Dewey planning approves Rodney Avenue zoning change
The Dewey Beach Planning Commission unanimously approved the request of three Rodney Avenue property owners on the south side of the street to change the zoning of their land from Resort Business-1 to Resort Residential.
The favorable vote came during the commission's Sept. 13 meeting and was made after the three properties owners, representing 106, 110, 112/114, 116 and 122/124/126 Rodney Ave., each presented cases that the properties had always been residential and would always remain residential.
The change means if the properties were damaged in a storm or an expansion greater than 50 percent were proposed, the owners would not have to put commercial space on the first floor of the property.
Elizabeth Cahall said she had rented her property for 10 years after buying it in 1995, but since then, her children have had children and the house has been a summer home to the family.
“I cherish that,” she said. “There's no desire to put a business there now or in the future.”
Elinor Hughes, whose family has owned property on Rodney Avenue since 1953, said the family has been renting out the trailers on the property the whole time as a family business. She said some of the renters have been coming to the same place for 50 years.
“It's been 61 years of residential, and I'd like to keep it that way,” she said, adding that she wanted to hang up the mop and broom, and retire.
Hughes added that it would help the town promote the image of Dewey Beach being a family-friendly location.
Ray Dawson, whose family has owned property on Rodney Avenue since 1947, echoed the previous owners. He said he had six children and seven grandchildren, and wanted to make sure the property was always going to be residential.
Commission Chair David King said the zoning of the south side of Rodney Avenue was changed from Resort Business to Resort Business-1 in 2009 with the town's adoption of a new zoning code. He said the discussion to change the zoning of the area began as early as 2005, when talks started on the town's 2007 comprehensive development plan. He said the idea was that at some point in the future the area could become the town center.
Commissioner Chuck McKinney, who owns Pier Point Marina at the end of Rodney Avenue, voted in favor of the change because he said businesses on the side streets of Dewey don't work.
Hughes was pleased after the commission's decision, and said, “Common sense prevailed.”
The property owners still have to get approval from both the state's planning office and town commissioners.
Town attorney Fred Townsend said the state office is likely to rubber-stamp the measure because the zoning change doesn't create an island of Resort Residential and fits in with the overall scheme of the town.
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. Additionally, Flood moonlights as the company’s circulation manager, which primarily means fixing boxes that are jammed with coins during daylight hours, but sometimes means delivering papers in the middle of the night. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
