Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach, said he thought a unanimous House passage meant smooth sailing for Dewey Beach’s 35-foot height limit, known as House Bill 50. However, the bill has encountered serious resistance in the Senate, leading Bunting to fear the bill won’t have enough votes to leave the Community and County Affairs Committee.
“It doesn’t look like it has enough votes to get out of committee,” he said.
Bunting said lobbyists for and against the bill have been extremely vocal; New Castle developer Harvey, Hanna & Associates (HHA) in particular has flexed its political muscle.
“Money does talk up there,” he said. “I don’t know Mr. Hanna, or who he employs up in New Castle, but I know in New Castle and Kent he’s getting a sympathetic ear.”
Bunting said resistance to HB50 stems from two sources; first, Bunting said some senators and lobbyists contend that ongoing litigation concerning Dewey’s zoning code disables the Senate from voting on HB50; second, there is a general wariness about setting precedent by signing a height limit into a town’s charter.
Typically, height limits are placed in a town’s zoning code. But Dewey residents voted by an 86 percent majority in a town referendum to put the 35-foot limit in the charter, where it would be invulnerable to a board of adjustment appeal.
“A charter is a mini-constitution,” Bunting said. “Putting in a footage limit – it’s kind of new ground.”
While HB50 came under scrutiny in the House, Bunting said it didn’t meet any heavy resistance until it came before the Community and County Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Bethany Hall-Long, D-Glasgow.
“A bill that didn’t have a lot of opposition suddenly has a lot of opposition,” Bunting said. “There’s been a lot of lobbying on both sides.”
While members of Citizens to Preserve Dewey (CPD) have been sending the General Assembly a stream of letters supporting HB50, Bunting said the hotel and motel industry has stepped forward in a way it hadn’t before; HHA, which once submitted plans to build a 68-foot structure at Ruddertowne, has spoken out against the bill.
CPD member Joy Howell said she feels her group has been unfairly hindered in its efforts to support HB50.
“We weren’t even notified that the bill was going to be heard in committee,” she said. “The mayor didn’t tell her fellow commissioners and she didn’t notify the public.”
Howell said she is outraged by HHA’s efforts to kill HB50 based on its two active lawsuits against the town.
“That’s the height of injustice,” she said. “They come and sue the town and then the tell the legislators, ‘Don’t do anything because of our lawsuits.’”
While CPD had earlier pushed to weaken the controversial amendment guaranteeing a board of adjustment appeal, Howell said the group is now focusing on getting the bill passed however they can.
“We’re just trying to get the bill through at this point,” she said. “We’re down to the wire on time, and the legislators have other serious priorities. We’re just trying to be realistic.”
Commissioner Diane Hanson said Mayor Dell Tush’s lack of communication impaired her efforts to support HB50.
“It is extremely frustrating that this whole process has been so grossly mismanaged by our mayor. She told the commissioners, citizens and homeowner groups to back off and stay out of it,” she wrote in an email. “We were told not to send letters to the Legislature, and you see where her expertise and political savvy got us.”
Tush was unavailable for comment. Hall-Long was unavailable for comment. Bunting said he wants to get HB50 out of committee and give it a chance on the Senate floor. “I’d like to get the bill to the floor, at least for a debate,” he said. Even in spite of a pressing budget crisis, Bunting said the debate surrounding HB50 is important and potentially precedent setting.
“We could have a scenario where a developer can bankrupt a town,” Bunting said, referencing the lawsuits filed against the town by Dewey Beach Enterprises and HHA. “I don’t know what you do – when a town basically becomes insolvent.”
BY Rob Kunzig | Delaware Coast Press
