Public hearing in Rehoboth Beach Related to City’s Abandonment of Eastern-most Portion of Baltimore Avenue– Scheduled for Tomorrow, September 29th
The City of Rehoboth Beach is issuing a statement of explanation related to the public hearing scheduled at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. The public hearing relates to the city’s abandonment of the eastern-most portion of Baltimore Avenue for construction of the new beach patrol/comfort station facility. The meeting will take place in the City Hall Commissioners Room, second floor. Here is the statement:
Beach Patrol Street Abandonment – Statement of Explanation
Regarding Public Hearing @ 9 am Friday, September 29
The Board of Commissioners initially scheduled this public hearing to comply with City Charter Section 33 requirements regarding abandonment of the eastern-most portion of Baltimore Avenue before proceeding with construction of the new beach patrol/public comfort station and surrounding improvements. Section 33 of the City Charter requires a public hearing for “the widening or altering of a street or to the vacating or abandoning of a street, or any part thereof.” – City of Rehoboth Beach, DE CharterSearch: Section 33 Streets. (ecode360.com)
In order to provide continued transparency and to give the public updated information regarding this public hearing, the city is sharing information about an additional, previously unknown requirement.
On Monday September 25, 2023, city staff was informed of an obscure, previously unknown state law (Title 22 – Municipalities, Chapter 7, Planning Commission § 708 – reference of certain matters to planning commission – Delaware Code Online) that requires that the matter of altering the public way at the eastern-most portion of Baltimore Avenue be referred to the Planning Commission. By way of this statute, the Planning Commission is charged with considering the proposed action and issuing a report to the Board of Commissioners.
To remain compliant with this newly emergent requirement, city staff is drafting a resolution, to be considered by the Board of Commissioners, to request that the City of Rehoboth Beach Planning Commission consider the action and issue a report to the Board of Commissioners.
To aid stakeholders in understanding the impacts of this project, the city has painted lines on Baltimore Avenue indicating the dimensions of the proposed beach patrol/comfort station building (white lines) and the proposed location of the curb (orange lines). We encourage citizens to drop by Baltimore Avenue to see for themselves the extent of the proposed abandonment. Citizens also may view all support documents on the city’s legislative portal, which can be found at City of Rehoboth Beach – Meeting Information (civicweb.net)
