I would like to express my gratitude for the opportunity to serve a full three-year term on the Rehoboth Beach Planning Commission. It has been a privilege to meet so many residents and business owners who have a passion for this city and want to invest in and help build its future. I am especially appreciative of the city manager and staff, who consistently go above and beyond their normal duties to enable the RBPC to fulfill its responsibilities.
My heartfelt appreciation also goes to the current, former and new members and officers of the RBPC. I learned so much from each person, appreciated their perspectives, and valued their thoughtfulness. During my terms as chair and vice chair, I tried very hard to be fair and ensure that everyone’s voice was heard, and that civility and dignity were maintained, and differing viewpoints were expressed. Michael Bryan has been a trusted advisor and co-leader of the RBPC as vice chair, and he has already shown himself to be a very effective chair.
The city is under intense commercial redevelopment pressure which offers tremendous opportunities for advancement of environmental, cultural, justice, business and equity concerns. The questions before the RBPC are, “How do we plan the redevelopment of the commercial core in a way that serves Rehoboth Beach’s residents, visitors, businesses, workers and the larger community surrounding us?” With the guidance of a professional planner these questions can now be addressed, and the City of Rehoboth Beach will benefit immensely. Planner Tom West is already making a difference in queuing up the next reviews, and the public’s trust in the site-plan review process is being restored with the participation and added perspective of a professional planner.
Gaining the planner function is going to allow progress on other thorny issues which divide the people of Rehoboth Beach into factions but must be addressed to keep the city livable and vibrant. A historic preservation ordinance, health and life safety issues like requiring fire suppression, parking, requiring architectural review standards, and a full embrace of sustainability are all important topics for future discussions.
There is also the need to reset the expectations for the commercial-residential shared property line. My personal view is that that the current C-1 zone should only exist where it does not share a residential property line. The commissioners should explore enacting a new commercial zone with lower impact and different expectations for its residential neighbors. Mixed-use zoning - new opportunities for people to own or rent housing that is not a single-family house - should be part of the zoning code update discussion.
I encourage everyone to cooperate and participate in the completion of the pandemic CDP. The unique circumstances which delayed its production are regrettable, but were unavoidable. My recommendation is that the 2025 CDP update process be initiated soon after the CDP is finalized in July 2022.
Finally, I would like to leave you with the suggestion to start visioning the city in larger increments of time, and with bigger and bolder goals. A Vision 2050 plan for Rehoboth Beach is needed to ensure that Rehoboth Beach stays a vibrant, livable and welcoming community. Reflecting on the earliest days of Rehoboth Beach, a train traveled the center of Rehoboth Avenue, and we have this valuable gift of a very wide swath of land called Rehoboth Avenue. Is the utilization of this space for the purpose of surface-parking vehicles really its best use? Can we do better? Look to other communities that have made people-friendly decisions, putting parking, vehicle circulation, transit stops, service deliveries, trash removal, and other functions underground, and think of what the future of the surface of Rehoboth Avenue could look like.
Though my term is ending, and my personal situation has changed since 1985, when I first came to this wonderful town, my heart will always be here in Rehoboth Beach. Thank you for letting me serve this community for the past three years.
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