Why a High-Rise Resort on ocean city’s boardwalk is a
Big Mistake…

WE AGREE! The site isn’t zoned for a high-rise hotel—because pedestrian-friendly stores and family-friendly entertainment is crucial for all businesses on our boardwalk to thrive.

Developer Eustace Mita purchased the property fully knowing it wasn’t zoned to build a hotel, but expects 600 Boardwalk to be given special “redevelopment” or “rehabilitation” status, despite decades of long-standing zoning laws. If granted, current protections that maintain the character beloved by locals and local businesses will be removed, leaving the boardwalk vulnerable to a wave of big development, including high-rises and cookie-cutter construction. Moreover, our city will be faced with inevitable lawsuits that could pause construction for years.

Giving a developer special approvals and tax breaks to build a massive structure that’s wrong for Ocean City’s boardwalk is not the smart and community-minded development we need.

WE AGREE! A high-rise hotel not only threatens a radical change in our boardwalk’s character through rezoning, it presents a real challenge to OC’s proud history (going back to the town’s founders). We are not a town of private resort enclaves, but one of public engagement. We like our low-building profile, our walkable family-oriented boardwalk dedicated to amusements, and we like being dry. We are a close-knit community, and we want to stay that way. It’s what makes us different, and makes us…us. A high-end, towering resort challenges all of that.

Self-contained luxury resorts rely on alcohol sales. The viability of operating the proposed high-rise hotel year-round and turning a profit is already questionable, given the size and seasonality of OC. Without alcohol sales, it will be very difficult. We have no doubt that there will be pressure to change Ocean City’s long-standing commitment to being dry.

WE AGREE! A 252-room hotel will worsen our traffic and parking problems in OC, especially during peak tourist season. Already a major issue in OC, parking will only worsen for locals and visitors alike after the addition of a massive high-rise resort.

WE AGREE! A huge, high-rise resort on the OC boardwalk will be an economic drain, not a boost.

Despite Mita’s assertions, the proposed hotel won’t bring more foot traffic or patronage to the boardwalk and OC’s shops, businesses, or restaurants. Resorts are by design made to keep visitors at their own establishment in order to capture as much commerce as possible.

The truth is, the current plan isn’t about improving OC—it’s about applying pressure on government officials for tax breaks and special zoning variances in order to maximize profits for a select few, while our current community of small businesses and residents bear the consequences.

WE AGREE! We are for smart development that serves our community, but the current high-rise hotel is wrong for our boardwalk. The proposal needs to change—significantly! And there’s still time and opportunity to make smart decisions with the support of our community and council members.

There are other viable options for the former amusement space that are more in alignment with our boardwalk’s character and history, options that don’t require zoning changes or sacrifice family-friendly entertainment or a stronger small business economy. As part of its decision-making process, City Council has a responsibility to consider a host of potential alternatives and include community input before any irreversible changes to city zoning that could damage Ocean City’s reputation as “America’s Favorite Family-Friendly” vacation destination.