Milton Theatre seeks waivers
Milton Town Council will hear requests Monday, Sept. 8, for two waivers from the town’s building code related to the construction of an addition to Milton Theatre.
The theater is planning to build a 2,850-square-foot expansion to the existing building that will include the theater’s new education wing, which will contain new rehearsal spaces, green rooms and offices, as well as new bathrooms. The $3 million addition is Phase 2 of a large renovation project to the more than 100-year-old theater, with Phase 1 being the restoration of the balcony.
One waiver is from the requirement that sidewalks have a cross drainage of at least a quarter-inch per square foot. In its application, Milton Theatre Director Fred Munzert said the waiver is needed to keep the finished floor elevation closer to the finished floor of the building. He said the current sidewalks provide adequate drainage away from the building.
The second waiver is from requirements for the width of a sidewalk, which is required to be 5 feet. Munzert said the sidewalk for the addition connects to an existing alleyway, which does not leave enough room to provide 5 feet of sidewalk.
The theater was given preliminary site-plan approval by the town’s planning and zoning commission Aug. 19, under the condition that waivers are approved. The town’s engineer, Pennoni Associates, has agreed the waivers are justified in its correspondence to the commission.
Council to vote on budget
At its regular meeting, 6:30 p.m., Sept. 8, at Milton library, Milton Town Council will vote on the town’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
The nearly $5 million budget includes a 3.35% property tax increase and includes a new, data-driven capital improvement plan. By law, council must have the budget in place before Oct. 1.
In addition, the council will discuss an advisory report by the planning and zoning commission on short-term rentals. The chief recommendation of that report is to consider short-term rentals such as Airbnbs as a special permitted use within the zoning code.
Ryan Mavity covers Milton and the court system. He is married to Rachel Swick Mavity and has two kids, Alex and Jane. Ryan started with the Cape Gazette all the way back in February 2007, previously covering the City of Rehoboth Beach. A native of Easton, Md. and graduate of Towson University, Ryan enjoys watching the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Capitals and Baltimore Orioles in his spare time.
