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Feb 04, 2022
The City of Rehoboth Beach has submitted a draft of its Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) for Preliminary Land Use Service (PLUS) review through the Office of State Planning Coordination. This puts the city on target to meet the revised schedule to adopt the state-mandated plan by the end of July.
While submission of the CDP for state review marks a major milestone in the process, the city continues to welcome public feedback on the plan, and there remain opportunities for additional changes to the CDP. Residents, business owners, and other stakeholders may address comments to the Planning Commission at a virtual meeting to be held at 2 pm Thursday, February 17. Those wishing to speak at the meeting must pre-register by emailing [email protected] at least 24 hours before the meeting. The draft of the CDP that was submitted for PLUS review as well as public comments received to date are available online.
A comprehensive document that outlines the city’s goals and policies regarding land uses, growth, and management of resources, the CDP serves as a guide for future decision-making. Some of the changes in the revised CDP, an update to the adopted 2010 CDP, include:
- the addition of a future land use map
- expansion of visions and goals
- information about projects that have been completed since 2010 or are underway, including Rehoboth Avenue revitalization, streetscape plans, code revisions to manage housing scale, and parking and wastewater system updates
- discussion on review and possible development of a mixed-use zone within existing commercial districts
- inclusion of information on climate change
- the city’s extensive work on trees.
“The updated CDP reflects changes within the community as well as how the city wants to move forward in the next 10-20 years,” says Lauren Good, project manager with Wallace Montgomery, the planning consultant leading the city’s CDP efforts.
The state’s PLUS review of the CDP includes a February 23 virtual meeting at which various state agencies, including the Office of State Planning, Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Department of Transportation, Housing Authority, and Historic Preservation Office, will provide initial verbal comments.
Official written comments from state review as well as comments from Sussex County and neighboring jurisdictions will be delivered to the City of Rehoboth Beach in mid- to late March. At that time, the Planning Commission, which has been leading the charge on CDP development, will address the state’s and others’ recommendations, revise the CDP as necessary, hold a public hearing to receive additional public comment, and forward the recommended draft for adoption to the Board of Commissioners, who also will hold a public hearing. It is anticipated that the Board of Commissioners will receive the CDP for consideration in April or May.
More than 400 written comments were received from Planning Commission members, commissioners, and the public prior to submission for PLUS review.
“We wanted to get comments earlier in the process so that they could be incorporated into the draft that was submitted to PLUS,” says Good. “The February 17 meeting will allow the city to receive additional comments before the PLUS meeting on February 23. If any major items arise, they can be addressed at the February 23 meeting. We still will be making changes to the CDP draft.”
“It was crucial that the city make the February 1 filing deadline with PLUS, and this deadline was met,” says Planning Commission Chair Michael Bryan. “This has really been a team effort and has required an enormous amount of work. We know that we’re not at the finish line yet, but so far everyone is valiantly pitching in to ensure that we arrive there on time and with a viable plan for Rehoboth’s future in hand.”
