Share: 

Rehoboth parking changes on the way

Vote expected to come at January meeting
December 28, 2018

Story Location:
1 City Hall Drive
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971
United States

Parking changes in Rehoboth for 2019 aren’t final yet, but after a lengthy discussion Dec. 21, city commissioners have set the stage to vote on an ordinance Jan. 7 during their regular meeting.

Prior to the discussion, and after receiving many comments, Commissioner Lisa Schlosser said the city is not trying to fill its coffers with additional revenue. She said whole effort was intended to allow people to come in and out of town more easily, make parking more consistent and relieve congestion off main avenues.

“This will not bring significantly more revenue to the city,” she said.

Mayor Paul Kuhns agreed.

“This is not a solution to a lack of revenue,” said Kuhns. “This is really a way to move people around, so it’s not as congested.”

As discussed at other meetings, the commissioners agreed to change the price of parking meters on Rehoboth, Baltimore and Wilmington avenues from $2 an hour to $3. Kuhns said the idea is to get beachgoers to park more on Delaware, Virginia and Brooklyn avenues, where a lot of spaces remain empty during the summer, and they’re right next to the beach.

Commissioner Stan Mills said when it comes time to discuss next year’s budget, he would really like to see an explanation for how the extra revenue will be spent.

Kuhns suggested changing the season for the meters from May 15 through Sept. 30, but after Schlosser and Commissioners Richard Byrne and Pat Coluzzi voiced concern about the change, it was decided the meter season will stay the same – the Friday before Memorial Day to the second Sunday following Labor Day. Commissioners also agreed to reduce the hours of enforcement – from 10 a.m. to midnight to 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

There were no recommendations on changes to the 30-minute meters, but the commissioners did task City Manager Sharon Lynn with presenting recommendations at a future meeting.

Commissioners agreed to 3-hour time limits for meters on Rehoboth Avenue whether on the island side or the storefront side, making them all uniform. In the past, meters on shopside had a 2-hour limit. Mills said he thought the meters should be four-hour limits, but that was not adopted.

It appears there will be some changes to parking near the Rehoboth Post Office. Currently, there are eight spaces by the post office – seven on Rehoboth Avenue and one on Second Street.

Kuhns recommended keeping the unmetered space on Second Street; reducing the number of unmetered parking spaces on Rehoboth Avenue from five to two; and keeping the two metered spaces that are free for post office use during the day, but metering parking starting at 5 p.m., not at 6 p.m. as is currently the case. This would would reduce the number of Rehoboth Avenue spaces from seven to four during post office hours.

Coluzzi said she was in favor of the change and that there are also spots for parking in the parking lot behind the post office.

Lynn said city staff will discuss the changes with the post office once there is some clear direction and report the response back to commissioners.

Starting with a change in the season that mirrors meters, the commissioners also discussed changes to parking permits. This will add two weeks in September on the end, said Kuhns.

The time of enforcement for permits – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – will not change.

Commissioners agreed to change the number of permits all property owners and year-round tenants can get to two transferable permits, two nontransferable permits and two moped permits. Currently, property owners and year-round tenants are allowed as many nontransferable permits as there are cars registered to people who live at an address.

Commissioners agreed to eliminate the ability of rental property owners, including hotels and motels, to purchase $30 transferable permits. Kuhns said property owners will get the permits issued to all property owners, but will have to buy each permit after that at  the retail price of $250. He said the city sold 2,000 of the $30 permits last year.

In an email Dec. 27, Kuhns said the majority of the $30 permits were spread out to the landlords renting their houses for most of the summer. He said approximately 15 to 20 percent were hotels, rooming houses and guest houses.

Commissioners also agreed to change the weekly parking pass from $80 to $90.

Kuhns said the changes are not final until commissioners vote on them in January, but the discussion gave city solicitor Glenn Mandalas guidance on how to write an ordinance for that meeting, and it allows Lynn to begin planning for the changes as she prepares next year’s budget.

The 2019 changes to parking in Rehoboth may not be the last. Kuhns said parking hasn’t been addressed in a number of years, and these are baby steps. The city will probably come back with more changes for 2020 and 2021, he said.

Subscribe to the CapeGazette.com Daily Newsletter