“The 19 Acre Mystery,” running on Beach Time

At its Jan. 12 meeting, City Council debated what to do with the 19 acres of land between the Public Works shop and Ocean Shores Elementary School. It was purchased 10 years ago by the City, for $350,000, and is probably worth at least three times that much, now. Mysteriously, the entire 19 acres was re-zoned as B-2 Commercial, a change from its original R-1 Residential tag. Council ultimately voted 4-2 to have Public Works Director Ken Lanfear send the issue to the Planning Commission.

They didn’t say when.

The Planning Commission met on Jan. 13, and the 19 Acres was not on the agenda. They met again this afternoon, and still no 19 Acres. City Planner Alicia Bridges told the commission Lanfear was still doing research on the area. 

Now, the Planning Commission won’t look at the 19 Acres until, at the earliest, March 10. That’s the next planning meeting. There were two meetings scheduled for February, but the commission voted to cancel them, due to people being out of town.

Two words: Beach Time.