Bethany adopts new signage ordinance, clarifies zoning definitions
Bethany Beach Town Council members this week voted to adopt an amendment to the town’s signage ordinance that deals with non-conforming signage that has been granted legal, grandfathered status. The ordinance, approved unanimously on Nov. 18, offers greater detail on the requirements for the maintenance, replacement or abandonment of the grandfathered signs, providing guidelines for, among other things, when the signs must be replaced in a manner that conforms with current town code.
The new ordinance mandates that the non-conforming signs must be replaced with conforming signage when more than 50 percent of the sign’s value is involved in the need for replacement, which might happen as a result of storm or collision damage, for instance, or even as a result of delayed maintenance.
Councilman Lew Killmer noted that the ordinance calls for an outside party, such as a signage company, to provide confirmation that less than 50 percent of the value of the sign in question was destroyed if the owners of the grandfathered signage wish to restore the sign without conforming to the current code.
Any signage completely destroyed, he confirmed, would have to be replaced in a manner that conforms with the code.
The council also voted unanimously last Friday to add definitions for the terms balcony-exterior, deck-roof and eaves to the town’s zoning code.
A recent Board of Adjustments decision in which additions to a home that was already over the town’s lot coverage limit were ruled not to be permitted by the town’s building inspector spurred the new ordinance and its definitions, when the board ruled that the town code could be read to allow for the extended deck, since it could be considered eaves for the story below. Eaves are not counted in the town’s lot coverage calculations, but the extended deck should have been, Killmer has argued.
“It became clear additional definitions were needed,” Killmer said on Nov. 18. He noted that the ordinance also resolves any question about whether an exterior staircase is counted in the lot coverage calculation – an issue that had also arisen in the same case. Staircases are now also explicitly included in the calculation.
The town council last Friday also heard a first reading of an ordinance that amends the town’s policies on banners for special events, allowing for banners larger than what is traditionally allowed to be displayed, with the town manager’s permission, for a period of up to seven days, or for up to 21 days with additional permissions.
The council reiterated its intent on Nov. 18 that the Town of Bethany Beach itself be exempt from all regulations regarding special-events signage, and that language would be added to the proposed ordinance before it comes before the council for a second reading and vote.
Also at the Nov. 18 meeting:
• Council Secretary-Treasurer Jerry Dorfman reported that, though the town has taken in $283,000 less transfer tax than at the same point last fiscal year, it is “still in very good financial condition,” with its revenues continue to exceed expenditures. The town’s revenues through Oct. 31 were slightly less than last year, on a percentage basis, and its expenditures were slightly higher. But the balance still favors revenues.
• Mayor Tony McClenny reported that he and town horticulturalist Melinda Lindy had attended a meeting of the Women’s Civic Club of Bethany Beach on Oct. 14 and had received a $1,000 donation from the group for care of the Martha Jean Addy Garden, which is located in front of the town’s police department. Lindy also gave a presentation to the club that day, he noted.
• McClenny also noted that the Osher Academy of Lifelong Learning would be offering a new lecture series to those 50 or older on Wednesday mornings, starting in January of 2012, at the National Guard training site just north of Bethany Beach.
• The mayor also urged anyone who had not yet completed their response to the town’s letter regarding the proposed Assawoman Canal Trail to do so, so that the council can consider their input.
• The town’s annual Holiday Happening will be held on Saturday, Dec. 3, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at town hall, with a musical presentation from the Lord Baltimore Elementary School Holiday Ensemble, entertainment and face-painting by Sunshine the Clown, rides on the town trolley and a horse-drawn carriage, a tractor-drawn hayride and the arrival of Santa Claus for visits with children. Families are being encouraged to bring the cameras to capture the visits with Santa. Refreshments will be offered, and new this year is a display from the Delaware Seaside Railroad Club, which will be running in the town hall during the event.
Sunday, Dec. 4, will be the adults-only holiday gathering, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The Joe Wilford Trio will play holiday music. The event will also feature holiday punch and a special surprise guest.
• Councilwoman Carol Olmstead announced tentative plans to offer museum hours at town hall on Wednesday evenings in the summer, as well as on Sundays during farmers’ market hours and on Saturdays in the spring and fall, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., as well as prior to town-sponsored cultural events. She noted that the demand for museum tours on the customary summer Sunday afternoons had been limited.
• Town Manager Cliff Graviet reported that the town has begun to overhaul “problem sidewalks” on the east side of Route 1. “We’re not attempting to replace all the sidewalks that have fallen in to disrepair, but the ones that present the biggest problems to people trying to traverse them,” he cautioned. He said home owners were being offered the options of using crushed stone or grass seed or to put in plantings if they wish to restore the former sidewalk areas in front of their homes. The project was started in the Hollywood Avenue area and will next move to the 100 block of Parkwood Avenue, with town staff continuing to look for problem areas, he said.
• Graviet also noted that AT&T representatives had visited the town’s water plant recently and selected two locations that might work for a proposed mechanical support building for the proposed placement of antennas on the town’s water standpipe. Graviet said one of the locations does not work for the Town, and the second is close to a nearby residence, creating some concern about noise from any equipment there. That location is at the entrance gate to the plant, and Graviet said the Town would have to get more details on the proposed installation and how it may impact the water plant before he would present the proposal to the council for a vote.
• The town manager also reported last Friday that replenishment of the beach in South Bethany was about 50 percent complete, with the project to move on to Bethany Beach when it is complete, though he said he hoped it would be later in the season. The project is then set to move on to Rehoboth and Dewey Beach, but Graviet said Sea Colony was also reportedly in negotiations to “piggyback” on the project once those areas are complete, by taking advantage of the presence of the dredging equipment already being in the area and thus reducing its own costs for a replenishment. State of Delaware employees are expected to take charge of the project in each municipality once the contractor puts the additional sand on the beaches. The work is expected to take up to 50 days.
• Graviet also reported on Nov. 18 that work on the new light pole installation on Garfield Parkway was “moving along.” All 26 bases had been prepared, with a final concrete pour to be done when the lights themselves are installed. He said he hoped to have the project completed by the council’s January meeting, or February at the latest. At no time, he said, does the Town expect to not have some kind of street-lighting working on Garfield Parkway.
• Finally, the council voted unanimously to approve committee appointments made by McClenny for the new council year, as well as the appointments of members of the Board of Elections and elections officers for the next elections. The council also voted not to hold a meeting in December.
