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Taking exception to proposed Rehoboth regs

February 28, 2020

The following letter was sent to the Rehoboth Beach Mayor and Commissioners, with a copy submitted to the Cape Gazette for publication.

I’m hearing with alarm that there are significant zoning changes being proposed, with inadequate review by the residents. I live at 22 Maryland Ave. and have objected to Mr. Lankford’s plans for a hotel on Baltimore Avenue, immediately adjacent to my back yard.

I sat in the hearing where the FAR interpretations his attorney offered were rejected. It was bad enough to allow five stories and to exclude the FAR of the underground parking. Further proposals of excluding balconies, exterior corridors and rooftop decks from FAR calculations were rejected, rightfully so. Mr. Lankford’s drive for maximum density at the expense of his surrounding neighbors in the residential zones apparently knows no bounds.   

Now, having failed to get their way within the existing rules, there are proposals to change the rules! This smacks of small-town corruption. The large hotel operators should not be able to dictate policy to the town residents, who pay the majority of the taxes. The only fair way to handle this is to postpone a public hearing until later in the season when more residents will be in town, and then to put these changes up for a vote in a referendum. I urge you to do so. 

Secondly, I think changes of such magnitude to the zoning should be explained to the residents in a mailing from the mayor. What is the rationale for suddenly weakening the zoning regulations?

The new regulations would allow hotel densities never permitted before. How is it in the best interests of adjacent residential neighbors to allow rooftop decks, large outdoor living areas, and higher density?  Who proposed these changes and why? You owe it to the voters to do this in the open, rather than to push it through on a vote by commissioners in the dead of winter.

The ultimate question is, Who runs this town? The hotel operators or the voters?

Dr. John Shedletsky
Rehoboth Beach

 

  • A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.

    To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.

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