Belhaven Hotel appeal dropped in Rehoboth Beach

Rehoboth Beach officials have announced that an appeal hearing related to the Belhaven Hotel, set for Thursday, March 20, has been canceled.

“At [the March 14] special meeting, the planning commission withdrew its opposition to the Belhaven conditions at issue in the appeal hearing scheduled for March 20. As such, the March 20 appeal hearing is canceled,” said Mayor Stan Mills in a prepared statement.

The announcement was the last of a number of dominoes to fall over the course of the past week. During a special meeting March 11, Rehoboth commissioners voted in favor of changing city code to say the planning commission, not the building and licensing department, has interpretive authority over the zoning code. The new ordinances also clarified that the planning commission is, however, bound by board of adjustment interpretations in specific instances.

Soon after the new ordinances were passed, the planning commission scheduled a special meeting for March 14. Following an hour-long executive session, planning Commissioner Susan Gay made a motion to withdraw the planning commission's opposition to the conditions centered around the hotel’s number of loading berths, proposed safety railings on the roof near mechanical equipment and the height of a proposed antenna.

The planning commission approved the hotel’s site plan in July, with 18 conditions. A short time later, the Belhaven team appealed some of the conditions, including those related to the planning commission’s March 14 withdrawal.

During a board of adjustment hearing in September, the board of adjustment sided with the Belhaven team because it said city code related to the number of loading berths is ambiguous, the railings for the mechanical equipment on the roof are needed and the antenna is allowed.

“This intervening change in law precludes further planning commission actions in contravention to the board of adjustment’s decision on the Belhaven. For that reason, the current appeal has been rendered moot,” said Gay during the March 14 special meeting.

Alex Papajohn, the son of property owner John Papajohn and co-developer, said he and his family are happy the hearing was canceled, because even though they were confident, there’s always some doubt. The family can now focus on a new public hearing with the planning commission, he said during an interview March 17.

When the planning commission approved the site plan in July, the number of rooms approved was 92. During a special board of adjustment meeting in October, the board approved a variance request eliminating a requirement for all the hotel’s parking to be on site. The approval paved the way for the hotel’s development team to add up to 15 more rooms because they own a parking lot on Baltimore Avenue, immediately west of The Admiral hotel.

During a planning commission meeting Feb. 28, Mary Ellen Gray, planning and community development director, said the department had received revised plans for the hotel.

Alex said he’s hoping to be on the planning commission’s Friday, April 11 agenda.

Editor’s note: The story has been changed to say the planning commission is bound by board of adjustment decisions.