Ocean City News In Brief

OCEAN CITY •€' In the
brief this week, a few pending ordinances took steps to getting solidified into
law, one ordinance did get penned in officially and a downtown business was
given permission to charge for parking after hours.

Grilling In Public Lots

Illegal Without Permit

The Mayor and Council
breezed through the second required reading of an ordinance that would make it
unlawful to grill or cookout in a public parking lot without a city permit via
an unanimous vote on Monday.

Concern had been brought
to the attention of the council that visitors, presumably day-trippers, were
essentially tailgating or grilling near their vehicles in the inlet parking lot
on numerous instances this summer. The council deemed it to be an issue worthy
of a new law, and thus, made the new law official with Monday's vote.

The ordinance calls for
a permit in any public parking lot if a person wants to start a fire of any
kind, including charcoal, barbecue, hibachi, gas fired grills, or liquid
propane gas stoves.

Earlier this summer, the
council also passed an ordinance that prohibited the consumption of alcohol in
public parking lots.

Council Moves Forward

With $18 Million In Bonds

The council came one
step closer to moving forward with some big projects that are on the horizon in
Ocean City, as it voted 6-1, with Councilwoman Margaret Pillas in opposition,
to move forward to the second and final reading that would allow the town to
issue and sell up to $18.1 million in bonds in order to fund the Convention
Center expansion, the land acquisition at 64^th Street, ie, the old
Slide-n-Ride facility that will be the future site of a wastewater treatment
facility expansion, and various other public facilities projects, such as a
city boat ramp at 64^th Street as well.

Laser Pointer Maximum

Penalties Amended

The Mayor and Council
moved forward with an emergency ordinance to change the maximum penalties for
violations to the town's new laser pointer law on Monday with a unanimous vote.

Possession of laser
pointers is banned in Ocean City for minors, and it is also unlawful to sell a
laser pointer to a minor in the resort as well.

However, the penalty for
violations was reduced on Monday, as City Solicitor Guy Ayres recommended that
the council reduce the maximum penalty for a violation be reduced from 6 months
in prison to 90 days.

The maximum fine for the
misdemeanor offense would still be $1,000.

'Since this has to do
with the laser pointer law, I would think we should move forward with this via
an emergency ordinance,' said Council President Joe Mitrecic.

Downtown Business

Gets Parking Exception

Earlier this year, Sea
Rocket owners Angela and Graham Bostic were granted temporary use of the
parking lot downtown where their new launch site was located.

This week, they asked to
use the grounds as a paid parking lot when they were closed for business.

'We quickly discovered
that everyone wants to use the parking lot in the evening hours, so what we are
asking for is to have paid parking on our lot only a few nights a week,' said
Angela Bostic, 'mainly on Tuesday nights in the summer, when people want to go
to the free concerts at Sunset Park.'

On Monday, the Mayor and
Council waved the paving standards that are expected for a commercial lot, with
the caveat that Bostic keep the lot in good aesthetics and only granted
year-to-year temporary use.

On Tuesday, the Planning
and Zoning Commission gave the Sea Rocket concurrence on site plan approval.