Vote delayed on Rehoboth’s concert-related parking closures

A vote on a proposal to codify closures of the street surrounding the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand during the city’s summer concerts has been delayed to allow the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce time to gather opinions from local businesses on the overall growth in popularity of the concerts.

Due to concerns raised by businesses owners regarding closures of the Bandstand area, the city has asked the chamber to convene its downtown Rehoboth advisory task force. The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m., Monday, Nov. 24, in the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, 229 Rehoboth Ave.

Using a section of code allowing the chief of police to shut down city streets in the case of an emergency, the horseshoe shaped section of road around the Bandstand has already been closed at 6 p.m., Friday, Saturday and Sunday during summer concerts for the past couple of years. The emergency justification is related to large crowds of people and vehicles moving in a tight space.

During an end-of-the-season review last month, city officials recommended the closures become permanent so staff can change signage and meters around the Bandstand.

A proposed ordinance codifying the closures was brought forward during a commissioner workshop Nov. 10. During discussion, questions were raised about why the concerts, which have been happening for decades, expanded from two nights to three.

Alison Blyth, owner of Go Fish, said closing the Bandstand for three weekend nights during the summer months has had a negative effect on her business. Not only does it affect the financial side, but she also has trouble finding staff to work those nights because they know it’s likely to be slow, she said, requesting commissioners consider reducing the number of nights to two or pushing the third night to the middle of the week.

At one point, Commissioner Mark Saunders asked city staff how the concert series grew from two nights to three, but the staff didn’t know.

Without all the information, commissioners were left with more questions than answers on how to proceed.

Commissioner Susan Stewart said it’s a huge safety issue that needs to be addressed, but businesses are being impacted.

Later the same day, during a special meeting centered around the awarding of a contract to install bollards in the Bandstand area, Commissioner Craig Thier said the size of the crowds for the summer concert series is an example of how growth in the county outside city limits affects the city. There are a lot local people coming into town on the bus, so it’s probably time to examine when the concert summer series nights are, he said.

At the end of the workshop discussion, city officials indicated they would vote on the code change during a commissioner meeting Friday, Nov. 21. However, the issue wasn’t included on the agenda.

City Communications Director Brooke Thaler said the city initiated the meeting with the chamber because officials want to hear from business owners in that area. The changes to code can wait, but this is the time of year when the city is booking entertainment for the following summer, so it needs to know how many acts it can accommodate, she said.