REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.- A judge ruled Tuesday that Louis Capano III can build his beachfront mansion by Silver Lake, but neighbors say the wealthy developer's home would block their beach views.
Louis Capano plans to build a home for himself on a piece of property between the beach and Silver Lake. According to court documents, neighbors in the Draper Subdivision on Silver Lake tried to keep him from building his planned mansion, claiming it would block their views of the beach.
Philip Toby who lives a few blocks away can see why neighbors might be upset.
"You've probably been on that property for years, you have a wonderful view." he says. "I would imagine you couldn't sit there and look at that empty lot and not wonder surely someone is going to come and build on it."
Capano's father, Louis Capano Jr., told WRDE/WBOC that this whole lawsuit started because a neighbor next door was worried that once the home was constructed on the empty lot, it would block their view of the beach and ocean. However Capano Jr. says that his son's home would not stick out any farther than his does next door. Capano Jr. purchased the lot for his son in 2002.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources has restrictions for how close to the ocean people can build. Some property owners had an informally agreed to set their homes back at least 30 feet from the DNREC line to preserve their unobstructed views.
When Capano submitted his building plans for approval in 2017, the Draper Subdivision rejected them for not complying to those limits. However as the court documents state:
"The defendants appear to concede that the plaintiff's father had no actual notice of the putative ocean-side setback prior to purchasing."
Capano's law firm says in a statement, "Mr. Capano is pleased with the court's decision on the merits awarded and the attorney fees."
WRDE/WBOC reached out to the defendant's law firm too, but it did not wish to provide a comment.
The Draper Subdivision is not related to Draper Media.