Three new single-family homes coming to Dewey
Story Location:
Dewey Beach, DE
United States
Three Rodney Avenue properties downzoned by Dewey’s town council in January have been demolished, and they will be replaced with three single-family homes built by Cape Region developer Chris Schell.
Schell purchased 110, 112 and 114 Rodney Ave. from Elinor Hughes after Hughes, and fellow Rodney Avenue property owners John Dawson and Elizabeth Cahall, requested a downzoning of eight properties from Resort Business-1 to Resort Residential in 2014.
The bayside properties are located on the south side of Rodney Avenue, across the street from Dewey Beach Town Hall, between the Sea Esta III Motel to the east and Pier Point Marina to the west. The north side of the street is zoned Resort Residential.
During a September 2014 Dewey planning commission meeting, Hughes and Dawson argued they were making the request because the properties were unsellable as residential due to the zoning. The properties had always been residential, they said, and they would like to keep it that way.
In three separate written requests to the town, Hughes said her family had owned 110, 112, 114 and 116 Rodney Ave. since the 1950s; Dawson said his family had owned 122, 124 and 126 Rodney Ave. since the 1940s; and Cahall said she had owned 106 Rodney Ave. since 1995.
The change in zoning means if the properties are damaged in a storm or an expansion greater than 50 percent is proposed, the owners would not have to put commercial space on the first floor of the property.
Town council waited until a state-required Preliminary Land Use Service (PLUS) review was completed, but ultimately approved the zoning change in January.
Schell said in an Oct. 7 email that he bought the lots personally, not through Schell Brothers, a development company he and his brother Preston own.
Schell said three single-family homes, one per lot, are being constructed. He said he had thought about building a condo or apartment building because they would have been more profitable, but, he continued, he chose homes instead to avoid upsetting the neighbors and the town.
Schell said all three homes are sold and construction should begin in a few weeks. He said all three will be raised up on pilings to comply with new FEMA flood regulations.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
