A county bill to amend campground subdivision regulations involving accessory buildings and off-street parking will advance to a public hearing.
An example of an accessory building at a campground is pictured.
Submitted photo
Bethany Hooper, Associate Editor
A county bill to amend campground subdivision regulations involving accessory buildings and off-street parking will advance to a public hearing.
Commissioner Eric Fiori agreed in a recent meeting to add his name to a proposed text amendment that would allow a second, unenclosed accessory building on campground lots, the elimination of a six-foot separation distance between accessory buildings and other buildings, and a reduction of parking spaces from two to one. With his support, the bill will now be scheduled for a public hearing.
“I am going to put my name on this but I think we need to make some tweaks,” he said.
Currently, there are two campground subdivisions in Worcester County – White Horse Park and Assateague Pointe. The zoning code for those subdivisions allows one detached accessory building per campsite and requires two parking spaces.
Earlier this year, however, a resident within the White Horse Park community submitted a text amendment application that would change the regulations for campground subdivisions. The amendment proposes allowing an additional unenclosed, detached accessory building on each lot, and eliminating the six-foot separation distance between accessory buildings and other buildings on the same or adjoining sites. The amendment also proposes a reduction in the number of on-site parking spaces from two to one.
“For introduction, the planning commission reviewed this text amendment on July 3 and gave it an unfavorable recommendation,” Jennifer Keener, director of development review and permitting, told the commissioners last Tuesday. “It includes three parameters for campground subdivisions, of which there’s only two in Worcester County, and would allow them in a second accessory building that would be unenclosed up to 12-by-12 in size. It would eliminate the six-foot separation requirement between accessory buildings and anything else on the property, and then also reduce the parking spaces from two to one, all in an attempt to capture as many structures as possible.”
According to a memo submitted to the commissioners, Keener said the text amendment application stems from a recent request to permit buildings such as canopies and gazebos within campground subdivisions. However, the department of development review and permitting could not process the permit application, as such a structure would be considered a second accessory building. It was then that the department was notified of several similar, unpermitted buildings within both the White Horse Park and Assateague Pointe communities.
“Inspections were conducted of both campground subdivisions and notices were sent to the owners,” the memo reads. “Various aspects of the proposed bill language were included by the applicant to capture as many existing circumstances as possible.”
When the text amendment was presented last month, the Worcester County Planning Commission voted 4-2 to provide an unfavorable recommendation. Those in opposition voiced concerns about the elimination of one parking space and the removal of the six-foot separation, a change they said could impede fire and ambulance access.
Those concerns were echoed at last week’s commissioners meeting. Commissioner Jim Bunting said he would not add his name to the bill.
“First of all, the planning commission gave it an unfavorable recommendation,” he said. “I think the fact that there would be no rear or side yards to these structures is very wrong. I mean, fire requires distance between buildings, and I think reducing the parking spaces would be wrong. The majority of the streets now are only 20 feet wide. There’s no room to park on the streets. And this is just a bad, bad bill.”
It should be noted that at least one county commissioner must introduce the amendment as a bill. Fiori this week said that while he understood the concerns, he would lend his support.
“Obviously, in Worcester County, it’s applying to two different neighborhoods which obviously are of the vacation nature where they’re in and out,” he said. “The request I received, a lot of our senior citizens, especially with an uptick in the area with skin cancer and these things, the majority of these structures are to shield them from the sun so they can utilize the outdoor area. I agree with the fire, and I think this may need to be refined somewhat, to move forward, but I mean a majority of these places are owned by our seniors, and I think we need to consider that.”
With Fiori agreeing to put his name on the bill, a public hearing will be held at a future commissioners meeting.
“We just need one to move forward,” Commissioner Chip Bertino said.