Belhaven Hotel public hearing will continue in July

The Rehoboth Beach Planning Commission conducted a public hearing June 26, on a site plan for a larger Belhaven Hotel, but did not vote on approval. Instead, the commission voted to continue the public hearing in July.

The proposed Belhaven Hotel stretches the width of the block from Rehoboth Avenue south to Wilmington Avenue and also fronts the Boardwalk.

This is the second public hearing on the site plan for the hotel. In July 2024, the planning commission approved a site plan for a 92-room hotel, but afterward, the board of adjustment approved a variance request for a satellite parking lot that allows the developer to increase the number of rooms to 105. Prior to scheduling the second public hearing, the planning commission conducted a May 30 preliminary site-plan review on the new plans.

During the June 26 hearing, project architect Peter Fillat said the plans aren’t too much different from the ones submitted in May, but there are a few small changes, primarily related to parking – two handicap-accessible parking spaces in the satellite parking lot have been moved to the underground parking lot, and the lay-by area (drop-off zone) on Wilmington Avenue increased from one car space to three.

At the May meeting, Corey Shinko, interim director for the city's building and licensing department, said he was going to ask the International Code Council to review life-safety issues, accessibility issues and foundation issues on the project. At the June 26 meeting, he said the ICC had reviewed the plans, but a letter sent to the city said the plans weren’t complete enough to provide any relevant information.

Those detailed plans will come after site-plan approval, after which Shinko said he will ask ICC to review again.

Shinko said when those documents are made available to the city, anyone will be able to submit a Freedom of Information Act request to examine what the city has been given.

Shinko said he received a letter from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control saying temporary dewatering would be allowed during construction, but not on a permanent basis.  

Richard Forsten, the attorney representing the developer, said that will not be an issue. It’s never been part of the plans, he said.

Throughout the process, planning commissioners and members of the public have expressed concern about how truck traffic will be affected on Wilmington Avenue.

Forsten said the hotel is expected to get three deliveries per month, and the restaurant will get three deliveries a week. There will not be a stream of vehicles, Forsten said.

There are also continued concerns about the ability of a delivery truck to back into the hotel’s loading dock on Wilmington Avenue. Fillat presented slides showing how a 30-foot box truck and a 53-foot container truck would each have the space to maneuver without hitting cars.

In advance of the meeting, the planning commission was presented with several different plans from the developer. The plans are labeled, but don’t include a description. There was confusion among commissioners about what was important. 

Forsten said he will submit a complete packet of information, with a description of each item included, to the planning commission by Tuesday, July 8, for review.

The continuation of the public hearing was not a surprise. The planning commission said it was likely to happen when it scheduled the hearing in May. The public hearing will continue Thursday, July 24.