The following letter is a response to a letter that appeared in the Sept. 21 edition of the Cape Gazette.
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Delany:
Allow me to begin by completely agreeing with your recent letter to the Cape Gazette. You are correct. The Greene Turtle does not have an elevator at this location, but it was not missed due to negligence or greed.
I am a local Rehoboth Beach resident. I have lived, raised a family and owned businesses here for almost 30 years. In 2007, my brother/business partner and I decided to open a Greene Turtle restaurant in Rehoboth, but first we had to get approval from the City of Rehoboth Beach.
In the summer of 2008, we submitted our plans to the city to fully renovate the building that was formerly known as the Sunview Motel. The design included a full-sized elevator capable of holding four adults. The approval process was a staggering 14-month ordeal that included multiple public hearings and dozens of one-on-one meetings with city officials. At no time was the elevator brought up as a concern. In the late summer of 2009 we were granted the approval to begin construction.
It was not until later that fall that we were told the design, which had been approved, was deemed unacceptable by the Delaware State Fire Marshal. This obviously came as a big surprise to us since we were to begin construction in just a few short months!
It was then explained that the Delaware State Fire Marshal requires any mechanical device that operates between floors to be large enough for a stretcher and two paramedics. Unfortunately, this made the unit too large for a building of this size and age to support. We were told since the building was not higher than two stories and the floors were not separated by more than 15 feet, we were not obligated to install an elevator… although the entire restaurant still needed to conform to all other ADA regulations. After multiple failed attempts to negotiate a feasible alternative, we had no choice but to open without one.
The building inspector later added that in order to overcome the four-and-a-half-inch step leading into the building they would require us to re-grade the entire eastern half of Wilmington Avenue. This entailed replacing the street, sidewalks, street lights and utility poles to bring the sidewalk up to the required four-and-a-half inches.
We then hired another attorney to file for a hardship with the State Fire Marshal requesting that they at least allow us to install a chair-lift for our physically disabled guests. But because the elevator requirement was Delaware state law, they did not have the authority to approve my request, and therefore it was immediately, and shockingly, denied by their office. This is where politics collides with common-sense solutions!
This situation has even been brought before the DOJ in Washington, D.C., and it was determined that we were in fact compliant with the ADA as set forth by the City of Rehoboth.
As you can see, we did everything we possibly could to ensure that the Rehoboth Beach Greene Turtle would be friendly to all our guests but in the end, it was the Delaware State Fire Marshal and the City of Rehoboth Beach that ultimately prevailed.
We would like to sincerely apologize to any person(s) who have been negatively affected by these decisions over the years.
Best Regards.
Bill Frankis
The Greene Turtle
Rehoboth Beach
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