Lewes council passes rental ordinance

The City of Lewes has added a rental ordinance to its code, wrapping up a process that began in the spring with a short-term rental ad hoc committee. Council voted 4-1 to approve the ordinance Oct. 10.

Councilwoman Carolyn Jones, chair of the committee, proposed adding Chapter 150, which addresses short- and long-term rentals, following months of meetings, a public hearing and final tweaks. The final draft appeared prime for passage, unchanged, until Councilman Tim Ritzert argued that he believed all children, no matter their age, should count toward the overall occupancy of a unit. Ritzert cited high-occupancy vehicle lane restrictions that include children of all ages as his reasons, believing there are safety guidelines in place for a reason. The ordinance calls for an occupancy limit of two people per bedroom, plus two additional people, counting all individuals 6 and older toward the total.

Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba said he believed the age should actually be increased to 12. Jones supported Saliba’s stance, saying conversations following the public hearing revealed the city could be hindering goals of a mutually beneficial ordinance by placing such restrictions.

“I think it’s a good policy to encourage families and multi-generations to come here,” Saliba said.

Members of the community said short-term rentals include children’s rooms with bunk beds. Saliba said also noted that problems with short-term rentals cited by the public did not deal with kids directly. Residents’ concerns comprised parking spaces, loud parties and overall disrespect toward the community. Occupancy limits were discussed when establishing safety guidelines, but officials discovered building codes determined occupancy in relation to the square footage of a home and did not have guidelines for short-term rentals.

The amendment to increase the non-counting age minimum from 6 to 12 years old was added before the ordinance was passed. Ritzert was joined by Mayor Andrew Williams in voting no on the age amendment, but Ritzert was the lone no vote for the overall ordinance.

Mayor and city council also voted on the zoning districts in which short-term rentals would be permissible. Ritzert and Williams both opposed allowing short-term rentals in the annexation-residential zone, citing Lewes Planning Commissioner Bob Heffernan’s concerns that short-term rentals would not be conducive to the intent of the district.

Officials did have concerns about the proposed fee schedule and will discuss those terms further at a Thursday, Oct. 27 workshop.