Task force could bring neighbors together in Rehoboth

Voters have upheld Rehoboth’s controversial zoning ordinance, supporting city commissioners’ efforts to limit the size of houses and preserve green space.

The Nov. 7 referendum vote culminated a fierce battle over what Rehoboth should look like and how to keep it that way.

Opponents, including realtors, developers and homeowners, concerned the ordinance would prevent them from updating or improving their homes, said the ordinance goes too far. Supporters said the ordinance is critical to keep new homes in scale with their neighborhoods and preserve the quiet, shady streets that are essential to Rehoboth’s charm.

High voter turnout - and 300 recently registered new voters - shows residents and property owners are keenly interested in the future of their city. The vote also shows, no matter which side won the referendum, a substantial number of voters, as it happens 47 percent of them, would be disappointed in the outcome.

As the city moves forward to enforce the new ordinance and pass other measures, it’s important to give voice to this relatively large minority to ensure the ordinance accomplishes what its supporters were seeking in the first place: the preservation of green space around homes that are in scale with neighboring homes.

Opponents of the measure, including builders who told the commissioners the ordinance would result in boxy, unattractive houses, called for a task force to come up with a better ordinance. Although they were outvoted by the majority of voters who supported the ordinance as it was written, there is room for a task force to address perceived problems, consider possible improvements and ensure homeowners get a fair deal when they update or replace their homes.

Bringing together a task force composed of people from both sides of the referendum battle could go a long way toward clarifying what opponents say are flaws in the measure and proposing ways to fix them.

It would also go a long way toward healing deep divisions the battle over this ordinance has revealed.