OCEAN CITY, Md. — In 2024, Shreif Shata won a dispensary license for Worcester County. He set his sights on Ocean City, but his idea abruptly stopped when the town’s zoning department denied his request. 

Across from the old Phillip’s Crab House is a shopping center comprised of a Candy Kitchen, 4:20 Mega Smoke Shop and a deli. It also happens to be where Shata wants to put his dispensary. 

So, Shata got in touch with the property owner, Mike Ramadan. 

“He said it’d be perfect, zoned perfectly and pretty much a green light for the whole operation,” said Shata. 

Ramadan told WBOC he even got the property rezoned from residential to commercial in February.He provided WBOC with documents to back this up, and they show that the entire lot where this dispensary has could go is zoned as local commercial. 

Still, the town denied Shata’s request, which he made through his company Guru Ventures. 

In a letter to Shata’s attorney, Justin Tepe, Ocean City’s Director of Planning and Community Development George Bendler cited the following. 

Town of Ocean City’s Points: 

• Proximity to Residential Zones
  • The property is within 100 feet of areas zoned for residential use
• Proximity to a Public Park and Recreation Center
  • The property is also located within 500 feet of a pre-existing public park and pre-existing recreation center(the beach)
• Located in an Area Zoned for Residential Use
  • The property is located within the LC-1 zoning district which permits residential use

Ramadan said the last point made by Bendler doesn’t make sense to him.It’s based on the town’s pyramidal zoning. 

“Their reasoning was that yes, we are zoned for commercial use so technicallyyes we can have a dispensary there, however, you could also build a house there,” said Ramadan.”Their explanation is just because you have the ability to have a house there and build a house there it becomes a residential zone. That means the entire town becomes a residential zone.” 

City Manager Terry McGean, however, said there are current apartments within very close proximity to the proposed location. 

“There’s apartments on top of the building of the facility,” said McGean. “It seems pretty clear to us that this fails to meet the setback requirements that are in our code.” 

As for the town’s stance about the proposed location being too close to the beach, Ramadan believes the measurement is incorrect. He said the town measured from the corner of the lot instead of the property line. 

“From this property line or this property line we’re 500 feet away, 520 to be exact,” said Ramadan, pointing to a map on his desk. 

Shata and Ramadan also cited HB 805 in their argument, a Maryland law that went into effect in 2024. The law states, “a political subdivision may not adopt an ordinance establishing zoning requirements for licensed dispensaries that are more restrictive than zoning requirement for a retail dealer licensed under this article.” 

In simpler terms, a town or municipality, zoning-wise, cannot treat marijuana differently than it would alcohol. 

“The beer and wine store is next to the potential site where we’re trying to open the dispensary, which by state law states we have to be able to open a dispensary,” said Ramadan. 

McGean said the town interprets the law differently. 

“There are different setback requirements based on whether it’s a liquor store or a dispensary, we believe that’s allowable under the state law and that’s what we’ve done,” said McGean. 

Shata has appealed the town’s decision and will appear before the town’s Board of Zoning Appeals on April 24th. If the BZA doesn’t side with Shata, he said he’s prepared to take Ocean City to court.