BY KRISTEN SMITH • STAFF WRITER
DEWEY BEACH — By the week’s end, town officials hope to hear the court’s decision regarding the legality of their 35-foot height restriction on buildings.
The rule, overwhelmingly approved by Dewey Beach voters during a referendum last fall, is under heavy scrutiny by state legislators, who say they are concerned it might conflict with state law. Filed as House Bill 50, the height restriction passed with 84 percent of the town’s support.
Peter C. Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, said he decided to review the bill to be sure it’s technically correct and fundamentally fair.
“State law provides a mechanism for all due process,” he said. “So if you’re on the losing end of an ordinance, you have the right to an appeal. By placing the height requirement in the town’s charter, they’ve taken away this due process right of appeal. That’s the way I read it and what they intended to do.”
The bill was designed, in part, to put a definitive end to the feud that erupted when Dewey Beach Enterprises and Harvey Hanna & Associates announced plans to build a 68-foot hotel on the Ruddertowne property.
The restriction was proposed as a charter amendment to make it harder to repeal, officials said. Had it been in the zoning code, a majority vote of three out of five commissioners could overturn the restriction.
“I feel that it is constitutional and it hasn’t come up until now,” said Commissioner Diane Hanson. “We have reason to believe it is constitutional, but I’m not an attorney.”
Schwartzkopf said he personally doesn’t care about the 35-foot height restriction.
“I understand there was a referendum on this, and I personally don’t care about the 35-foot
