(June 15, 2017) Before the Pines Plaza was tied into county water and sewer it used, like many properties on the shore, a septic system that also required a drain field, or leach field.
Since the county project to provide services several years ago, the drain field has remained dormant, except for the minor matter of an adjacent vendor using the area for storage, which the attorney representing the owners of Pines Plaza, Hugh Cropper, said was only recently discovered and would be quickly remedied.
In the meantime a nearby neighborhood, Pennington Commons, had been selling homes based on the relative privacy of the area. At least one resident, Brenda Archer-Nichols, said during the hearing on the issue at the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting last Thursday, that she was explicitly told that nothing would ever be built on that site.
Nichols had been misinformed.
The parcel is designated as an Existing Developed Area in the county’s comprehensive plan, which is used to identify already developed areas in unincorporated areas of the county and provides for the “current development character” to be maintained. The parcel is zoned A-2 agricultural and allows a host of activities related to farming, feeding and residential primary uses, with even more, such as campgrounds or contractor storage areas, allowable by special exception.
Cropper is seeking to place a seven-building, 60,000-square-foot contractor storage shop on the former drain field near Pines Plaza.
According to the preliminary site plan, Cropper said the facilities would use less than half of the entire lot area and provide 50 feet of fully landscaped setback between the business and the neighbors.
As the dozen or so neighbors’ complaints mounted, Cropper offered 100 feet of fully landscaped buffer surrounding the facilities. Access to the property is provided by 5L Drive in Ocean Pines, and no access is granted through the neighborhood.
All of the buildings, Cropper said, would be oriented toward the center of the site to concentrate the activity in one location.
The unused portion would be used mainly for stormwater management.
The landlords are legally obliged to provide eight EDUs of water and sewer capacity to the contractor storage facilities, in case the tenants want to install bathrooms. That decision, Cropper said, is left to the tenants.
These conditions were acceptable to the board members, who approved it with a 6-0 vote, with member Glenn Irwin absent.
Since the county project to provide services several years ago, the drain field has remained dormant, except for the minor matter of an adjacent vendor using the area for storage, which the attorney representing the owners of Pines Plaza, Hugh Cropper, said was only recently discovered and would be quickly remedied.
In the meantime a nearby neighborhood, Pennington Commons, had been selling homes based on the relative privacy of the area. At least one resident, Brenda Archer-Nichols, said during the hearing on the issue at the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting last Thursday, that she was explicitly told that nothing would ever be built on that site.
Nichols had been misinformed.
The parcel is designated as an Existing Developed Area in the county’s comprehensive plan, which is used to identify already developed areas in unincorporated areas of the county and provides for the “current development character” to be maintained. The parcel is zoned A-2 agricultural and allows a host of activities related to farming, feeding and residential primary uses, with even more, such as campgrounds or contractor storage areas, allowable by special exception.
Cropper is seeking to place a seven-building, 60,000-square-foot contractor storage shop on the former drain field near Pines Plaza.
According to the preliminary site plan, Cropper said the facilities would use less than half of the entire lot area and provide 50 feet of fully landscaped setback between the business and the neighbors.
As the dozen or so neighbors’ complaints mounted, Cropper offered 100 feet of fully landscaped buffer surrounding the facilities. Access to the property is provided by 5L Drive in Ocean Pines, and no access is granted through the neighborhood.
All of the buildings, Cropper said, would be oriented toward the center of the site to concentrate the activity in one location.
The unused portion would be used mainly for stormwater management.
The landlords are legally obliged to provide eight EDUs of water and sewer capacity to the contractor storage facilities, in case the tenants want to install bathrooms. That decision, Cropper said, is left to the tenants.
These conditions were acceptable to the board members, who approved it with a 6-0 vote, with member Glenn Irwin absent.