Worcester Planning Commission tables zoning amendment related to underwater cable project

SNOW HILL, Md. – The Worcester County Planning Commission voted to table a zoning text amendment related to an Amazon Web Services underwater cable project Thursday.

The cable project involves Amazon building an underwater cable between Ireland and the United States.

The company is hoping to run the the cable to the Ocean City Airport.

The text amendment asks for an allowed use of a single-building on the county airport land, that’s not allowed to be more than 1,200 square feet on a 3,500 square foot plot of land.

The building is also not allowed to be connected to sewer or water and there’s a list of equipment that distinguishes it from a data center or cable landing station.

Worcester County commissioners recently enacted a moratorium on cable landing stations and data centers.

The public was not allowed to comment during the meeting, but many showed up to hear the presentation of the amendment.

The Planning Commission tabled the text amendment to seek further insight and will be revisited in 60 days.