Rehoboth BoA grants variance for new home

Following testimony from a homeowner about continued flooding and mold issues, the Rehoboth Beach Board of Adjustment approved a variance that paves the way for the demolition and rebuilding of a house at 204 Philadelphia St.

Steve and Shelley Mikkelsen purchased their Philadelphia Street property in 2012. The lot contains two dwelling units – a main house and a garage apartment. The garage apartment was built decades ago and is considered legal nonconforming.

The Mikkelsens went before the board of adjustment for two reasons – appealing the building inspector’s decision and, in case the appeal failed, seeking a variance allowing two dwellings on one lot.

The city’s building inspector ruled that demolishing the main house would mean the legal conformity would be gone, meaning the Mikkelsens would not be allowed to rebuild the main house because city code no longer allows two dwellings on one property.

The board asked why the Mikkelsens didn’t want to attach the new structure to the cottage apartment, which would’ve removed the need for a variance.

Among the reasons, said Steve, is that they spent $170,000 renovating the cottage and didn’t want to just throw that money down the drain.

Steven said every time it rains, water coming off the paved portion of the Bellmoor Inn & Spa across the street floods his basement. Part of the problem is there is no stormwater infrastructure, so his property and his neighbor’s properties are the only place for the water to go, he said.

Steven said he’s been trying for years to get this issue resolved, but the city’s building inspector continues to change and the next one hired never has the same answer as the one before. If he knew it was going to be this difficult, he never would have bought the property, he said.

Ultimately, the board decided to uphold the building inspector’s decision, but approved the variance request allowing for the main house to be demolished and rebuilt.

The board also conducted a hearing for 347 Hickman St. The owner of that property was also appealing a decision of the building inspector. Similar to the Mikkelsens’ case, the board denied the appeal. Following that denial, the board took a look at a variance request that would have allowed for the installation of sidewalks on the property, which would have violated code related to the natural area.

City code calls for lots to be 50% natural area. Including 381 square feet of an undocumented patio, the lot had 2,479 square feet of a 5,000-square-foot lot covered, which allows for an additional 21 square feet of coverage. The proposed sidewalks would have exceeded the allowable amount by about 146 square feet.

Ultimately, the board voted against the variance too. However, the board voted in favor of a variance that turned the unpermitted patio into a legal nonconforming structure. This move allows the homeowner to make improvements to the patio, so long as the footprint isn’t increased. The property owner said the patio had been there since he bought the property in the early 2000s.