Dec. 6 Public Hearing Planned On Fenwick Height Regulations

FENWICK ISLAND – Officials have scheduled a public hearing on proposed amendments to Fenwick Island’s commercial height regulations.

The Town of Fenwick Island will hold a hearing on Dec. 6 to receive public comments on a proposed ordinance amendment that would include mechanical equipment into the calculation of a commercial building’s height.

“It’s basically marrying up what is already written in the residential side of the height ordinance to the commercial side,” Councilwoman Natalie Magdeburger said last month.

According to the town’s zoning code, total building height in the commercial district cannot exceed 30 feet – or 32 feet if the building has a freeboard that elevates the structure. But there are exceptions for roof-mounted solar panels, chimneys and elevator shafts, which can extend 4.5 feet above the maximum height to accommodate the elevator’s service equipment.

The ordinance in question would be amended to add that “mechanical equipment and any other items attached to or mounted onto a building shall be included in the calculation of a building’s height.”

A first reading of the proposed amendment passed on first reading at the August town council meeting and was subsequently referred to the Charter and Ordinance Committee for further discussion. And in October, committee members agreed to schedule a public hearing before advancing the amendment to the town council for a second reading.

The public hearing will take place Monday, Dec. 6, at Fenwick Island Town Hall. The meeting will also be held virtually.

For more information, visit fenwickisland.delaware.gov.

About The Author: Bethany Hooper

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Bethany Hooper has been with The Dispatch since 2016. She currently covers various general stories. Hooper graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2012 and the University of Maryland in 2016, where she completed double majors in journalism and economics.