Ruddertowne owner Dewey Beach Enterprises filed an appeal Tuesday, Aug. 5, asking the Superior Court to reverse a July 2 decision of the Dewey Beach Board of Adjustment and to order the town to issue a building permit for its proposed 35-foot building at the Ruddertowne site. “The town anticipated this action, and will defend it in whatever manner is appropriate,” said Dewey town solicitor Glenn Mandalas in response to the appeal.
Dewey Beach Enterprises (DBE) is appealing the board of adjustment’s decision to deny a building permit for plans submitted Nov. 8, 2007. The proposed redevelopment plan retained the existing Lighthouse Restaurant and Crabbers Cove and in addition called for a 35-foot, three-story mixed-use building on the site of Ruddertowne and its parking lot. The proposed building has an outer ring of commercial and residential units surrounding an interior parking garage.
Building official Bill Mears initially approved the plans as code compliant, but two months later, former town solicitor John Brady sent DBE a letter that denied a building permit and said the plans did not comply with the code. The board of adjustment approved Brady’s position, denying the plan on a 2-1 vote with one abstention. The board found the proposed mixed-use structure was subject to lot-size requirements for multifamily residential structures, which the plans did not meet.
DBE representatives say that with negotiations at a standstill and no further procedural relief available through the town, its only remaining option was to go to court. “While litigation was never our client’s first choice, certain members of the town left Ruddertowne with no choice. We are optimistic that the court will provide the just and fair result that has been denied until now,” said DBE attorney Kathleen Jennings of WolfBlock LLP.
Mandalas said the major issue is the zoning code’s lot-size requirements. “The board of adjustment affirmed the town’s position that certain density provisions of the town code are applicable to a mixed-use proposal,” said Mandalas. That is what is being appealed, he added.
DBE’s petition to the court says the decision of the board is wrong because Brady did not have the authority to deny the building permit and the law does not allow the town to apply residential lot-size requirements to a mixed-use structure.
DBE’s petition also claims Mayor Dell Tush interfered in the normal building permit review process, stripped Mears of his authority as the town’s building official and placed him in fear of losing his job.
Mandalas said the town is moving forward with its defense. “The first step is to assemble the record of the hearing and provide it to the court,” said Mandalas.
“At this early stage however, any further comment on the appeal would be premature.”