Rehoboth commissioners postpone vote on pending applications
The Rehoboth Beach commissioners have postponed a vote on an ordinance that would clarify the applicability of zoning changes related to the proposed BeachWalk development.
The ordinance, which states that all pending applications will only be allowed one structure on a lot, will be voted on in May, per the advice of the city’s legal counsel.
The city commissioners announced their decision following a 30-minute executive session April 24 to discuss legal strategy for the ongoing BeachWalk case.
Developer Ocean Bay Mart is seeking to build 63 residential units on a 7.75-acre parcel off Route 1, currently operating as the Rehoboth Beach Plaza shopping center. Consisting of 58 single-family homes and five apartment-style units, lots in the development would not be subdivided; houses would be constructed on a single lot.
The application was submitted in summer 2015, but later that year, building inspector Dam Molina ruled that the proposal could not move forward because of a footnote in the building code that prevented more than one building a lot. That ruling was then overturned by the board of adjustment.
The case then moved to the planning commission for site-plan review, but the commission determined the proposed development constituted a major subdivision. BeachWalk attorneys argued the board of adjustment’s ruling was binding and that the planners could not impose major subdivision requirements on the development.
The planners’ ruling was appealed to the city commissioners, who upheld the planning commission’s decision that BeachWalk is a major subdivision. As part of the city’s arguments, attorneys argued that an ordinance, passed in November 2017, mandating only one building on a lot, applied to BeachWalk. The city’s argument was that because the BeachWalk application had not received site-plan review, it was required to comply with the ordinance.
BeachWalk appealed to Delaware Superior Court and Judge E. Scott Bradley rejected the city’s motion to dismiss the case but did not rule on whether the ordinance applied, remanding the matter back to the city commissioners for further review.
