REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. -- City of Rehoboth Beach officials held the second of several scheduled community listening sessions Wednesday as part of their process to create a new strategic plan.
Lifelong Rehoboth Beach resident Sturges Dodge attended the Wednesday afternoon meeting at CAMP Rehoboth.
"I have opinions, and I want to share them," says Dodge. "I feel as a lifelong resident of the town that I have a perspective that's valuable."
Dodge says her greatest concern is climate change and the negative effect it could have on the city. This includes potential flood damage risk, beach replenishment costs, and the increasing rate of sea-level rise.
"The most pressing for me is climate change's effect on the town, the city and also how that interfaces with the development that's occurring in the county," Dodge says.
She says next biggest concerns are the influx of people coming to the area and a lack of parking.
"There is a problem with balance between renting residents, full time residents, and visitors for a limited resource," says Dodge. "I do know there are some people who avoid the town altogether, because it just feels like too much of a hassle."
Consultant Robyn Stiles with national management consulting firm Emergent Method says so far, limited access to town during the busy season, a lack of parking, and tensions between residents and visitors seem to be the top three concerns amongst the community.
"Not everybody is going to get a hundred percent of what they want," says Stiles. "But our goal is to build a consensus around that future vision where everybody sees at least a little part of what they want in that vision and in the priorities the city is going to be focused on in the future."
City officials are scheduled to host three more in-person listening sessions on November 14 and 16. People can also register here for either of the two virtual listening sessions scheduled for November 20.
