Split 4-3 Vote Dissolves Shoreline Comm.

SNOW HILL – After months of consideration, the Worcester County Commissioners have formally abolished the Shoreline Commission.

On Tuesday, the commissioners voted 4-3 to dissolve the group tasked since the 1970s with reviewing shoreline construction plans.

“We’re the only county that does a commission like this,” said Bob Mitchell, the county’s head of environmental programs.

Mitchell and his staff first suggested the elimination of the commission as a cost saving measure this spring. In spite of the staff recommendation, the commissioners voted in July not to abolish the Shoreline Commission. That decision forced them to rescind a companion bill that would have given the county’s board of zoning appeals authority to consider appeals of staff decisions regarding construction along shorelines.

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