Delaware beaches have retained their small town charm while growing
Gray HughesOcean City is known for its towering hotels and businesses crowding Coastal Highway that bring in visitors by the millions during the summer.
But drive a little north into Delaware, and the scenery is different.
"It's a whole different feel," said George Cole, a Sussex County Council member. "As soon as you come into the border, Ocean City has a six-lane highway, and towns like Bethany Beach and Rehoboth still have a small town feel to it."
At the Delaware beaches, there are no buildings towering over beachgoers, save for the condos at Sea Colony. There's not much commercial activity either except for on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach and Garfield Parkway in Bethany Beach.
With millions of visitors that flood into all of Delmarva's beaches, coastal towns don't often worry about comparisons or competition.
But Delaware could be at a crossroads — with more tourists visiting every — some who become permanent — year while businesses continue to flourish.
The population in Sussex County has grown to 220,093 in 2016 — up 22,185 people from 2010, according to statistics from the US Census Bureau.
Most of that growth has been inland of Lewes, Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany and Fenwick — Delaware's major beach attractions.
Officials say they fear over time the increase in population could make it harder for people to access and enjoy the Delaware beaches.
"Density is the big problem," Cole said. "I see the changes in Bethany Beach, north Bethany would have been all high rises."
Cole is the longest-serving member of the council and represents a main the beaches area. His father, Charlie Cole, also served on the council, and made a decision that greatly impacted the Delaware beaches.
More:Officials tour nor'easter damage at beaches, tout replenishment projects
Charlie Cole was on the council when it approved Sea Colony near Bethany Beach, a decision the younger Cole said upset many Bethany Beach residents.
At that time, Sea Colony was able to be constructed because Sussex County allowed 36 units per acre.
Now, the limit 12 units per acre in most of the county, Cole said.
Things could have looked a lot different in 2018 if the code hadn't changed. The small-town charm of the area keeps people coming back, and the council keeps that in mind when dealing with versions of a Sea Colony-type request.
The most publicized one of the last few years involves the Overbrook Town Center.
A Maryland-based developer has recently resubmitted plans to convert 114 acres of farmland on Route 1 between Milton and Lewes into the 850,000-square-foot Overbrook Town Center retail center.
The project has faced scrutiny from opponents who say it will crowd an area that is already bursting as business continues to grow around the Tanger Outlets on Route 1.
The Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce reported 7.72 million people visited the resort area in 2017.
The Delaware Tourism Office announced earlier this year that visitors to the state contributed $3.3 billion to Delaware's gross domestic product in 2016, generating more than $504 million in taxes and fees for local and state government.
A key contributor to the high visitation numbers is the appeal of the Delaware beaches, said Carol Everhart, the chamber's executive director.
"(Rehoboth Beach) is a small town that has retained the flavor of the past," she said.
It is the charm that is a big driving factor for people coming to Rehoboth Beach, she added.
To the south of Rehoboth Beach is Bethany Beach, also known as the "Quiet Resort," and the town has no plans to abandon that mantra, said Mayor Jack Gordon.
"In between Dewey and Ocean City, you have the Quiet Resort," Gordon said. "We intend to keep it that way. We want to get tourists down here. ... We want to maintain what we have now, which is a quiet, family-oriented area that is a good beach.
"It has always been a good beach, and we expect that to carry into the future."
'You are going someplace special'
When someone drives into Rehoboth Beach, they feel as if they are visiting a small town, Everhart said.
When someone drives into Dewey Beach, they feel like they've arrived at a beach town, she added.
"It is the feeling of driving into a place and getting a vibe," she said. "When you drive into Rehoboth, there is a feel that you are going someplace special. It has a sense of place."
Each beach town has its own flavor, she said, which is a huge benefit because people can get the ocean, they can get shopping and they can get that old-town feeling.
The variation is good, Everhart said, and that is beneficial to driving visitation.
"Everything is within 10 minutes," she said. "It is pretty awesome. I am not leaving."
That range of short trips away from the beach includes a paradise for any shopper's sweet tooth.
Both Ocean City and Rehoboth Beach have a Tanger Outlet location, with more than 100 stores in Rehoboth and more than 30 stores in Ocean City.
However, neither outlet is in the heart of its respective town.
One of the tallest complexes at the beaches was built after convincing the Sussex County Council the community would be built in a tasteful manner, according to the official Sea Colony book, "Celebrating Sea Colony: the Beautiful Beach and Tennis Community."
The community now features some of the highest buildings in Sussex County — the condos lining the beach, reaching 13 stories high.
A couple of miles away from Sea Colony is Casapulla's, a hoagie and pizza shop.
Chis Casapulla, manager and owner, said the Delaware Beaches have "definitely" grown through the years.
"What brings the people down is the beach and all that we have to offer in terms of stores and restaurants," he said. "We aren't as tourist-trappy as other beach communities."
Dominick Pulieri, a founder of Grotto Pizza, agreed with Casapulla that the area has grown, which parallels the company's success.
Since Grotto opened its first Bethany Beach location in 1995, Pulieri said the company has had to open two additional restaurants there to handle the growth and demand, one in 1997 to handle deliveries and one in 2008 in downtown Bethany.
And even with the growth, Bethany Beach has been able to hang on to its summer town charm.
"As Bethany Beach continues to grow, with more restaurants and houses, we believe it will still feel the same when you visit," he said.
One person who has fallen in love with the Delaware beaches is Mary Pfister of New Jersey.
She was sitting on a bench on a warm spring afternoon on a trip visiting her daughter when she described why she loved the wide open beaches.
The appeal of the Delaware beaches is something else, she said.
"I love the charm of the towns," she said. "The people are so friendly. There's a lot to do, so many great shops and restaurants, especially Hammerheads."
But for Ocean City officials, their ability to draw in a wide variety of visitors is what they think makes the resort special.
Susan Jones, executive director of the Ocean City Hotel, Motel, Restaurant Association, said one of the aspects about Ocean City that sets it apart is the Boardwalk.
"We have a three-mile Boardwalk made out of real wood with lots of things to do and eat," she said. "Rehoboth has that, too, but it is not three miles long. A third of our town is Boardwalk. We are 10 miles long, and the Boardwalk is three miles long."
READ MORE:As Ocean City evolves, it shoots for the sky
Another draw for Ocean City is the fact the town has something for everyone on every budget.
From high-end restaurants to more budget-friendly accommodations, there is something for everyone in Ocean City, she said.
Ocean City's geography is also an advantage, she said.
"We are a peninsula, so if they want activities on the bay, low impact paddle-boarding, we have that," she said. "And if someone wants to go surfing, that is right across the street."
How to stay
Bethany Beach started off as a religious commune where Christians of different denominations could gather by the sea.
The town's first building, the Tabernacle, was built on the grounds of the Christian Missionary Society in 1901. That building stood for 60 years before it was destroyed by termites and storms.
Now, Garfield Parkway — Bethany Beach's main dining and shopping area — is lined with businesses, but most buildings are only a few stories high.
The same is true with Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth. While the strip draws thousands of people during the summer, there are no hotel or condo buildings to the scale that can be found anywhere along Coastal Highway in Ocean City.
The boardwalk there was built in 1873, and a paved road from Georgetown to Rehoboth Beach was constructed in 1925.
READ MORE:Delaware beaches transform into year-round destination
The road linked the city to other paved roads leading from Washington, D.C. Many legislators, diplomats and government officials began to visit Rehoboth Beach, giving it the nickname "The Nation's Summer Capital."
Downtown Rehoboth Beach along Rehoboth Avenue was influenced by Victorian-era themes, and it changed during the 20th Century.
Beach house rentals have become one of the prime ways to pack people into the area.
According to Southern Delaware Tourism, Sussex County has more than 4,000 hotel rooms, while vacation rental site VRBO lists 1,145 houses for rent in the Rehoboth Beach area and 1,297 houses for rent in the Bethany Beach area.
Ocean City offers 9,500 hotel rooms and 25,000 condo units on the 10-mile strip to accommodate the town's 8 million visitors annually, according to town stats.
Dewey Beach, known for its bars and concerts, has more of the entertainment factor found in its Maryland neighbor, but the town still lacks any mega-hotels.
The style
One of many architects in the area offered his opinion on the way houses are built at the Delaware beaches.
When it comes time to design a home at the Delaware beaches, Scott Edmonston of SEA Architects in Bethany Beach said the one of the first things they consider is the environment surrounding the house.
Back in the 1950s and 1960s, there was a clear beach style, with cottages that were only supposed to be inhabited in the summer.
These cottages were one story, he said, and a lot of people felt a connection to them, but there was a time when that beach cottage style went away.
But now, Edmonston said, it's coming back.
"They look at their houses here as their primary home or retirement home, so they put more energy into the design," he said. "There is an underlying coastal cottage style, but we see people want to do a lot, from ultra traditional to ultra modern."
READ MORE:South Bethany house wins national architectural award
Before they start designing a house, Edmonston said they look at the lot and try to assess from where the breezes come, where the sunlight best strikes the property and any views the property might have.
It is less about how it looks than how it responds to the environment, he said.
"Then we can use that practical information to inform the plan, and then we can make beautiful design solutions to the challenges," he added.
But people want to have more fun with their houses, Edmonston said, with more unique homes that are traditional that go back to the traditional beach cottage look.
People, too, he said, are becoming more sensitive to design.
"There was a time 15 or fewer years ago when people didn’t care what it looked like," he said. "And now people consider the importance of design and their house needs to look good."
For Edmonston, a good beach house needs to be fun and a place where someone wants to be and when they open the door, they feel instantly relaxed.
It should be bright and open, with strong connections to the outside and a home oriented around the view, and it should make someone forget the rat race of life, he added.
"It should encourage togetherness or family time," he said. "All of them, the common themes is that they should feel cozy and inviting, and a happy place to be."
Growing pains?
With the population growth, officials fear the beaches may lose part of their charm due to growth.
However, Cole, the Sussex County Council member, said there are provisions in place to prevent out-of-control growth at the beaches.
In the area north of Bethany Beach, only four homes are allowed per acre, Cole said, which is why the buildings there are just single-family homes and the only high rises are at Sea Colony, which was built before the zoning changes
That, for Sussex County, has paid off, he said.
READ MORE:Ocean City, Sussex beaches are hot spots for second-home buyers, study finds
"Also, when you look at the rent, summer rentals that we are able to get in Sussex County in our coastal area are equivalent to Martha’s Vineyard," Cole said. "We are in a real niche in our coastal area of Delaware that we have high property values, low profile, and it is deemed to be an attractive place to shop and live."
The traffic, though, could be a real issue for the beaches, Cole said.
The closer someone is to the beach, the less traffic there is, but that doesn't help the areas surrounding the beaches.
"The growth has been in between Lewes and Rehoboth and Ocean View and Millville," Cole said. "And that is something we will have to deal with going in to the future — gridlock and things of that nature. It is hard for the state of Delaware to keep up with the growth."
Gordon, the Bethany Beach mayor, also fears that with more people moving to the eastern portion of Sussex County, the beaches — particularly in Bethany Beach — would become more crowded.
But another issue facing the town of Bethany Beach and the rest of the Delaware coast is storms, Gordon said, which brings about the need for beach replenishment.
The beach replenishment, Gordon said, provides a good, safe platform on which the town can be maintained.
"We do have a source of income in the summer when they go up because of parking meters," he added. "I don’t see things changing a lot. It will remain a quiet beach resort, and in the foreseeable future it will stay that way."
Information from The News Journal was used in this report.
On Twitter @hughesg19