Zoning change for a building tied to an underwater cable tabled in Worcester County
The Worcester County Planning Commission tabled a proposed zoning text amendment tied to Amazon’s planned underwater cable landing project at Ocean City Airport. The delay gives officials time to gather more information, while opponents question the project’s potential environmental and development impacts and the county’s existing moratorium on data centers and cable landing stations.
The Worcester County Planning Commission in Snow Hill, Maryland, tabled a zoning text amendment that would allow international telecommunications cables and a small power feed equipment building at Ocean City Airport. Amazon is developing an underwater cable between Ireland and the United States and wants it to land at the airport, but the facility type is not currently addressed in the municipal airport’s zoning code.
Opponents, including members of the Assateague Coastal Community Coalition and local homeowners associations, attended the meeting and raised concerns about the project’s impacts and the precedent a zoning change could establish. Worcester County commissioners enacted a moratorium on data centers and cable landing stations in July, while Amazon argues that its proposed power feed building is neither facility: it would be smaller than 700 square feet, use no water and require no staff. The amendment is expected to return to the commission in 60 days after officials seek additional information.