Amendment Failed; Pool Ordinance Passed.

I'm sure you've seen all the news by now that the Pool Amendment failed but the Pool Ordinance passed. This still allows rental licenses to be revoked for a single noise violation at the discretion of the City Manager. Hopefully, we can come to a compromise on this issue as well. At any rate, we were so happy to see all of those red shirts in the audience. Thank you for your support.

"Save Our Pools” Rally on Friday, June 19: 4 pm -7 pm

FRIDAY, JUNE 19TH 4PM TO 7PM

SAVE OUR POOLS

Rehoboth Beach, DE. – A FUN RESORT TOWN!

The Mayor & City Commissioners are voting at 7:00 pm Friday, June 19th. They are trying to take away the rights of property owners. The city wants to close all pools & hot tubs at rental properties. Instead of dealing with noise issues both related to pools and unrelated to pools, the town’s elected officials want to punish everyone with a pool that has a rental license.

If this ordinance goes through, what is next? Could non-rental property owners be asked to close their pools, too? Could porches be the next thing required to be locked from renters? The long-term ramifications of our town’s actions are endless with potential to turn away tourism which would be detrimental to our city’s economy.

Regulate unreasonable noise issues – Not pools! 

Don’t take away property owners’ rights.

Please show your support. Bring a sign showing support to save our pools. Meet at the Parking lot of our Convention Center & City Hall at 4 P.M.

WEAR A RED SHIRT !!!!! 

Pools, Tourists & Residents CAN co-exist
Property Owners – Protect your rights
Board of Commissioners – Vote NO on Pool Ordinance & Amendment
Pools Today??? What is next, Front porches?
Don’t give a reason to turn away tourists from our resort!!! 

KEEP REHOBOTH A FUN RESORT TOWN SAVE OUR POOLS
Call the Mayor Tell him to vote NO (302) 227-6181
Friday, June 19th 4PM to 7PM

Pool Ordinance Language Banning Pools.

Is Patrick Gossett Serious?

He has been talking in recent meetings about the Vacation Rental Ordinance he has been working on which will potentially divide neighborhoods in the City of Rehoboth into those that could offer rentals and those that can't. He is also talking about eliminating rentals entirely or holding a lottery for 100 rentals per season (there are currently 3,300). Toni Sharp seems to be in on this as well so you may want to call her at 302-227-6181 and have a chat.

This is after Patrick Gossett's co-sponsorship with Sam Cooper of the Ordinance that will PROHIBIT RENTERS FROM USING SWIMMING POOLS AND HOT TUBS AT RENTAL HOUSES. This applies to children and adults alike. The vote on that Ordinance will occur at City Hall on June 19 at 7 pm. Please attend and wear a red shirt if you oppose this idea.

He and Bill Sargent who is FOR THE ORDINANCE TO ELIMINATE POOL USAGE BY RENTERS are UP FOR REELECTION ON AUGUST 8, 2015. Please REGISTER TO VOTE at City Hall in person by Friday, June 12. You must own property in the City of Rehoboth Beach personally or in a ltd. partnership or trust or llc. However, if you own in an llc and rent it, you must reside in the property in the 6 months prior to the election. 

Going forward, if that is the case, in order to vote, you may lease the property from the llc to the owner via a 10-or-more-year lease so you may have a single vote in municipal elections and run for office.

Banning Residential Swimming Pools in the City of Rehoboth

As you know by now, there has been an ordinance introduced by the Mayor and Commissioners of the City of Rehoboth Beach to heavily regulate and eliminate pool usage entirely by tenants of a residential rental home - this includes hot tubs. This is their response to noise complaints in the summer of 2014 primarily from owner-occupied homes with or without pools, according to the Chief of Police, Keith Banks.

The Mayor introduced an Amendment to that Ordinance to Amend Chapter 206 of the Municipal Code which states in Article III, Subsection 206-16 that ..."no unenclosed pool shall be used at any time in conjunction with a vacation rental after January 1, 2018. Thereafter the pool shall at all times the property is used for a vacation rental be covered by a locked cover."

This was discussed at a well-attended Workshop meeting of the Mayor and Commissioners on Friday, May 29, 2015. Most in the audience were against the proposals but the Mayor was unmoved despite Commissioners Kathy McGuiness and Stan Mills urging him to wait until August to see if the new Noise Ordinance with its "plainly audible" standard has the effect they believe it will.

Additionally, there has been an idea proposed at recent meetings BANNING RESIDENTIAL RENTALS altogether. Another proposal is changing the zoning to only allow rentals in certain neighborhoods or having a lottery with only a limited number of rental licenses available per season. There was discussion of having so many rules such as they do in Palm Springs that it would be almost impossible to jump through all the hoops, thereby discouraging people from renting at all.

Please contact the Mayor and Commissioners and remind them that Rehoboth Beach is a resort town whose businesses rely on visitors and tenants to survive; the town has a rental history almost as long as its existence; and that "normal" summer noise is the sound of our town thriving. They may all be reached by calling City Hall at 302-227-6181.

Mayor Sam Cooper: scooper@cityofrehoboth.com

Commissioners:

Stan Mills - smills@cityofrehoboth.com
Kathy McGuiness - kmcguiness@cityofrehoboth.com
Patrick Gossett - pgossett@cityofrehoboth.com
Lorraine Zellers - lzellers@cityofrehoboth.com
Toni Sharp - tsharp@cityofrehoboth.com
Bill Sargent - bsargent@cityofrehoboth.com

Please also make an effort to attend the June 8 Mayor's Workshop on the pool issue at City Hall in the Commissioners' Room at 9 am and the Mayor's and Commissioners' Regular Meeting on June 19 at 7 pm where the Mayor plans to ask for a vote on this issue.