Residents, officials divided on pool regulations

In the wake of recent controversy over noise and its regulation, the Rehoboth Beach commissioners continue to debate regulation of pools and limiting the size of houses.

The commissioners were divided on an amendment to a proposed pool ordinance, drafted by Mayor Sam Cooper, that would limit property owners to either a rental license or a pool license, but not both. Rental owners would have to cover the pool up and would not be allowed to offer it as an amenity.

While Cooper’s amendment has had lukewarm support from other commissioners, he said he is not giving up on it. He said pools are fundamentally changing the character of Rehoboth, and he did not think asking neighbors to call the police to complain about noise was a workable solution. He said extraneous noise degrades the neighborhoods and may force full-time residents to reconsider whether Rehoboth is the place they want to be.

Commissioners Stan Mills and Kathy McGuiness opposed the amendment, while Commissioner Lorraine Zellers said she supports it.  Commissioner Patrick Gossett said he thought Cooper’s amendment would be a last resort.

“I’m not sure closing the pools to rental houses is going to solve the noise problem,” he said.

Gossett said he thought the way to get at the problem was through licensing, and that the city needed to come up with permitted uses for properties that are acting as commercial businesses within residential neighborhoods.

Those in the rental business, however, are raising concerns.

Jo Anne Bacher, rental manager for Jack Lingo Realtor, said after the meeting that she did not see anything wrong with requiring a rental license or a pool license, but she is concerned about not allowing pool owners to offer a pool as an amenity. She said taking away the pool would have a huge effect on the rental business.

Bacher said pools are very popular with families of young children who vacation in Rehoboth but may find the ocean too dangerous for their children.

Rental owner Nick Delcampo threatened a lawsuit if the city adopts the ordinance preventing rental owners from having a pool.

"I want to rent, and I want to have my pool," he said.

Realtor Sharon Palmer of Coldwell Banker said while she did not agree with much of what the commissioners were proposing, she did not want to see big parties, rowdiness and neighbors being kept awake at 3 a.m.

"That's not acceptable," Palmer said.

Still, Palmer said the city should give its noise ordinance and good neighbor brochure a chance to work before passing stricter measures on pools.

Zellers said she did not think the noise ordinance, the good neighbor brochure or the proposed zoning regulations were enough to stop the building of large houses with pools. She said builders will find a way to maximize their lots to the nth degree. Zellers said she supported Mayor Sam Cooper's proposal that limited people to have a pool or a rental license – but not both.

"We're a residential community first, and we need to protect that," Zellers said. "We don't need to accommodate your profit margins."

Owners of new pools would be required to pay a $50 fee and would be licensed for a year, starting July 1 through June 30. The license would be renewed annually. Existing pools would be exempt from the fee but would still require a license. Pool licenses would not transfer when a house is sold. The idea behind licensing is to allow building and licensing to have a record of every pool in the city.

Cooper said the use of pools has pushed large rental houses in residential neighborhoods over the line from a house to a hotel. He said the use of pools is incompatible with what is desired in residential neighborhoods.

McGuiness disagreed with Cooper and Zellers. She said there was only one citation for noise in the residential neighborhoods over Memorial Day weekend. She said Cooper's amendment was a knee-jerk reaction.

"We can do better," McGuiness said. "One complaint does not justify jumping on that proposal."

McGuiness called for better distribution of the good neighbor brochure and further public education about the noise ordinance.

Cooper said McGuiness' comments ignore the complaints of residents who have said rental houses with pools have ruined the peace and quiet of full-time residents.

Commissioner Toni Sharp said the city should consider long-term protections of the character of Rehoboth in as fair and as equitable way as possible.

Zellers also addressed a recent email campaign accusing the city of anti-gay sentiment for the enforcement of the noise ordinance and incidents on the beach Memorial Day weekend. Zellers said she welcomed everyone to come, but everyone has to play by the same rules they play by in New York or Washington, D.C.

"This is our home," she said.

Police Chief Keith Banks said police acted in response to reports of urinating in Silver Lake and on private property, and noise complaints at a house on New Castle Street.

The commissioners' room was crowded, and many of those commenting used the opportunity to criticize both the ordinance and city police.

Dottie Cerelli of Rehoboth said she thought the new pool ordinance was overkill.

Jared Turner of New York City, a renter at 114 New Castle St., said he thought the city was moving in the wrong direction with the pool ordinance and that the restrictiveness of the ordinance made him question whether he wanted to continue coming to Rehoboth.

Andrew Koneschusky of Washington, D.C., tried to bring up the noise ordinance and the enforcement over Memorial Day weekend, but Cooper quickly shot him down, saying the noise ordinance was not on the agenda. Koneschusky, who signed one of more than two dozen emails sent to city officials and the media over Memorial Day weekend, said he thought the city's enforcement was targeted at gay renters.

"We love this town," Koneschusky said. "And we have never experienced the level of tension that has existed this year."

Linda Kauffman, 206 Laurel St., who has attended most of the meetings on the pool ordinance, said the ordinance was not targeting anyone, and she  admonished those in attendance for trying to tie the pool discussions into the noise ordinance.

Regarding renters, Lee Hudson of New York City said "We are a part of your community," he said. "We do contribute to this town."

Zoning ordinance close to adoption

The commissioners are close to adopting an ordinance aimed at scaling down the size of residential houses.

The ordinance limits the size of new houses with pools in the R-1 and R-2 residential districts to a maximum of 4,500 square feet. New residential construction would be permitted to cover a maximum of 40 percent of the lot, 10 percent less than the current 50 percent. The maximum floor-to-area ratio for houses with pools would be reduced to .50, as opposed to the currently allowed .60.

The commissioners also debated a proposal tying the number of required off-street parking spaces to the number of bathrooms. Under the proposal, a house must have two off-street parking spots for up to four bedrooms. Every additional bathroom must have a corresponding parking space. Consultant Kyle Gulbronson, who helped author the proposal, said bathrooms were easier to count than bedrooms.

Cooper said one problem with using bathrooms as the standard is that homebuilders are likely to knock out a bathroom and replace it with a bedroom.

Mills said bedrooms are a much better measurement and that the city should consider occupancy limits or annual inspections.

The commissioners plan to further discuss the zoning and pool ordinances at their Monday, June 8 workshop, with an eye toward passing them Friday, June 19, when a moratorium on pool construction is due to expire.