Planning commission grants four waivers for proposed Assateague "Old Daley" store, including clamshell parking

The Worcester County Planning Commission voted to grant four waiver requests for the proposed Assateague "Old Daley" convenience store, approving the applicant’s grouped request for entrance location, partial clamshell surfacing, a reduced landscape buffer and manual irrigation.

The waivers were presented by the applicant team, which identified itself for the record. "The proposed entrance would be in the same location," the applicant’s designer said, describing coordination with the Department of Public Works and the Maryland Department of Transportation to remove an existing access on Assateague Road and consolidate access to Harrison Road. The designer told the commission the total site is 2.18 acres and that the limits of disturbance are under one acre.

Commissioners pressed the project team on details of traffic flow and surfacing. Commissioners expressed concern that compacted clamshell used for part of the parking area could complicate painted traffic markings and vehicle turning; the applicant said the clamshell would be confined to a blue-shaded area on their plan and that ADA spaces and high-volume circulation lanes would be paved. The applicant also said the clamshell choice was intended to provide a coastal aesthetic appropriate to the site.

The commission debated whether the rear circulation should be one-way and how queuing would operate around the drive-through. After those clarifications, a commissioner moved to approve the four waivers as presented; the motion was seconded and carried. The applicant team thanked the commission and said it would comply with staff conditions and final plan details during site-plan review.

Staff will record the approved waivers in the project file and the applicant was reminded to coordinate entrance modifications with the Maryland Department of Transportation as discussed. No other permits or state approvals were altered by the county vote; those remain separate processes handled by state agencies or future site-plan review.