Summary of the Town Council Meeting on October 14,
2006
Minutes: (not available)
Highlights:
- Excellent turnout—standing room only. Four hour
meeting.
- Positive atmosphere
among commissioners and broad, constructive participation from audience.
- Council passed provision to rescind
current regulations on skim-boarding and volleyball and to leave future
management of same to the lifeguards.
- Council continued the moratorium on
conversion of commercial property to residential use.
- Council passed a provision allowing a right of petition
to overturn ordinances passed by the Council, subject to petitions from one
third of the number of voters in the last election, or 300 people, whichever is
greater. This right of petition is subject to approval of the voters in a
biding referendum next November.
- After much discussion, no action was
taken on any provisions relating to conversion of hotel/motel space to
condominiums, pending further study by the town attorney and
commissioners.
- There was a discussion of various ways
to improve the condition of the shoulders and the rights of way on residential
streets and to prevent people from inhibiting visitor parking by installing
pavers and other devices. The matter was referred to Roads Committee for
further study.
Proceedings:
This was the first meeting chaired by Mayor Tush and the
first regular meeting attended by new Commissioner Claire Walsh. There was
excellent attendance and a positive atmosphere in which the commissioners seemed
to work well together and members of the audience participated in a constructive
manner through long but focused discussions of some complex matters.
Commissioner Cooke emphasized his support of Mayor Tush and praised her service,
presenting her with framed copies of newspaper coverage of her swearing
in.
There was a public hearing on a proposal to
rescind the current restrictions on location of volleyball nets and skim
boarding, so as to leave control of such
activities to the lifeguards. The current rule prohibiting skim boarding within
100 feet of bathers would remain in effect. Volleyball nets could only be
erected in designated areas and with a permit obtained in advance from the town,
and a hold-harmless against liability would have to be given to the town in
order to obtain one. One commissioner supported a procedure that would rotate
the designated areas to different parts of the beach periodically. Members of
the audience expressed the hope for clear rules so that confusion and conflict
among skim-boarders, volleyball players, and other beachgoers would be
minimized. An audience member suggested that a deposit be obtained from
volleyball players to ensure proper cleanup. Another expressed concern about
the guards playing the role of policing these activities and that this could be
a distraction from their primary duties in watching swimmers. The proposal was
passed unanimously.
Next there was a public hearing on whether to
continue the moratorium on the conversion
of commercial land to residential use.
The moratorium was put into effect as a result of the filing of an application
by Highway One Partnership to convert Ruddertown and Venus on the Half shell to
condominiums. That application has since been withdrawn, but concern about
losing other businesses to residential use remains. The Planning and Zoning
Commission has considered this matter in connection with the Comprehensive
Plan. Generally, commissioners expressed concern about continuing such
restrictions on the use of private property but felt the matter could await the
expected completion of the comprehensive plan over the next several months. An
attorney for Highway One expressed opposition to continuing the moratorium. A
motion to continue the moratorium passed unanimously.
Next there was a public hearing on a proposal to
allow voter referendums to be held in
order to challenge ordinances enacted by the town council. The provision would allow such referendums upon the
filing of certified petitions representing at least 15 percent of the number of
voters in the last election, or 100 eligible voters, whichever is greater.
There was a long and detailed discussion of this proposal and possible
variations to it, such as raising the threshold for the number of petitioners
and whether the proposal should itself have to be approved in a referendum by
the voters. Proponents argued that 1) it was a right the people of Dewey should
have, especially since most nearby towns have a right of referendum, 2) it would
help prevent lawsuits against the town, such as occurred recently, 3) it could
be modified later if over-used or used frivolously, 4) it was the sort of
solution encouraged by the courts, as they do not like dealing with political
disputes. Opposing arguments and expressions of concern included 1) we have an
annual election which allows voters to replace commissioners if they don’t like
the laws they pass, 2) too low a threshold for petitions would tie the town in
knots and allow small or well-financed groups of people to overturn legitimate
council actions, 3) referendums would be an expense to the town (estimated at
about $1,500 per referendum), 4) the use of referendums could foster divisions
and more squabbling through flyers and mailings, and we should move away from
that, 5) there is confusion over the number of voters actually eligible to vote,
pending implementation of a voter registration process, 6) the provision would
not prevent lawsuits, and opponents could utilize both a referendum and a
lawsuit to oppose an ordinance once passed.
Commissioners Cooke and Walsh argued strongly
that this provision should only be passed subject to taking it to the voters for
approval. Commissioner Fitzgerald argued that the matter should be decided now
by the Council, without taking it to the voters, as this could not be done until
next November and the Commissioners should feel empowered to enact the provision
by virtue of their election.
In the end, Commissioner Eisenhauer proposed a
compromise that would set the threshold for signatures at one third of the
number of voters in the last election or 300 eligible voters, whichever is
greater, subject to the proposal being approved in a binding referendum at the
next municipal election in November, 2007. While some commissioners felt that
threshold was too high, and that approval of the voters was not necessary, the
proposal was passed by a vote of four to one, with Commissioner Fitzgerald
voting against it.
The next matter for discussion as a proposal to
transfer $150,000 from one part of the town budget to another for payment of
the Read Street drainage
project. A need has been identified to
improve drainage at the Bay end of the street and state funds have been obtained
for that. The proposal was not to authorize the expenditure—that would await
the results of the bidding process. Support was expressed for the project and
the strong need to make these improvements, and the measure passed
unanimously.
Next there was a long public hearing on several
ordinances relating to the conversion of
motel and hotel space to condominiums.
There has been much concern expressed about the pace of such conversions and the
increased loss of hotel and motel rooms, as well as the perceived effect of such
conversions to a slow business season in Dewey. Planning and Zoning deliberated
the problem and had proposed that such conversions be allowed, so as not to
place the town in legal jeopardy, but only if the resulting condominiums had a
minimum square footage of 1,800 square feet. The current minimum square footage
is 750 feet, but conversions cannot currently take place due to a moratorium
being in effect. The stated purpose of the P&Z proposal was to discourage
further conversions without an outright ban on them. Concerns were expressed
that it was simply unfair to prevent property owners from converting and to
impose such a high square footage requirement on them to solve a larger planning
problem. Others felt the need to prevent further erosion of hotel rooms was
critical and needed to be addressed by continuing the moratorium. It was
recalled that the original purpose of the moratorium was to prevent hotels and
motels from being converted into time-sharing units, which created a number of
other problems, including those relating to voter eligibility. Several people
argued that by rescinding the moratorium without replacing it with some
regulation, there would be no way to prevent the re-emergence of time shares.
Others argued that the tax laws would prevent hotel space from being owner
occupied.
In the end, the matter was deemed to have so
many complexities and legal uncertainties that it required further study by the
commissioners and legal counsel, so action on the proposed ordinances was not
taken.
Next there was a discussion of whether and how
the town should prevent the installation
of pavers and other devices being used
in various places in town by property owners to discourage parking in front of
their houses. These interferences were deemed undesirable, but the town
attorney said an ordinance was necessary in order to prevent them. Several
members of the audience suggested that there be consideration of improving and
standardizing the look of shoulder space throughout town, using gravel or other
materials. The matter was referred to the Roads Committee for further study and a proposal.
In closing comments, the Mayor commended all for
their participation in such a long meeting, and vowed to shorten the agenda to
keep future meetings closer to a two-hour timeframe. She also reported that the
town anniversary party had been a big success and had made $14,000 to $15,000
for the town, which would be allocated among its various budgets. She said that
the town was seeking donations for purchasing beach wheel chairs at a cost of
$1,500 each.
For further information on the matters considered
at the meeting, please consult the town
website. There are many important details that that this summary has not been
able to include. If you have thoughts or opinions on any of these issues,
please let the Civic League Board and the commissioners know through the email
links provided.