FENWICK ISLAND – The Fenwick Island Town Council voted to approve two amendments to town codes last week regarding the location of the farmer’s market and a policy to have new construction anchor “fixed items.”
Councilman William Weistling, who serves on the Charter and Ordinance Committee, returned an amendment to town code on second reading to the council for approval last Friday regarding the allowable location of farmer’s markets within town limits.
Last month, Weistling pointed out the current location of the Fenwick Island Farmers’ Market that operates during the summer months is the PNC Bank lot on Coastal Highway and East Essex St. is for sale.
Fenwick Island’s code currently states, “Farmers markets will be only permitted on vacant, unimproved lots, which shall be at least 100 feet in size, either individually or combined, in the Commercial Zone in Town.”
The Charter & Ordinance Committee proposed changing the word “unimproved” to “improved.”
“The way the farmers’ market is written in the current ordinance is it can only be placed on unimproved lots. There aren’t too many unimproved lots left in town, and the current lot the Farmers’ Market is held is up for sale,” Weistling said at that time. “In summary, we want to remove the word unimproved, so if the farmers’ market has to be relocated in the future there is a possibility it could still be placed in Town. The farmers’ market has become successful and very popular with the people so I think it is a good idea.”
The Town Council voted unanimously to approve the amendment.
Next, Weistling brought forward two action items regarding anchoring items on a property in case of inclement weather.
The first item on the table was to rescind Chapter 160-6C of town code that states, “All free structures, including but not limited to boardwalks, propane tanks, ground level decks, sheds and trash enclosures, must be either properly anchored using an auger type anchor a minimum of two feet in the ground, proper footings designed to resist flotation, collapse or permanent lateral movement, or an anchor system design approved by the Building Official…”
The ordinance was passed in April of last year following Superstorm Sandy when hazardous objects, such as docks and boardwalks, washed onto neighboring properties.
Weistling made a motion to rescind the current language and replace it with, “In new construction, all fixed items not located at or above base flood elevation and designed to be a permanent part of the property shall either be properly anchored using an auger type anchor a minimum of two feet in the ground, proper footings designed to resist flotation, collapse or permanent lateral movement, or an anchor system design approved by the Building Official…existing fixed items such as listed above are recommended to be anchored but are not required.”
Weistling reported, “What we did based on some conversation over the past two months is we rescinded the existing ordinance that required all free standing structures to be anchored. It was hard to define the words ‘free-standing’, and it was also hard to define the proper methods to anchor that, so we decided to eliminate the wording ‘free-standing structures’ and just add ‘fixed items’, as well as require it for new construction only…”
The council voted unanimously to approve the rescinding of the current code and replace it with the new proposed language in first reading.