Deadline For Non-Conforming Signs Extended Six Years In Ocean City

OCEAN CITY — Dozens of non-conforming signs along Baltimore Avenue got a stay of execution of sorts last week when a divided Mayor and Council voted to extend a sunset provision set to expire next month for another six years.

An inventory of the signs advertising all manner of businesses along Baltimore Avenue revealed as many as 60 did not conform to code changes put in place in 2004 when the upper downtown overlay district was created. Some are too tall or too wide, while others are placed in the city’s right-of-way along Baltimore Avenue. Others are situated in such a way as to obstruct sight lines for motorists along the roadway.

When the ordinance was changed in 2004, property owners of the non-conforming signs along Baltimore Avenue were given 12 years to bring them into compliance. That “sunset” provision is set to expire on June 5, leaving the Mayor and Council last week with a decision to extend the sunset provision or take almost immediate steps to bring the signs into compliance. After a lengthy debate, the council voted 4-2 to extend the deadline for bringing the signs in from 3rd Street to 17th Street for another six years to coincide with an established similar deadline for non-conforming signs in the downtown area.

This issue is complicated. On one hand, the right-of-way on the state-owned Baltimore Avenue is not clearly established and the property lines in many cases are blurred and extend well into the originally platted roadway. In other cases, the existing signs are just a couple of feet too tall or too wide and fall just out of the specifications defined in the ordinance.

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