6 - CAPE GAZETTE, Friday, September 26- October 2, 1997
VIEWPOINTS
Editorial
DeBraak issue goes beyond technicality
The bad news in Lewes is that the Board of Adjustment's decisions
on the Dolphin Bay Resort Motel will be appealed. This means in a
nutshell that the empty eyesore of a building called the DeBraak,
which spoils one of the most prominent pieces of commercial proper-
ty in Lewes, will remain for several more months, if not indefinitely.
The appeal process of course is a legitimate right of those who feel
justice wasn't served by the decision of the local Board of Adjust-
ment. That board's decisions allowed height, setback and story vari-
ances to permit construction of the 57 unit motel proposed by Mark
Hardt, Jim Keyger and George Metz - HKM Partners.
What's discouraging is that those appealing - the condominium
owners of the Ocean House that neighbors the proposed project -
aren't willing to live with decisions that arose out of extensive com-
munity debate, dialogue and local process. Instead, they chose to!
take the issue out of town to Sussex County Superior Court to have
the project judged not on its overall merit to the community and the
community's circumstances, but rather on the basis of legal techni-
cality.
The irony, of course, is that aesthetically unappealing buildings
like the Ocean House and the present DeBraak shell are what led to
an increased community debate process on commercial architecture.
Vince Robertson, attorney for the Ocean House appeal, said at a
recent meeting that aesthetics were given a great deal of considera-
tion during the process leading up to the Board of Adjustment deci-
sion. But aesthetics, he said, aren't a proper basis for zoning vari-
ances.
Aesthetics may be considered frill in some arenas but not in resort
communities where property value is high and the economy depends
extensively on the appearance of the community. Aesthetics shape
our lives because of their constant presence. We feel the court should
ind will understand their important role in the decisions made by the
Lewes Board of Adjustment,
Many hours were spent in a number of meetings by the partners
proposing a viable solution to the unique circumstances surrounding
the DeBraak property. Many interested residents of the community
involved themselves in the design process to come to an acceptable
community solution recognizing the unique economic needs that had
to be satisfied as well as the deep aesthetic concerns of a community
that takes its appearance seriously.
Zoning matters are intensely local issues. The process in this matter
included responsible, multifaceted local involvement and resulted in
good, local decisions to benefit the community at large. That's what
zoning and related matters are about. The decision process should
have ended in Lewes so community improvement could be starting
now. Instead, a good project is being sidetracked indefinitely, per-
haps forever, for the wrong reasons.
Letter00
Power Plant,_an official
Minnie Smith of Rehoboth Beach was sur wised to find her
night blooming cereus blossomed Sept. 22, about a month lat-
er than her rare climbing cactus usually flowers.
New Moon First Quarter Full Moon Last Quarter
October I October 9 October 16 October 23
ANIMAL WELFARE LEAGUE
LOIE#'I" A$I$'t'APOAT PAYI!
HERE | /EAN. 'vE DEJ=N n/-rHE. HERE
Be fair about tax
on cigarettes
I am a smoker, and while I have paid
the additional taxes that go with it, I am
now considered to.be seventh- or eighth-
class citizen! If you people want to try to
price sinning out of the market, so be it!;
but please be fair about it.
My second-hand smoke is not as harm-
ful to a three-year-old child as having a
drunk driver that runs over that child
leaving a dead child and broken family in
his wake. The child left homeless and
freezing in winter because a parent gam-
bled away the rent money is harmed
more by that than he is by some smoke. I
don't care if you want to double the
state's tax take from the sale of ciga-
rettes, as long as you double the take on
the rest of the sins you tax!
The state tax on beer, wines, liquor and
any other intoxicating substance should
also be doubled in the same legislation.
What about the drunken teen-age driver
who wrecks his car and kills the whole
carload of kids? Think about the prom
night or holiday drunks! Maybe increas-
ing the cost of booze through additional
taxation will save some lives like you
argue the increased cigarette tax would
dot
Using the same reasoning means that
you should also legislate to double the
state's take on all forms of gambling
such as slot machines, lottery tickets, and
racing bets; thus saving the children by
making gambling more expensive and
keeping parents away the grocery, cloth-
ing, utility or rent/mortgage money!
Be honest and get real! The vast major-
ity of you are known to imbibe. The busi-
ness would scream bloody murder about
being put out of business and having to
close all those bars and liquor stores. The
general public would revolt. After all,
you can even expense your bar tabs to the
taxpayer, t Likewise it is within probabili-
ty that most of you gamble in one form or
the other and the state's take from gam-
bling is so" big that you can't touch that
sacred cow! It's just a matter of whose ox
is getting gored!
If you have enough guts to treat all the
sin taxes equally, I would consider vot-
ing for you in the future; but if you insist
on only increasing the cigarette tax, I
wouldn't vote for any of you even if you
were only running for dogcatcher!
Robert D. Johnson
Milton
Wildlife at risk
from newcomers
Sussex County abounds with wildlife.
Destruction of wildlife, sometimes by
newcomers from urban areas, has
increased dramatically. Steele's Gun
Shop has been serving Delaware hunters
and sportsmen here for over 30 years by
selling them guns, .anarnunition, licenses
and accessories. The last few years, how-
ever, there is an unmistakable and alarm-
ing trend that we'd like to bring to the
attention of the entire community.
As more visitors demand homes here
to live in, builders and developers meet
that demand by building and developing
more of the woods and fields that were
previously used only by farmers, hunters
and wildlife. This residential use is a far
more demanding use of the land. And our
new residents tend to be unrealistic in
their expectations regarding wildlife.
Our local community is supported by
our urban visitors and transplants. We
welcome them and any business they
bring. A few, perhaps because they are
not particularly astute regarding rural
environment, seem to want a quick and
easy solution to a problem that is likely
of their own making.
Many people oppose hunting, and oth-
ers hope to restrict ownership of firearms
even for self-defense. Remarkably,
Steele's Gun Shop has had several vocal
opponents of gun ownership attempt to
buy a gun to rid themselves of animal
'pests.' Steele's has had some customers
attempt to obtain a gun specifically to
Continued on page 8
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Volume 5
No. 18
Publisher
Dennis Fomey
Editor
Trish Vernon
News Editor
Michael Short
News
Kerry Kester
Rosanne Pack
Jen Ellingsworth
Janet Andrelczyk
Photographer
Angie Moon
Sports Editor
Dave Frederick
Advertising Director
Carol Mawyer Fehrenbach
Advertising
Cindy Roberts
Nancy Stenger Joseph
Mariann Wilcox
Classified
Sandy Barr
Office Manager
Kathy Emery
Circulation
Harry Stoner
Production Staff
Susan Porter
Deidre Sudimak
Chris Wildt
Contributors:
Tim Bamforth
Susan Frederick
Nancy Katz
Geoff Vernon
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"Tobacco is a filthy weed,
That from the devil does
proceed;
It drains your purse, it
burns your clothes,
And makes a chimney of
your nose."
Benjamin Waterhouse
From Oliver Wendell
Holmes
