BERLIN – Plans to redevelop the Bay Club as a 434-site campground are moving ahead.
On Monday, attorney Hugh Cropper told the Berlin Town Council that his client, the Carl M. Freeman Companies, was proceeding with plans to turn the popular golf course into a rental campground.
“It’s going to be a great asset to the area and a good use of this property,” Cropper said.
Rumors regarding the potential redevelopment of the Bay Club have been circulating for months. Cropper promised town officials in August that he’d share plans for the golf course with them if the property owner decided to proceed. He said Monday his client was ready to move ahead with the project and was making an effort to keep the town informed.
“We want to be open and transparent,” Cropper said.
Though the Carl M. Freeman Companies owns a total of 673 acres on Libertytown Road outside Berlin, the Bay Club’s two 18-hole courses are situated on 437 acres of A-2 property. Cropper said that while the majority of the county’s agricultural land was categorized with the more restrictive A-1 zoning, the Bay Club land was A-2, which, through special exception, did allow for uses other than agriculture. One of those uses is a campground.
“In 98 percent of the county, you can’t have rental campgrounds,” he said.
Cropper added that the golf course property was located in one of the growth areas identified in Worcester County’s comprehensive plan. It’s also designated as an area to be served by water and sewer in the county’s sewerage plan.
Cropper explained that the first step to turning the course into a campground would be acquiring approval for a special exception from the county’s board of zoning appeals.
“If I don’t get this step, there’s no need to go any further,” he said.
According to Cropper, his client is doing everything possible to build a quality campground. A nationally known campground designer has been hired to work with local architects on the project.
“They do everything first-class,” Cropper said of the Carl M. Freeman Companies.
According to Cropper, the property will probably continue to feature an 18-hole golf course even after the campground is built, although the holes will be interspersed throughout the property.
“It’s going to have lots of green, lots of open space,” Cropper said, pointing out that in contrast to this site, Castaways in West Ocean City had close to 400 campsites on 25 acres.
As planned, the Bay Club campground would feature both cabins and RV sites. Amenities for campers would include ponds, a welcome center and a lodge.
Cropper said that by law, the campground would have to be closed five consecutive months each year. He believes the property will generate less traffic as a campground than it currently does as a golf course. So far this year, 36,994 rounds of golf have been played at the Bay Club. Cropper pointed out that didn’t include lessons and other visits people made to the course.
“That’s got to generate 40,000 trips a summer,” he said.
According to Cropper, most GPS systems direct motorists traveling to the Bay Club to drive through Powellville to get there. Furthermore, he says that if it’s built the campground will advise those who make reservations that that was the preferred route.
“It’s wide,” he said. “It’s open. There’s no traffic. A high percentage of people would use that route.”
He added that the traffic engineer retained by the Freeman Companies would be looking at the potential for a shuttle bus as well as walking and bike paths.
“Traffic is a major concern for my client,” he said. “I think we will continue to address it.”
As far as water and sewer, Cropper said the developer would probably build an “on site package plant” and spray on the site’s 18-hole golf course.
Cropper maintained that he saw redevelopment of the golf course as a good thing for Berlin.
“Right now we don’t need anything,” he said. “We’re here as a neighbor to present our project and let you take a look at it.”
He said it was too early to discuss annexation but encouraged officials to consider the possibility.
“I think this would be a great property in the future, after it’s vetted, after it’s explored, after it’s studied, to possibly, if we can work out the details, have annexed into the Town of Berlin,” he said.
He pointed out that it would produce a high hospitality tax and would raise property taxes while having little impact on public services.
When pressed on the issue of annexation by Mayor Gee Williams, Cropper simply replied that it was something he would want to discuss with the town when the time was right.
“When you think it’s appropriate, we can come back and talk,” Cropper said.
Williams said he understood that the Bay Club could construct its own on-site plan to treat wastewater and that environmental experts would determine whether that was the best wastewater option.
“If that doesn’t work out either economically or approval-wise we have more than enough capacity in our wastewater treatment plant to serve this facility,” he said.
Cropper replied that it was his client’s desire to be part of the Town of Berlin “if Berlin will have him.”
Williams went on to express concerns about vehicles leaving the Bay Club and heading into town to get on Route 50 to go to Ocean City. He pointed out that as Harrison Avenue was currently closed, too much traffic could be a significant problem at the intersection of West and Broad streets.
“We’ve got to figure out how to get these people to Route 50 in a way that’s practical and safe,” he said.
Councilman Zack Tyndall questioned how the redevelopment of the Bay Club fit into the town’s comprehensive plan. Cropper replied that while there was a “draft” of a green belt in the town’s plan, the Bay Club was outside of the town and so the plan wasn’t really applicable.
Williams thanked Cropper for sharing his client’s plans with town officials before seeking approval from the county. He said he hoped the discussion regarding the Bay Club would be ongoing.
“We’re all trying to do what’s right here for the rest of the century,” he said.
