OC Today-Dispaatch FEBRUARY 7, 2025
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Sign up now for our new, Monday-Friday newsletter. — Page 12
PRICELESS
Electric bills hit stun level on coast STR licensing suspended BRIAN SHANE/OC TODAY-DISPATCH
A full house listens to citizen comments during the mayor and City Council’s consideration of short-term rental regulations Monday night.
OC Council imposes 11-month moratorium on issuing licenses for shortterm rentals in R-1 single-family and MH mobile home districts as members decide how to handle their proliferation in these neighborhoods. — PAGE 3
Judge dismisses Trimper lawsuit Two years of motions later, judge says plaintiffs have no evidence.— PAGE 22
County, resort residents see super high spikes in Delmarva Power charges for December-January and wonder if something has changed. But company says it’s the extreme cold weather and supply.— PAGE 50
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OC Today-Dispatch
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City authorizes a temporary pause for short-term rentals OC leadership approves retroactive moratorium for licensing in certain districts By Bethany Hooper Associate Editor (Feb. 7, 2025) City officials this week hit the pause button on issuing new short-term rental licenses in single-family and mobile home neighborhoods. After approving significant changes aimed at regulating shortterm rentals, the Ocean City Council on Monday approved an emergency ordinance establishing a moratorium on the issuance of any new shortterm rental licenses in the R-1 residential and MH mobile home districts. The 11-month pause, they say, will give officials and city staff time to evaluate the effectiveness of the new regulations. “This is a pause for us to have a data set that we can look at and see if these other ordinances that have already passed or coming up for second reading are effective in managing the issues that we’re having with the short-term rentals …,” Councilman Jake Mitrecic said. At a Jan. 28 work session, during
its discussion on proposed shortterm rental regulations, the council agreed to move forward with a moratorium on the issuance of any new short-term rental licenses in the two districts. However, officials did make some concessions by allowing any shortterm rental license applications submitted prior to Jan. 28 to be considered. They also directed staff to create language in the moratorium that would create an appeals process for short-term rental licenses, should a property be transferred to another family member in the event of death. With the terms laid out, the council directed staff to create an emergency ordinance, which was presented on Monday. However, during public comments, some property owners asked the council to reconsider. “I think it’s a mistake,” property owner Terry Miller said. “We didn’t know this was coming. It came out of nowhere that you’re putting a moratorium. Some of us may have plans to rent our property, and you’re taking that away from us. It was done at the meeting on the 28th and put into efSee CITY Page 6
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Resort enacts rental moratorium until 2026 Continued from Page 3 fect retroactively.” But resident Susan Wenzlaff applauded the moratorium, arguing that a pause was needed. She pointed out that one home in her neighborhood was already listed on shortterm rental websites, and another is set to come online. “I’m uneasy with everything and I think that we need to take some steps to preserve our communities or neighborhoods,” she said. Councilman John Gehrig said he supported the moratorium, as it would give city officials time to evaluate its rules. He added that it would not impact any existing rental properties or rental income. “It’s maybe revenue you think about one day, but it’s not realized today,” he said. “So the moratorium,
the reason we’re doing it is we’re not impacting anyone’s revenue today. We’re trying to make all that work and not completely take that away.” For her part, Councilwoman Carol Proctor said she had concerns. She argued the moratorium failed to provide a safety net for those facing financial hardship. “We do have a high concentration in this town with people who have second homes that have no intentions to rent at all. And then their financial situation changes – somebody gets sick, somebody loses their job – and now they’re faced in a position where now I’m going to have to rent that property …,” she said. “There’s no provisions in the moratorium for that type of individual, and we do have a very high concentration of second homes in this
town, where people never even dreamed that they would ever have to rent.” Proctor also took issue with the lack of notice the public was provided. “The council came up with it last week,” she said of the moratorium. “We never advertised it, we never put it out for public hearing, we never did any of that. And the council is putting it out as an emergency ordinance, and I just don’t feel it qualifies under the definition of an emergency ordinance.” However, City Solicitor Heather Stansbury said the proposed moratorium had been advertised. “This was just advertised in accordance with the current code,” she replied. “If it wasn’t an emergency ordinance, then it could be adver-
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tised again next week.” Mitrecic said when he presented the idea of a moratorium last week, he had made a motion to draft an emergency ordinance. He said he felt time was needed to assess the issues. “There’s no one in here that has said that has raised their hand and said, ‘I want more rentals near me.’ Whether you’re a rental owner or a full-time resident, no one has said that,” he said. “So in the meantime, while we handle these issues and while we look into everything with the amount of care and respect it deserves, I do want to push pause on adding more rentals to the problem or perhaps maybe not to the problem.” After further discussion, the council voted 6-1, with Proctor opposed, to pass an emergency ordinance. The moratorium states that property owners in the R-1 and MH districts who submitted short-term rental applications prior to Jan. 28 will still be considered, and existing short-term rental licenses could be transferred to a family member upon the death of a property owner, so long as a request is submitted to the city manager. The moratorium will be revisited in October, when the council is expected to consider how best to proceed in 2026 and beyond. “I do approve of that emergency ordinance,” Mayor Rick Meehan said. “I think that needs the mayor’s approval.”
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