Ocean City Planning Rental License Fee Increase; $500 Fine For No License Likely

OCEAN CITY — Ocean City officials moved forward this week with a stopgap measure of sorts for the larger R-1A single-family neighborhood rental issue, but not before adding some teeth to the proposed rental license application process.

Throughout the last year, town officials have been wrestling with the issue of vacation rentals in Ocean City’s quieter single-family home neighborhoods. The issue came to a head last summer when property owners in at least one residential neighborhood complained of the noise, parking problems, trash and often crime in their otherwise quiet communities.

Earlier this summer, the Mayor and Council tabled a decision on the creation of a new R-1A zoning designation that would insulate some quiet neighborhoods from vacation rentals, vowing to revisit the issue during the upcoming comprehensive plan process. In the meantime, town officials are moving forward with a more stringent rental application process in its R-1 districts in an effort to ease enforcement efforts and increase awareness about the rental license requirements.

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