FENWICK ISLAND – The public hearing set to take place Oct. 23 regarding a zoning ordinance associated with the redevelopment of the Sands Motel has been canceled.
According to a notice on the Town of Fenwick Island’s website, there will be no second reading of the proposed zoning changes introduced at the September meeting of the town council. The public hearing required with the second reading has therefore been canceled.
“We’re introducing a new first reading and withdrawing the original,” Mayor Gene Langan said when contacted this week.
Last month, the Fenwick Island Town Council voted 5-2 to approve the first reading of an ordinance that would have allowed developer Spiro Buas to replace the Sands Motel with a larger facility. The ordinance would have enabled Buas to replace the aging 38-room motel with a 65-room hotel.
Under the town’s existing zoning code, one motel room is allowed per 1,000 square feet. The Sands Motel, at 39,000 square feet, features 38 rooms. The change proposed in September, which was developed by the town’s charter and ordinance committee, would have allowed one room per 600 square feet as long as the facility didn’t exceed 65 rooms.
Bill Weistling, chairman of the charter and ordinance committee, said at the time that the majority of his committee supported the change because it would keep Buas’ building in line with the town’s other facilities. The Seaside Inn features 61 rooms — or one room per 640 square feet — while the Fenwick Islander has 62 rooms — or one room per 363 square feet.
Several residents expressed concern over the proposed change, arguing that it would open the door for other properties to be redeveloped and could affect the town’s character.
When contacted this week, Langan declined to discuss the “new first reading” that would be introduced at the Oct. 23 council meeting but did say the zoning ordinance had been tweaked.
The agenda for the Oct. 23 meeting, which begins at 3:30 p.m., is expected to be posted on the town’s website a week in advance.
