Rehoboth considering sale of Lake Gerar Park land

Rehoboth Beach commissioners have set a public hearing for Friday, Aug. 15, related to the proposed sale of a piece of Lake Gerar Park land next to Virginia Avenue.

The decision to hold a public hearing was made during a commissioner meeting July 18. After an executive session about the issue, City Manager Taylour Tedder gave a brief description of the proposal.

City staff was approached by a local property owner, who is looking to make a Virginia Avenue property a conforming 5,000-square-foot lot, said Tedder. The lot has three homes on one parcel, and the additional land would allow the parcel to be partitioned, he said.

Tedder said the property owner is looking to buy 1,463 square feet.

The shape of the proposed piece of land is triangular. An acre has 43,560 square feet. A standard tennis court for a singles match is 2,106 square feet.

Commissioner Suzanne Goode voted against setting the public hearing, saying the amount of open space in the city keeps shrinking, and the sale would facilitate the development of land near the park. She said it’s concerning because the property owner purchased the land with full knowledge of what they owned at the time of the sale. 

“This is a dangerous precedent – selling off a fixed supply of parkland within the city limits of Rehoboth Beach,” Goode said.

Property owner Tom Gaynor was the only member of the public to speak. He was against the sale. The problem with the proposal, he said, is that it doesn’t benefit the public. It only benefits the property owner. Conducting the hearing in the middle of August smacks of insider dealing, he said.

Commissioner Francis “Bunky” Markert said all the details related to the proposed sale will be presented at the public hearing.