OCEAN CITY, Md. — Voters in Ocean City will head to the polls Tuesday, July 22, for a special election that could reshape how short-term rentals are regulated across the town’s residential neighborhoods.
The election stems from a new ordinance that would place tighter restrictions on short-term rentals in residential areas and mobile home districts. If upheld, the rules would require a minimum rental stay of five nights beginning in 2025, which would increase to 31 nights by 2027.
The election stems from a new ordinance that would place tighter restrictions on short-term rentals in residential areas and mobile home districts.
Terry Miller, a local resident leading the opposition, says the policy unfairly targets property owners and infringes on their rights.
“We gathered 1,327 signatures to bring this to referendum,” Miller said.
She argues the ordinance is inconsistent, since duplexes and townhouses— located within the same neighborhoods—are treated differently. “If these rentals are so detrimental that we have to ban them and we have to take people’s property rights, how can we carve out somebody because they’re not a single-family home?” She said.
Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan supports the ordinance, saying it’s designed to preserve the peace and residential feel of year-round communities.
“Those property owners that live in single-family neighborhoods—they have rights too,” Meehan said. “They have rights to the enjoyment and the peace and quiet of their neighborhood. That’s why they purchased there.”
Supporters of the ordinance say the change is necessary to preserve the character and integrity of neighborhoods that have long been geared toward full-time residents and families.
As for the carve-outs, Meehan noted that some multi-unit properties remain grandfathered in. “There are some non-conforming properties in those R1 neighborhoods that are multifamily and were there before it was zoned R1,” he said.
Town officials estimate the changes would impact about 300 of Ocean City’s roughly 9,000 rental properties.
The special election will be held at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center on Tuesday, July 22, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.