apply to short-term rental bookings prior to March 3 for the 2025 calendar year.
The introduction of the amended second reading kicked off roughly four hours of public testimony, during which nearly 40 people spoke.
Residents and property owners pleaded with council members to either oppose the rental restrictions, support the rental restrictions, or to reach some sort of compromise that would exclude the Montego Bay community, located in the MH district.
Those in opposition argued the proposed ban would financially harm existing rental owners and impact those who are trying to keep family homes. Some also threatened litigation should the council pass a lengthof-stay restrictions.
“I’m calling on this council to put this issue to bed so the next steps can be taken to litigate this in the courts,” said property owner Andrew Whitehead. “It’s going to cost the town money, it’s going to cost the R-1 owners money, but we’re willing to take on this fight. We have no choice. We didn’t look for this fight, this fight’s come to us.”
Those in support of the proposed ban argued that short-term rentals were a business, and as such are not
allowed in single-family neighborhoods.
“Businesses are prohibited from operating in an R-1 zoning district,” said Teal Drive resident John Wright. “It’s not the City Council’s responsibility to accommodate or appease buyers who have made poor or ill-advised decisions. It is the City Council’s responsibility to enforce the R-1 zoning regulations.”
The council majority – Council President Matt James and Councilmen Tony DeLuca, Larry Yates and Will Savage – supported the phasedin approach, with a five-night minimum stay through the 2025 and 2026 rental seasons in the R-1 and MH districts and the elimination of all shortterm rentals in those neighborhoods beginning in 2027.
“My position is I support the comprehensive plan, and planning and zoning [commission] got it right,” DeLuca said.
Councilman Jake Mitrecic, however, continued to argue that the MH district should be excluded from the ordinance.
“I am of the opinion that shortterm rentals do change the character of a neighborhood. I think that in my opinion, Montego Bay, the character has always been that, you know, there’s people coming and going. I’m
Continued on Page 11
R1 homeowners voice concern
Continued from Page 10
going to hold to that. I will say that in our R-1 neighborhoods, I believe this is a necessary step to taking back our neighborhoods and making Ocean City whole again,” he said.
Councilman John Gehrig and Councilwoman Carol Proctor also opposed the ordinance. Gehrig continued to advocate for a onebooking-per-week restriction, while Proctor continued to oppose the fiveday minimum.
Proctor said the effectiveness of the city’s current short-term rental regulations should be evaluated before any other restrictions are enacted.
“One of the reasons I can’t agree
with it is because we as a council, we did vote to put a moratorium on rentals and to come back in October and view the data,” she explained. “But we didn’t do that.”
For his part, Meehan said online platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO have changed the industry and led to the proliferation of short-term rentals in single-family neighborhoods. He said it was important for the city to act now.
“I’ve been here when we’ve had these types of major decisions that affect the community as a whole, and not just today but in the future,” he said. “And I believe this is one of those decisions and one of those moments.”
Current rental licenses OK’d
Continued from Page 7
rium. The change would allow a new owner of a property with an existing rental license the ability to apply for a rental license.
Mayor Rick Meehan, however, said he had concerns that the license would be valid for the remainder of the licensing year, which ends April 30, and not the remainder of the calendar year.
“If they are allowed to use the rental license, then they can continue
to rent all the way through April,” Meehan said. “I don’t know if that was the intent. I think they can accept any rentals currently booked.”
After further discussion, the council voted unanimously to approve the modified moratorium on first reading, but to modify the language so that the license would only be valid through the end of 2025, rather than the end of the current licensing year.
“I think that makes it easier,” Councilman John Gehrig said.
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Atlantic
Krista Valliant
Authority Inspections
John
Tyler Mathis
Bay
Bay
Bayshore Appraisals, Inc
Blackwater Home Inspections
Bradley Delbridge
Brennan
John
Bright
Sam Greenfeld
Capturing
DeChant
Deeley
Delmarva
Derrick Elzey
Coastal Association Affiliate Members
Embrace
Finley
First
Direct
Pilar
CK
Hawkins Electric Jordan MacWha
High Tech Home Inspections
Scott Donnelly
Integrity Appraisals
Karen Vara
J of all Trades – The Lead Dude
Hilligross
L Turner Appraisals LeRoy Turner Lakeside Title Company Diana Dovel
Landmark Insurance – Financial Group Colleen
