OPINION: Concerned About Ocean City Development? Come To Council Thursday Night

Concerned about overdevelopment in Ocean City? Don’t miss tonight’s City Council meeting. You’re going to hear how we’re committed to building more single family homes.

You'll learn:

• How Coastal Cottage will lead to young families taking up residence here.
• How Coastal Cottage will make home ownership in Ocean City affordable to the masses.

Sounds good doesn’t it?

Except that what is being proposed isn’t single family homes but condos.  And at $300,000-plus those homes aren’t going to be all that affordable either.  

Between the mortgage payments, taxes, and insurance young families won’t be able to afford them. you’ll fall for the old “it’s either that or duplexes … no one wants to see more duplexes.”

But is that true? 

Because of declining property values building traditional single family homes may be profitable, especially if we build smaller retirement homes instead of McMansions. 

And bear in mind these new developments are going in on what was commercial land which carries a smaller price tag. Besides which, Ocean City is largely a retirement community. It is retirees we should be targeting if we want to increase residency.  Most have built up equity over the years and may be able to afford a traditional single home.  Who wants to retire to a gold fish bowl?

So what is the “Coastal Cottage” concept really about?  It’s about profit margin.  The more housing you can build on a piece of land the more profitable the development becomes.  And in a town that is already over developed where are you going to find building lots?

Oh … you’re going to build two 2 ½ story “cottages” on a single lot?  Push one up against the sidewalk and the other up against the alley?  How quaint.  This sounds more like tenements than cottages.

Want to get an idea what it will look like?  Check out Tioga Terrace.  Being that many of the homes there are older and are a story and a half they may be affordable for young families.  But that’s not what is envisioned for Coastal Cottage.  We’re talking new two and a half story homes.  If your councilman confuses the issue, don’t let it confuse you.  And Coastal Cottage is going to look nothing like Tioga Terrace.  Being that the development is going in on one of the lowest spots on the island those new two and a half story homes are going to be both narrow and high.

Maybe I missed the memo?  City government can determine how those new “single family homes” will be used? To say that Coastal Cottage will spur residency is both spurious and unsupportable.  How those new “affordable singles” will be used is up to the owner, right?  It’s just as likely they’ll be used as seasonal rentals (like just about everything else.)  There’s always some good reason to do what the developers want.  If there isn’t they’ll make one up.  What did you expect them to say?  We’re going to implement Coastal Cottage because we’ll make a boat load of money off of it?

The downside (and it’s the only thing we can know with certainty) is that density will increase.  Thanks to Coastal Cottage we’ll be able to cram even more people on the island in the summer time.  And since there will be less and less open space for runoff flooding will only get worse. 

Just like everything else in this town what Coastal Cottage is about is the money.  Quality of life has far too often been sacrificed to the bottom line.  People complain about the direction Ocean City has taken, about overdevelopment, about the effects of it, but they won’t do anything about it.  Here’s your opportunity.  Overdevelopment is still occurring, and Coastal Cottage promises to double down on development here.  Attend the council meeting tonight and just say “NO.”

Eric Sauder / Ocean City