Commissioners give favorable poll to Racetrack Village residential planned community

Worcester County Commissioners on Feb. 17 polled favorably on a step‑1 application for the Racetrack Village Residential Planned Community (RPC), a proposed development on about 22.86 acres on Maryland Route 589.

Planning staff entered the Planning Commission's file, which recommended approval. The applicant, Maryland Medical Owners 3 LLC, proposed a plan that includes 136 multifamily units, one single‑family unit and a retail component limited by code to no more than 20% of gross floor area; the submitted plan shows approximately 11% commercial and more than 44 acres of common open space measured in the planning report. Traffic and site‑planning witnesses testified that the project's access shared an entrance with the nearby medical campus and that a recently installed signal and turn lanes provide capacity for the development. "From our tests back in July with the full build out of this site, we found that the signal would operate at levels of service A or B during each of those peak periods in the future," traffic engineer Carl Wilson said.

Staff and counsel noted the project meets RPC standards in the county's code and emphasized a condition: the applicant must secure Ocean Pines sewer EDUs before final approvals. One nearby resident, Steve Bocko, spoke in opposition citing summer traffic and neighborhood impacts. After discussion, commissioners registered a unanimous favorable poll to advance the project through the review process; the poll is not a final approval but allows staff and the applicant to proceed to subsequent steps and written findings.

Next steps: The applicant must secure required EDUs and return for later-stage approvals, including step‑2 site plans and final findings of fact by the commissioners.