“We still have strong support from the community,” said Commissioner Marty Seitz, who is heading up Dewey’s HB 50 lobbying efforts. Dewey voters approved a charter change restricting building height by 86 percent in a 2008 referendum, and now, some are helping the town make its case.

Seitz said volunteers have divided themselves into seven teams, each tasked with contacting two to three senators. He said Judy Taggart, a Newark resident who owns property in Dewey, is talking to lawmakers upstate.

Commissioner Diane Hanson has been attending meetings of the Sussex County Association of Towns, which she said intends to write a letter in support of HB 50.

“They feel that, especially with charter changes, that’s something the state should leave to home rule,” Hanson said.

Meanwhile, Seitz and Mayor Rick Solloway have been in contact with bill sponsor Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach.

Seitz said the town might hire a lobbyist to represent its interests in Dover. He said the lobbyist would be funded by citizen donations. While Seitz said it’s unusual for municipalities to hire lobbyists, he said he wouldn’t rule it out. Last June, Bunting reported that Robert Byrd, a powerful lobbyist employed by law firm Drinker, Biddle & Reath, was assaulting the bill in Dover.

Drinker, Biddle & Reath represents Dewey Beach Enterprises and Harvey Hanna & Associates, two developers currently challenging Dewey’s zoning code in two courts.

Seitz said the developers’ lobbying was responsible for HB 50’s difficulties in the Senate.

“We have to overcome that,” Sietz said. “It’s not an obvious slam-dunk.”

Byrd was unavailable for comment.

Seitz said he can’t see any reason senators would oppose HB 50, calling it an issue of home rule. He is, however, realistic about the bill’s difficulties.

“I’m not making the assumption that this will be easy,” he said. “There’s plenty of ways that this can be derailed.”

One of those ways revealed itself last summer, when the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce stunned commissioners by writing a letter to the General Assembly opposing HB 50. At an August council meeting, Hanson called the position reprehensible, saying the chamber should have remained neutral.

In October, Commissioner Marc Appelbaum and West Street resident Anna Legates approached the chamber about rescinding its position. The chamber held its ground.

“Neither side was very bashful,” Appelbaum said of the discussion. “Although it was a cordial meeting, I did not feel the warmth of their embrace toward our argument.”

Chamber Executive Director Carol Everhart said the chamber would oppose a 35-foot height limit in any town’s charter, and she hopes it doesn’t soil relations with Dewey’s government.

“I would hope not,” she said. “Less government is best for business. We’ll never always be on the same page as the community leaders. But that doesn’t mean we can’t work together.”

Appelbaum said Dewey will continue to appeal to the chamber.

“It’s a work in progress,” he said. “If you’re going to be neutral, that’s okay, but don’t be anti what the citizens want.”