Bethany Beach mulls own tents, umbrellas ban

Bethany Beach is mulling its own tents and canopies ban.

At a Sept. 18 Bethany Beach council workshop meeting, the tents and canopy ban was outlined.

Following the passage of Rehoboth Beach's tent and canopy ban last March, Bethany Beach wanted to see if the town needed the ban, said Bethany Beach Councilwoman Rosemary Hardiman.

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Hardiman, who was presenting on behalf of the Charter and Ordinance Review Committee, added the town also wanted to see how Rehoboth Beach's ordinance went.

"We would monitor the beach, we would take photos and see what the issues were that were particular to Bethany Beach," she said. "So we did that over the summer, and we received numerous photos from other people and we ourselves took hundreds of pictures."

At the meeting, she presented the pictures to the other members of the commission, detailing how tents, canopies and umbrellas were used on the beach during the summer.

The town drew inspiration from Rehoboth's ban as well as a similar ban passed in Fenwick Island.

“The first thing we did was agree on umbrellas, that umbrellas should only have a maximum diameter of 8 feet, and that seems to be the standard,” she said. “The second thing we agreed on is that we would allow baby tents 36 inches by 36 inches by 36 inches."

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Hardiman and the Charter and Ordinance Review Committee recommended that all larger tents, anything that is a tarp, cabana or a sports umbrella, or anything that would block the view of the people sitting in front of someone would be banned.

While the Charter and Ordinance Review Committee came to a consensus on not allowing tents, umbrellas with a diameter greater than 8 feet and a height of 7 and a half feet, they did not, however, come to a consensus on allowing canopies on the beach.

“There are people who use canopies on the beach the right way," she said. "They are mindful of others, they are thoughtful, they have their canopies in the back up against the dune line in the case of a large family. ... But then there are others who make others so angry with them it’s spoiled."

The complaints against these people, she said, were they would come and set up these large areas of multiple canopies and then they wouldn’t come down to the beach until 2 p.m., and they were right up against the "prime real estate" on the beach.

The Charter and Ordinance Review Committee considered putting canopies up against the dune line, however, that raised other questions.

"What do you do with the people playing ball?" Hardiman asked.

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While Bethany Beach Mayor Jack Gordon said he agreed with all of the recommendations, other members of the council feared the proposed regulations could be overbearing.

"The beach is supposed to be a fun area," said Councilmember Lew Killmer. "I think regulations are important, but they shouldn't be overbearing. There is a place for all of these things, and I think by putting the canopies closer to the dunes and keeping the front of the beach open, in my perspective the only reason for having a view is for safety issues."

There is no guaranteeing everyone gets a view on a crowded day, he added, unless people sit right on the water.

Killmer did say, however, that he is against all tents in any form, but open-sided canopies should be allowed.

Concilmember Joseph Healy said he agrees with Killmer's perspective.

"But as far as the view thing is concerned … it does seem when people are setting up at 8 a.m. and not using it, that's an affront," he said. "And I don’t know how you handle that."

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Councilmember Patrick Sheeplee, who is a member of the Charter and Ordinance Review Committee, said he was one of the people to vote against banning canopies during the committee meeting.

He said they all agreed on limiting umbrella size, baby tent size, banning tents and banning wires holding up the the canopies.

"I was in favor of allowing canopies with restrictions, size and or location," he said. "And I do think it’s important to encourage, if you will, shade for health reasons, and I think whether or not canopies are used primarily by residents or primarily by tourists, the tourists are important. And their thoughts and wishes need to be taken into consideration."

The council made no decision on the proposed tent and canopy ban, and will work to create questions to ask in a survey to be discussed at the next scheduled meeting, which is set for Oct. 22. The survey will be distrubuted to town residents and prperty owners to get their perspectives.

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