Variances were approved April 27 for a project to improve a Rehoboth Beach restaurant, and one to build an office and design center at a new location for an outdoor structure manufacturer near Milton.

The Sussex County Board of Adjustment unanimously granted setback variances for a Big Fish Grill project to move an outdoor dining area into a side alley, and for a new building site for Shed Crazy. Both are on Route 1.

No one from the public commented on either request during hearings that preceded the votes for approval.

The Bigger Fish LLC project will be at the former site of an Arena’s restaurant on the southwest side of Route 1 between Big Fish Seafood Market and Windsor’s Flowers.

Glenn C. Mandalas, a managing partner in the law firm Brockstedt Mandalas Federico, offered most of the presentation on behalf of Atlas Restaurant Group.

The current seating area in front of the restaurant encroaches into the 60-foot front setback by 19-feet-8-inches. A planned covered outdoor waiting area that will replace it will extend 12 feet into that area.

A 658-square-foot waiting area will replace the 822-square-foot outdoor dining area. Dumpsters will be removed from the alley to make way for a new outdoor dining area.

The new waiting area for the site will have a concrete wall and bollards protecting it from vehicles in the parking lot.

Also approved was a 2-foot-6-inch variance in the front setback to permit installation of six safety bollards to protect patrons at the location of three new parking spaces.   

“This is a really unique variance request in that typically you hear requests to make a property more nonconforming under a variance application,” Mandalas said. “In this instance, we’re requesting a variance that will make the property more conforming versus more nonconforming.”  

The project is part of the 1.6-acre site owned by Bigger Fish LLC. It includes Big Fish Grill, Big Fish Market and a commercial kitchen. The Bigger Fish project encompasses 0.07 acres of the property. Atlas Restaurant Group leases the property.

Mandalas said the project would not alter the character of the neighborhood, as there has been a restaurant at the site for years.

“We would argue that these renovations will enhance the character of the neighborhood,” he said. “If you're at Windsor’s looking at the building, you are looking at dumpsters and everything else in the alley. Now you will be looking at refined, cleaned-up dining.”

Shed Crazy

Shed Crazy needed a variance for a two-story, 5,520-square-foot building at a new location at the northwest corner of Hudson Road and Route 1 near Milton. It will serve as a sales office and showroom.

The front variance was needed because a 30-foot setback between the building and a housing development being built behind it must be maintained, said Mackenzie Sindelar, a lawyer for property owner 14706 Coastal Highway LLC.

Steve Fender and Jennifer Sharp are the board members of the LLC. Fender’s father founded Shed Crazy in 1972. The business specializes in selling and building accessory buildings, such as garages and sheds, gazebos, pergolas and pavilions, as well as outdoor furniture. It has sales in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. 

A 60-foot setback is required between the building and front property line and Combined Highway Corridor Overlay Zone, which is the same location. The building would be 30-feet-4-inches away, necessitating the variance request.

The entrance to the site is on Route 1 and had to be located on the opposite side of the property from Hudson Road for safety considerations, Sindelar said. The property is unusually shaped, with five sides. A modular home sales business previously occupied the site.

“Given these limitations, our client was faced with a balancing act of trying determining which variances to pursue for this size building, and which setbacks and buffers they should maintain, Sindelar said.

The more than 50-year-old business had been located farther south at the corner of Route 1 near Cave Neck Road but had temporarily relocated due to the start of construction of the Chappell Farm housing development.

Unlike that previous location, Shed Crazy does not plan to store structures outside, Sindelar said. It will focus on designing projects for customers.