Tom Prevas, attorney for US Wind, addresses the Worcester County Commissioners during a Feb. 18 public hearing. Photo by Brian Shane

By Brian Shane

Staff Writer

Worcester County officials this week stopped short of tweaking the zoning code in order to prevent an offshore wind developer from legally operating as a public utility in the West Ocean City fishing harbor.

The county’s Board of Commissioners at its Feb. 18 meeting considered a bill that would make immediate zoning changes to the Commercial Marine District, where the harbor lies. One section of text would be changed to prohibit any “portside infrastructure or associated facilities that are intended to support offshore energy production.” Another bans “public utility structure” as a permitted use.

The zoning zinger aims to stymie developer US Wind, who plans to build an operations and maintenance facility at the mouth of the harbor that would service a planned 114-turbine wind farm located about 11 miles offshore.

Faced with legal uncertainty, however, the commissioners instead decided to table the vote following a public hearing for further deliberation and legal review.

“I don’t know that we need to move forward with this today,” said Commissioner Joe Mitrecic (District 7, Ocean City), who moved to postpone the vote for a future meeting.

“I’m telling you right now that this is, to me, to protect our commercial fishing harbor moving forward.”

Most of the 16 people who spoke at the bill hearing Tuesday were supportive of the county’s counterpunch in its ongoing slugfest against US Wind. They included Jim Motsko, founder of the famous White Marlin Open fishing tournament, as well as several representatives from the fishing and marina community.

“The people I hear from are fully enthusiastic about what you’re contemplating with this action here,” said Ron Sloan, on behalf of the Glen Riddle community in Berlin. He urged the commissioners to “stop what we consider an egregious effort to desecrate our environment for corporate profit.”

Opponents, however, called it a procedural violation that blatantly ignores traditional re-zoning protocols and may even be unconstitutional.

“The law is unconstitutional under various clauses …  and it is being undertaken for the purpose of denying rights provided under the Constitution and with intent to harm US Wind,” wrote Tom Prevas, attorney for developer US Wind, in a 24-page letter delivered to county officials last week. “If the County enacts this Text Amendment, US Wind will sue to preserve its interests and seek damages,”

Prevas added that the county instead should “re-engage” with US Wind and state environmental officials toward a memorandum of understanding, which he called “the appropriate and effective tool for addressing any disruption to commercial fishing resources at the Harbor,” the letter states.

In response, Commissioners’ President Ted Elder pulled from the liner of his blazer and held aloft a pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution, which he carries with him. “I could not find anything in the Constitution that says anything what we’re doing is unconstitutional,” he said.

“Our inheritance that we pass down to our posterity. That boils right to it. We need to protect what we have from outside forces coming in. It’s just big money looking for more big money,” Elder added, to a smattering of applause.
US Wind’s planned operations and maintenance facility would be built upon what are now two longstanding commercial fish houses, Southern Connection Seafood and Martin’s Fish House.

The owners of Southern Connection, Pat and April Reese, appeared at the public hearing. They argued that a re-zoning not only circumvents the county’s comprehensive plan but would devalue their land and violate their property rights.

“From our perspective, the issue is this is a downzoning of our property that’s not going through the proper procedure. The notion they’re going to take away permitted uses from my clients’ property is ridiculous. That is a taking without compensation,” said attorney Hugh Cropper, representing the Reese family, at the hearing.

Even if US Wind buys their property, the Reeses intend to remain in the commercial seafood business in the West Ocean City harbor, Cropper added.

The zoning proposal is one of several efforts by Worcester County to monkey-wrench US Wind and to protect the commercial fishing industry in the West Ocean City harbor.

County leaders recently approved a $100,000 expenditure towards an anti-wind public relations campaign. They also are pursuing eminent domain as an option, which would see the county acquire the fish house properties by edict, rather than allow a private sale to US Wind, according to County Administrator Weston Young.

“There’s a threat of the harbor becoming industrialized, and there’s a threat to the commercial fishing industry, and that’s our main focus. It’s more pro-commercial fishing that it is anti-wind,” Young said in an interview.
It’s unclear at this time what the future holds for offshore wind. President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 signed an Executive Order that puts a pause on all pending domestic offshore wind projects. Trump stated publicly that he opposes offshore wind as being “an environmental disaster” and propped up by subsidies.