Please note that the various arguments presented as pros and cons below are those being advanced by proponents and opponents of the questions presented.  By summarizing them here, we are trying to give you a feel for the debate.  We are not agreeing or disagreeing with these arguments, or suggesting they are complete treatments of all issues that could be raised.

Question 1

 

Are you in Favor of Highway One’s proposal to demolish all of the stores, restaurants, and other facilities on the south side of Ruddertowne and replace them with 48 Townhomes?

PROs
 
* Transfer Tax Revenue to the Town (If the properties sell.  There are many unsold condominiums and townhouses on the market at the moment.)
 
* Potential more attractive residential development of an area that is currently a parking lot.
 
* Townhomes are projected to be upscale with bay views.
 
* More Residential Housing and less Bars.
 
* More housing to attract tourists.
 
* Reduction in Noise from Bar/Restaurant crowds and rowdy patrons of the Lighthouse.
 
* Possible reduction of Police staff that is needed to control rowdy bar patrons.
 
* Existing Commercial businesses  might  pick up due to less competition.
 
* Other new businesses may open as long as there is a market for their goods and services and visitors will be able to park and frequent their businesses.  

   
 
CONs
 
* Overcrowding the residential real estate market that hasn't yet  sold existing Hotel/Motel conversion properties. Properties, such as the Marina Suites and Opal, have been slow to sell and creating more supply without adequate demand does not bode well for success.
 
*The new houses might be rented as group houses and could thus increase density, noise and rowdiness.
 
* Loss of the BayCenter which is the closest venue Dewey has to a convention center and which brings in tourism. Many weddings, conventions, and conferences will be lost revenue due to the loss of the Baycenter.
 
* Potential overall reduction of tourism due to the reduction of entertainment venues.
 
* Loss of the parking spaces that Ruddertowne provides (albeit only for Ruddertowne customers). It  may  be even more difficult for people to come into town for the day or evening and exacerbate the town’s parking problems.  
 
* Loss of various restaurants and bars, including Crabber Cove, the Sunnyside restaurant, the Lighthouse restaurant, the Lighthouse Bar, several nightly Entertainment venues and the Rusty Rudder restaurant.

* Loss of the shops at Ruddertowne.
 
* Additional challenge of creating a dynamic, prosperous business community without having sufficient parking spaces and businesses. Tourism dollars must be generated from the people and tourists within the town to support the businesses in town.

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Are you in favor of the Town waiving the current 35 foot height restriction so that Harvey, Hanna and Associates could construct a 6 story, 68 foot mixed-use, structure at the site of the Ruddertowne stores and parking lot? Commercial Shopping would be at the ground level and over 300 parking spaces on three levels would be in the Interior. A condominium hotel has been proposed by the developers, to sit above the Parking and Retail Shops on the top floors. There would also be a bay walk, and most of the current bars and restaurants would remain, according to statements of the developers.  The current proposal is for a structure that is 68 feet high (a little shorter than the lighthouse), and the developers say that is as low as they can go and have the project be financially viable. (The elevator shaft would likely be higher than that, according to some statements at the meetings.) The developers say that it is possible to write zoning restrictions such that the height limit waiver would be limited to this complex only. Others fear that there would be legal pressure to expand the exceptions to the height limit through lawsuits against the towns demanding equal treatment.   See a more detailed description of the proposal as published in the Cape Gazette

PROs
   
* We would now have a larger Parking Infrastructure to support the Commercial Businesses in Town, subject to availability of spaces.
 
* We could attract more Commercial businesses and a wider variety of businesses due to increased tourism in a longer tourist year.

*Increased visitor traffic and commercial activity would help existing businesses to survive, in comparison to diminished density and traffic of replacing the complex with townhouses.
 
* We would have more Hotel rooms to attract Visitors.
 
* A larger and more potentially more diverse Town Center would allow for more Year Round Activities.

*The existing town center would be retained, hopefully with many of the same restaurants, shops and bars that are current favorites.  The Developer has responded favorably to the Committee’s “wish list.”
 
 CONs
 
*Some argue that the proposed parking would not be adequate to service the new hotel and other businesses of the complex, despite the increase in the number of spaces.   Also, the parking spaces would be on a paying basis.

* More Visitors.
 
* More Traffic.
 
* Open space is developed  and potentially in a less attractive manner .

*A condominium hotel may present some of the same problems as time sharing arrangements.

*The new hotel would violate the current prohibition on additional hotels and thus require legal changes or exemptions from that law.

*Waiving the 35 foot height limit may obstruct the views of many residents and visitors in the South end. 

*The development could also set a precedent for higher buildings in Dewey Beach and encourage high rise development in the future.

*Some feel that the proposed development is too massive for Dewey Beach and would be a major change in the structure of the town.

*Some feel that the new hotel rooms will not be occupied and the new condos will not sell, inasmuch as Dewey is not an adequate attraction for such a high end enterprise.  This could well have the effect of creating more competition for, and damaging the businesses of, existing hotels, condominiums, and landlords.

*Condo-hotel ownership could raise past problems over voting rights of the owners

*There is no guarantee that the current businesses and restaurants would remain, as there would be no contractual commitment keep them.

Are you in favor of the Harvey, Hanna and Associates proposal to construct a 6 story, Mixed-Use, structure at the site of the Ruddertowne Parking Lot?

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Selecting any of the links above will set up a message in your email program; you may add comments in the body of the message before sending if you wish.  If you have trouble getting your email program to show up, click here.  Your identity will be kept strictly confidential and only aggregate results will be compiled.