Ocean View postpones rezoning issue

By Marsea Nelson
Special to the Coastal Point

Ocean View residents who attended Tuesday’s town council work session expecting rezoning to be discussed were disappointed as the ordinance was not ready. Town Manager Kathy Roth said the process will not start until August.

A handful of Woodland Park residents came to the July 18 workshop because they were concerned about the drainage problems in their community. The drainage problems not only affect Woodland Park but neighborhoods such as The Cottages, Longview and Daisey Avenue,  as well.

Woodland Park resident Sharon Brisbane said her front yard at times looks like a pond. Roth said the town could not do anything about her front lawn but could help flooding in her back yard. Roth said they were working on prioritizing the affected communities.

In other business, Roth said she was looking into getting new locks for the town’s restrooms because users can accidentally lock those currently in place. Council member Bill Wichmann suggested that automatic, magnetic locks be looked at as a possibility because they would eliminate the manpower needed to lock and unlock the restrooms daily.

“We have people calling all the time to get in,” Wichmann said. “It seems like a waste of time.”

Roth originally suggested using another type of manual lock — one which would not be as easy to lock accidentally — but said she would ask the locksmith if electric locks were a feasible option.

Police Chief Ken McLaughlin said there was a good chance that Ocean View may be losing two of its officers to other towns and asked permission to start preparing for that possibility.

The council approved McLaughlin’s plan to go ahead with the application process.

Another police matter discussed by council members was the speeding problem in town, particularly on West Avenue.

“West Avenue is by no means the only problem area,” McLaughlin noted. “We just can’t be everywhere all the time.”

He said the challenge of informing residents about speeding comes from Ocean View being a resort community.

“By the time we get these folks educated, they’re gone,” McLaughlin said.

Mayor Pro-Tem Eric Magill asked McLaughlin about the possibility of using speed cameras in an effort to decrease drivers’ speed. McLaughlin said that, to his knowledge, there are currently no speed cameras in Delaware but that Washington, D.C., has a successful program. He said he would look into the possibility.

The council then discussed plans for the Department of Public Works facility. Roth and Town Planner Kyle Gulbronson showed council members conceptual drawings for the new facility.

“I like the layout very much,” said Mayor Gary Meredith.

Magill said one of the goals of the building is to be aesthetically pleasing.

“The idea is to give a residential look, not a warehouse look,” he said.