Rehoboth’s Baltimore Avenue restroom unlikely to be done by ‘24

For years now, Rehoboth Beach officials have been working toward construction of a new two-story building at the eastern edge of Baltimore Avenue that has the beach patrol headquarters on the second floor and the comfort station on the first floor.

For months, the construction timeline for the project has included demolition of the current building sometime soon after the lifeguards were done for the 2023 season, so the comfort station portion of the building would be complete in time for the 2024 season and the new lifeguard headquarters would be ready for the 2025 season.

The city is moving forward with the project, but continued procedural delays appear to mean the comfort station will not be ready for next year.

“At this point,” said Lynne Coan, city spokeswoman, in an email Sept. 28, “the city does not anticipate that the comfort station will be rebuilt by next summer. Staff is researching options for temporary facilities that could be utilized next summer.”

This revelation comes after the city announced Sept. 28 that a public hearing slated for Friday, Sept. 29, related to legally abandoning a portion of Baltimore Avenue to make space for the new facility, would not actually be a public hearing. According to the city’s press release, it was informed of an “obscure” state law requiring that the matter of altering the public way be referred to the city planning commission.

From city research, this state code requirement has not been applied to city projects in the past, said Coan. Subsequent research has found that this section of state code is not familiar to the communities or state agencies the city has contacted, she said.

This is the second time in recent weeks the city has had to delay moving forward with the project because a procedural step was brought to the attention of city officials after first being missed by them.

Commissioners conducted a special meeting Sept. 22 setting the Sept. 29 public hearing after a citizen pointed out that they weren’t following the process of abandonment described in the city charter.

Coan said a resident pointed out the state code requirement, too.

In its Sept. 28 statement, the city said it found out about the additional requirement on Monday, three days after the Sept. 22 special meeting setting the public hearing. Coan said the reason the city took an extra three days to notify the public of the additional step was because it was researching this issue. City representatives spoke with staff, elected officials and other agencies across the state, and determined this was the best and right path forward, she said.

The planning commission has a meeting scheduled for Friday, Oct. 6, but it’s unclear if they will be discussing the abandonment.

It is possible the planning commission will take up the issue, but it’s up to them to determine when they will take up this matter, said Coan.