On the rocks: hardscape feature questioned

Two Rehoboth Beach property owners say the city is threatening to take away their rental license if they do not replace a hardscape feature on their front yard.

Sisters Vera and Surrey Bailey own a house on Stockley Street that they use as a rental property in the summer. Their front yard is small and Vera says it is difficult to grow grass there. Over the years, they have tried to grow grass, but the lawn doesn't grow without extensive use of pesticides and irrigation, Vera said. In addition, she said she has been told to install irrigation would cost $2,000 for the city to put in a connection to the main water line.

The sisters have also tried using mulch for the front lawn but they are wary of that because mulch can be a fire hazard. Surrey said they had little mulch fires when the yard consisted of mulch. The sisters also did not like the way the mulch looked.

So this year, the Baileys spent $5,000 to install permeable hardscape: sand stones native to the Rehoboth area. Vera said the hardscape was recommended by a landscape architect, and they were not given any indication that stones would be a problem with the city.

Vera said within hours of installing the stones, they were served with a violation notice by the city's building and licensing department. "They're making us remove the whole front yard," she said. "We did this intentionally because it requires no maintenance, no water," Surrey said.

"It has to be either mulch or dead grass," Vera added.

The sisters say the city has been threatening to take away their rental license and accusing them of illegally advertising their house. Vera said they have tried to have questions answered by city officials but all they have received in reply are sections of the city code.

"People have stone. Down the street they have nothing but stone. We're not getting clear answers on what we can or cannot do and they are issuing threats saying they're going to revoke our rental license," Vera said.

Surrey said city building officials told them that if they wanted to have their questions answered, they would have to appeal the decision to the Board of Adjustment, which comes with a $1,000 fee to file.

"It's $1,000 to essentially ask questions," Vera said.

The sisters said their property was flagged because of the city's recent zoning ordinance, passed in 2015, that mandated 50 percent of the front yard had to consist of natural area. "This is all natural," Vera said. "But they said it can't be stone. Some people have some stone, so how much stone can we have? They refer us to our ordinance, which doesn't clarify."

"This is very beachy. This is very appealing to the area. Super low maintenance. Our neighbors love it," Surrey added. "Since my mom bought it in 1983, we've never had more than 50 percent green space."

Building inspector responds

Rehoboth building inspector Dam Molina said the department received a complaint about the property and responded, advising the sisters how to bring their lawn into compliance with the city code. He said the sisters were also given information on the relevant codes and 30 days to appeal the decision that their hardscape was noncompliant. Molina said 30 days came and went with no response. He said according to city code, the next steps would be revocation of the rental license; Molina said the code requires 10 days written notice, and the sisters could appeal. After that, he said, violations become a misdemeanor offense.

Molina said the building and licensing department has tried to handle the matter diplomatically but that the department has not received any cooperation. Molina said besides grass and mulch, the sisters could also put in plants as part of their natural area. "I don't know what's so complicated about removing the stones from their front lawn," he said.

Molina said the city has sent another notification letter to the Baileys in order to give them additional time.

The sisters said they have also tried working out with their landscaper to possibly remove the hardscape, but they say he would charge them $1,000 to do the job. "We're getting it from both ends," Vera said.

The Bailey sisters say they are concerned as to how the summer will play out now that they have come on the bad side of the city.

"We're kind of in limbo right now. They're saying 'it needs to be removed immediately and we've already put in a request to have your rental license removed.' We're trying to work with you here and you're just throwing these threats around. They won't answer these questions," Vera said. "We're on their radar now. What else are they going to come after us about? Who knows what they could do?"

"We were trying to do something nice," Surrey said. "That's the great irony here. Something that would complement the area and improve the aesthetic."