The Agenda

Bethany Beach
• The Bethany Beach Town Council will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 18, in the town hall meeting room. Four items will be receiving public input prior to the scheduled council consideration and possible votes at the 7:30 p.m. council meeting that evening:

(1) An ordinance to amend the Zoning Map of the Town of Bethany Beach to re-designate certain parcels of land currently in the PROS (Park, Recreational Facilities, and Open Space) zoning district, and designate certain other lands owned by or under the control and possession of the Town as being in the “Municipal, Open Space, Recreational Facilities, and Educational” (MORE) zoning district.

(2) An ordinance to amend the town zoning code “to enhance the appearance of R-1 corner lot residential buildings in the town allowing entrance steps and landings to protrude into the street-facing, side-yard setback under certain conditions and limitations.”

(3) An ordinance adding a new Zoning District R-1B, defined as Sea Villas Zoning District and incorporating all of the non-conflicting provisions of Zoning District R-1. Zoning District R-1B codifies multiple decisions that have been made by the town Board of Adjustment and Town Council concerning Sea Villas, including side setbacks, easements and open decks. The proposed ordinance allows the construction, reconstruction, replacement, or extension of open decks or open cantilevered balconies in the 7-foot side-yard setback on the eastern side of each lot in the R-1B zoning district and also into the 7-foot easement (located across the 7-foot side-yard setback on the western side of each lot in the district).

(4) A housekeeping ordinance to amend the zoning map of the town to redesignate pertinent properties as being in the R-1B zoning district, assuming the district is created.

• The Bethany Beach Town Council will hold its regular monthly meeting on Friday, Aug. 18, at 7:30 p.m. at town hall. The agenda for the meeting includes:

(1) Appointment of an election board for the Sept. 9 council elections;

(2) A second reading of an ordinance to Amend Chapter 197 (“Streets and Sidewalks”), Article IV (“Driveways”), by adding a new section, 197-14 (“Porous Surface Requirements for Driveways and Walkways”: The ordinance requires that all new driveways and sidewalks constructed on or after Aug. 18, 2006, or any replacements to existing driveways or sidewalks on or after that date shall be constructed of porous materials that allow surface water to readily pass through, including crushed stone or clamshells, plastic block, “geo-web,” permeable concrete pavers, or concrete grid modular units with varying grid patters that create gaps between the units;

(3) Second reading of an ordinance to Amend Chapter 179 (“Property Maintenance”), Article I (“Property Maintenance Standards”), Section 179-1 (“Lot Requirements; Private and Public”) to require, at the lot owner’s expense, an engineering report from an engineer designated by the town that evaluates the impact of a proposed elevation change or lot clearing on adjoining properties and/or the town’s stormwater system or infrastructure, and declaring that in the event such report indicates a material negative effect, no building permit or certificate of occupancy may be issued by the town;

(4) Second reading of an ordinance to Amend Chapter 80 (“Building Construction”), Article VIII (“Construction Hours”), Section 80-23 (“Days Permitted”) to clarify the types of site-preparation, lot-clearing and earth-moving activities that can be performed on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays, by way of reducing after-hours emergency utility shut-off calls resulting from damage to systems;

(5) Discussion and possible vote on the four items scheduled for public hearing at 6 p.m., prior to the council meeting (see above);

(6) Consideration of a contract from FuturTech for technology enhancements including a town computer server, network, and backup systems and services;

(7) Consideration of a contract from N.W. Johnson Builders for improvements to the Bethany Beach Conservation Area and Nature Center Greenway (the former Natter property), including pedestrian and bicycle trails and boardwalks through the wetland property; and

(8) Consideration of a resolution to support the application of the Sea Colony Recreation Association to add approximately 290,000 cubic yards of sand to their beach in a project to coincide with the anticipated Bethany-South Bethany federal beach replenishment project.

• The Bethany Beach Planning Commission will meet on Saturday, Aug. 19, at 9 a.m. at the town hall. The meeting’s agenda includes: (1) identification of specific areas of Chapter 245 (Zoning) needing updates as the result of adoption of architectural guidelines for the downtown commercial district; (2) discussions of lessons learned from the guideline development and approval process; and (3) continued work on updating of Chapter 245.



Fenwick Island

• Fenwick Island will hold its council reorganizational meeting on Friday, Aug. 18, at 10 a.m. at the town hall. New council members Gardner Bunting, Diane Tingle and Bill Weistling Jr. will be sworn in, and the council will select its new president and town mayor from among them and continuing council members Chris Clark, Audrey Serio, Theo Brans and Martha Keller. (The council’s first regular meeting will be the following Friday, Aug. 25, at 3:30 p.m.) The new council members are also set to receive instruction on the operation of municipal government from Town Solicitor Tempe Steen at their Aug. 18 reorganizational meeting, as well as to meet that day with the Town Manager Search Committee to discuss the committee’s recommendations to hire a town manager. The public is welcome to attend both the reorganizational meeting and Steen’s lecture, outgoing Mayor Peter Frederick noted.

• Miss Susies’ Storytime will be held in the Fenwick Island town park at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 19.



South Bethany

The South Bethany Town Council will hold a special meeting/workshop on Thursday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m. at the town hall.



Sussex County Council

County Council will hold a meeting at 9 a.m. — instead of the usual 10 a.m. — on Tuesday, Aug. 22, in county council chambers in Georgetown. The early start is due to a packed agenda. DNREC will present a stormwater study, and county council will hand out transportation funds to mostly senior-services organizations across the county, including CHEER. Council will then consider an ordinance to create a new zoning district and change height, area and bulk requirements in another. After hearing grant requests, council will hold three public hearings before adjourning the likely longer-than-usual Tuesday meeting.



Sussex County Planning and Zoning

Public hearing: Sussex County P&Z will hold a meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 24, in council chambers in Georgetown. The commission will consider zoning 1,060 lots on 742 acres near South Bethany off Double Bridges Road for a proposed development called The Estuary. Palisades Land LLC filed the request. The same developer was denied zoning for The Palisades three years ago in the same location.