Planning commission talks parking code amendments

By Hunter Hine Staff Writer

(July 21, 2023) The Ocean City Planning and Zoning Commission discussed amendments to parking space requirements, among two other issues on Tuesday and agreed to dive deeper into the subjects in the future.

Bill Neville, director of planning and community development for Ocean City gave commission members examples of parking space sizes for single-space and two-space garages.

“If we take this approach, a minimum size one-car garage — 12 feet wide by 22 feet deep — we add an extra two feet. A foot at the front of the car to allow the bumper to not hit the wall, and a foot at the back so that the garage door can actually close,” Neville said.

Right now, the zoning code requirement is 20 feet wide for a twocar garage or 10 feet for each space, Neville said. He suggested the width be widened to 23 feet, giving two feet and an extra foot for “good measure,” he said.

If the commission proceeds with a code amendment, that could ease concerns about using garages for storage space and allowing owners and tenants to open doors. In addition, the state might mandate electric car charging stations in newly built residential garages, Neville said.

“At this point. we don’t know what that (electric vehicle stations) means dimension-wise, but to me it helps to support the idea that (we add) the extra foot on the front and back,” Neville said.

The next step would be to forward the revisions for a public hearing, Neville said.

Joel Brous, the commission secretary, and Joe Wilson, the commission chairman, agreed with Neville’s suggested dimensions, as did Zoning Administrator Kay Gordy, who said it’s better to have a little extra space, than not enough.

“It was pretty egregious when it was like an 18 foot-wide garage space because you really can’t get [it] open, so I think this a huge step in the right direction,” Wilson said.

Brous wondered if developers might resist the change because the few extra feet might throw off previously used housing models. Neville said there could be fewer parking spots for larger parking plans, and he doesn’t see the changes being a con-