Temporary expansion application deadline reduced in Dewey

Event planners in Dewey Beach need only apply for a temporary expansion of premises 45 days in advance after unanimous commissioner approval Sept. 20.

Some restaurateurs were unaware of the 90-day application submission deadline, Mayor Bill Stevens said, which was in place to ensure the town has sufficient resources and there are no competing events when the use of police and public property is requested.

Town Manager Bill Zolper said the temporary expansion of premises application process allows restaurateurs to change and expand what they are legally allowed to do in a space based on their conditional use. 

The 90-day application deadline can be challenging when someone has a good idea like Northbeach, which recently held a cornhole tournament on Labor Day weekend, he said. 

That application should have been submitted before Memorial Day, Zolper said, but all they did was convert a current volleyball court to a cornhole field and add a stage, which didn’t require police presence or use of public property.

Last year, Stevens said commissioners approved an expansion of premises application the day before the annual Dewey Goes Pink. Town Counsel Fred Townsend said council approved that application knowing they’d revisit the ordinance. It is not a significant change that would require planning commission review, he said.

Police Chief Constance Speake said assigning officers to annual events like Dewey Goes Pink is routine, as the department has an action plan and knows what to expect every year.

Commissioner Paul Bauer questioned why 90 days was set as the deadline, and suggested 30 days may suffice. 

When Commissioner Gary Persinger asked whether that was enough time and Commissioner David Jasinski said that change could result in a scramble to schedule such meetings on short notice, Townsend suggested a 45-day limit would be enough time to legally notice the application and hold a meeting.