UPDATE: On Friday, October 20th, city commissioners voted to pass the amendment. It also included an exemption for brick and mortar business owners. The change will go into effect immediately. Officials will reportedly ask "out-of-towners" currently on committees to step down.
REHOBOTH BEACH, DE - Rehoboth Beach city committees may soon undergo a transformation, with a proposed code change that could be voted on this Friday. The proposed change seeks to restrict non-residents and non-property owners from serving on city-created committees. Currently, non-residents are allowed to serve and often vote on these committees.
Concerns have been raised by many locals who believe that decisions affecting the year-round population should be made primarily by residents. The upcoming code change aims to address these concerns.
These committees are created by council members to address various issues, including environmental concerns, flooding, and other town-related matters. Mayor Stan Mills believes it's time for this policy to change. According to the Mayor, this policy was initiated by his predecessor and hasn't been formally addressed since.
"The impetus for this is coming from people, in-town property owners and residents, who have been questioning why we allow out-of-towners to come into town and vote on matters they shouldn't have a say in, essentially telling us what to do," said Mayor Mills.
The Mayor says the town will always welcome feedback from non-residents, as their input helps enhance the community. Under the proposed change, instead of voting on committees, non-residents would be assigned to non-voting task forces.
Residents like Robert Streimer say it's a much needed change,
“It got to be very unfair to the town people, because they were bringing in a point of view that was not aligned with what the town people wanted." said Streimer.
Another resident and property owner Stephen Fallon says he supports it, but visitors will always be the lifeblood of Rehoboth.
“We welcome everyone, it doesn’t mean that the people ruling are going to eliminate them, or shouldn’t eliminate them.”
The vote is expected to take place at this Fridays Rehoboth City Council meeting.