Dog grooming in crosshairs as Lewes ordinance vote nears

For more than a year and a half, neighbors who live in a line of historic rowhomes on Savannah Road have been waiting for Lewes Mayor and City Council to vote on a proposed home occupation ordinance.

Sarah Prieto and Stephen Matthews, who live in the middle house at 405 Savannah Road, want a resolution so they know if they will be able open a dog-grooming business in their basement.

Now, it appears council will finally take action Monday, Dec. 8, but a vote has been expected before, only to be delayed by new questions and changes to the ordinance.

The ordinance was discussed at three recent mayor and city council meetings and workshops without a resolution.

Council came within a whisker of voting Nov. 19, but Mayor Amy Marasco pushed the vote to December after some members of council said they did not have time to read all of the latest revisions.

Council did approve a change to the code definitions of animal training and animal kennels, while creating a new, separate definition for dog grooming.

The vote was 4-0 with Councilman Tim Ritzert abstaining. 

If the ordinance is approved, it would start a new process that could ultimately see the issue return to council for a final decision.

The home occupation ordinance would create a three-tiered system for home-based businesses. The tiers are:

• No impact: no nonresident employees, not dependent on customer visits

• Low impact: no more than two full-time employees, parking demands consistent with the neighborhood, customer visits by appointment

• Potential impact: no more than four full-time employees, dedicated off-street parking required, requires administrative process for approval

The rowhomes are zoned limited commercial historic. Prieto and Matthews can operate a business there, but dog grooming is not on the city’s list of approved home-based businesses.

Under the new ordinance, dog grooming would fall under low impact, but would require an administrative process because animals are involved.

Anyone applying for a business license to operate a home-based business would have to disclose the impact level to the city.  

The owner must notify the city of any change in the impact level, or face denial, suspension or revocation of their business license.

The city planning department would send letters to all adjacent property owners letting them know about the intended business.

If the city does not receive any objections within 30 days, the application is approved.

If there are objections, city planning staff would meet with all parties to try to reach a resolution. If that cannot be accomplished, the applicant can apply for a conditional-use permit, which would have to be approved by the Lewes Planning Commission and Lewes Mayor and City Council.

Neighbor versus neighbor

From the time the city first rejected Prieto and Matthews’ business application in the spring of 2024, their neighbors opposed the notion of dogs being groomed in a rowhome.

They claimed their shared walls would subject them to barking and odor, not to mention the lack of on-street parking in the neighborhood.

Prieto has been a licensed dog groomer for 17 years and said she will take every precaution to mitigate those concerns, including a blue-light device that detects fleas.

She said she believes most of her clients would walk to the business, reducing the need for parking.

The rowhome row has now reached a fever pitch. The owners of 403 Savannah Road sold their house earlier this year. Robert Huber, who lives at 407 Savannah Road, has put his house on the market. Huber said the dispute has gotten personal.

“I’ve been verbally abused by Sarah and her mother, who lives on the other side of me. Sarah and Stephen, from my understanding, have broken the rules and had grooming done, behind our backs, and were caught on camera,” Huber said at the Oct. 22 council meeting.

Prieto and Matthews said a neighbor sent a video to city hall, claiming it showed a dog coming out of their house that looked like it had been groomed.

Jon Ward, Lewes city building official, said he could not address claims made about the video, because he had not seen it.

But, Ward said the city sent a letter to Prieto and Matthews in August that stated they could not conduct a dog-grooming business at their location because it’s against city code. He said the letter also referenced a website that was promoting the business.

He said the letter did not rise to the level of cease and desist, and the couple was not cited, only reminded they could not operate the business. 

Ward said no further action has been taken since.

Patricia Lazik, a veterinarian who lives at 401 Savannah Road and has occasional dog grooming in her commercial building in Smyrna, said the couple has gone too far.

“Sarah and Stephen don’t ask, they just do, then ask for forgiveness,” Lazik said. “They didn’t ask the neighbors before they put in their equipment, dug out their basement and did dog grooming without a permit.”

Peter Sanger lives on East Fourth Street, just around the corner from the rowhomes. He said the dog-grooming business would take away already-scarce parking.

“East Fourth Street, the one block of it, already services several commercial businesses,” he said. “Go there on a Thursday or a Friday and you won’t find a parking space. You would be impacting a lot of us. Everybody on East Fourth Street is opposed to it.”

Matthews said the most serious allegations made against them have not been substantiated.

He said they had a structural engineer inspect their building, and they have received all the permits they need for renovations on their house.

Matthews said he thinks the issue has been blown out of proportion.

“It’s a by-appointment-only business, so we’re already limited,” he said. “It’s historic, so we can’t have signage up. We’re not bringing people into the building. It’s no different than if we had four dogs of our own and took care of them inside our house.”