CHAPTER 255
FORMERLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 418
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 59. VOLUME 63, LAWS OF DELAWARE ENTITLED "AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE TOWN OF DEWEY BEACH", RELATING TO THE TERRITORY AND LIMITS OF THE TOWN.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each House thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. Amend Section 2 of Chapter 59, Volume 63, Laws of Delaware by striking Section 2 in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof a new Section 2 to read as follows:
"Section 2. Territory and Limits
(a) The limits and bounds of the Town of Dewey Beach are hereby established and declared to be as follows:
(b) Starting at a point at the low water mark of the Atlantic Ocean shoreline, said point being the northerly boundary of Rehoboth-by- the-Sea; thence easterly into the Atlantic Ocean 500 feet; thence southerly and parallel to the shoreline to a point which is on an easterly extension of the southern boundary of Collins Street; thence in a westerly direction along the southern boundary of Collins Street to Route No. I; thence in a southerly direction along the easterly right-of- way of Highway One, to a point approximately 65 feet south of Anchor Way; thence in a westerly direction to the eastern shore of the Rehoboth Bay; thence in a northerly direction and with the meanderings of the Rehoboth Bay shoreline to a point on the Rehoboth Bay westerly of Bayard Avenue. said point being the boundaries of Rehoboth- by the- Sea; thence with the boundaries of Rehoboth- by the- Sea a northeasterly direction to the westerly side of Bayard Avenue; thence with the westerly side of Bayard Avenue, northerly across Route 1; thence with the westerly boundaries of Rehoboth by-the-Sea, to the shores of Lake Comegys; thence with the southerly shore of Lake Comegys to its easterly side; thence across Route 1 to the southerly edge of Silver Lake; thence with Silver Lake and the boundaries of Rehoboth- by- the- Sea to a point; thence easterly with the boundaries of Rehoboth by the-Sea. said boundary being the southerly line, and extensions thereof. of Block 51 as shown on the plot plan of Rehoboth by the-Sea, to the low water mark of the Atlantic Ocean, the point and place of beginning.
The area designated by this description includes all of Rehoboth- by- the-Sea (as shown on a plot plan on file in Georgetown, Delaware) and all the area south of Rehoboth- by the- Sea which is bounded on the cast by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by the Rehoboth Bay and which extends southward to the south side of Collins Street on the ocean block and 65 feet southerly of Anchor Way on the bay side and also includes 500 feet of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the shoreline.
(c) The Commissioners of Dewey Beach may, at any time hereafter cause a survey and plot to be made of said Town, and the said plot or any supplement thereto, when so made and approved by said The Commissioners of Dewey Beach. signed by the President, who shall affix thereto the municipal corporate seal of the Town, attested by the Secretary of the said The Commissioners of Dewey Beach. and upon being recorded in the Offices of the Recorder of Deeds of the State of Delaware, in and for Sussex County. shall be. or the record thereof, or a duly certified copy of said record, shall be evidence in all Courts of Law and Equity of this State.
(d) The Commissioners of Dewey Beach shall have the power to annex additional territory adjoining the corporate limits of the Town of Dewey Beach as hereinbefore set forth or as hereafter extended pursuant to the procedure hereinafter set forth and to apply to all such additional territory all laws, ordinances, resolutions and policies in force with the Town so far as they may be locally applicable. The Commissioners of Dewey Beach shall adopt a Resolution proposing to the property owners and the residents of both the Town and of the Territory proposed to be annexed that The Town of Dewey Beach proposes to annex certain territory which adjoins its then limits and territory. The Resolution shall contain a description of the territory proposed to be annexed and shall fix a time and place for a public hearing on the subject of the proposed annexation. The Resolution setting forth the information shall be printed in a newspaper published in The Town of Dewey Beach at least one week prior to the date set for the public hearing. or, if no newspaper is published in The Town, publication shall be had in a newspaper having a general circulation both in the Town and in the territory proposed to be annexed, or. at the discretion of The Commissioners of Dewey Beach, the said Resolution shall be posted in four (4) public places both in The Town and in the territory proposed to be annexed.
Following the public hearing, but In no event later than thirty (30) days thereafter. a Resolution shall then be passed by a majority of The Commissioners of Dewey Beach ordering a Special Election to be held not less than thirty (30) days nor more than sixty (60)days after the said public hearing on the subject of the proposed annexation. The passage of this Resolution shall ipso facto be considered the determination of the Commissioners of Dewey Beach to proceed with the matter of the proposcd annexation.
The notice of the time and place of holding the said Special Election shall be printed within thirty (30) days immediately preceding the date of the Special Election in at least two (2) issues of a newspaper published in The Town, or, if no newspaper is published in The Town, the notice may be printed within thirty (30) days immediately preceding the date of the Special Election in two (2) issues of a newspaper having a general circulation in The Town and in the territory proposed to be annexed, or, in the discretion of The Commissioners of Dewey Beach the said notice may be posted in five (5) public places both in The Town and in the territory proposed to be annexed, at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the Special Election.
At the Special Election, every property owner or leaseholder as defined in this Charter, whether an individual, partnership or corporation, shall be entitled to cut one vote and every bona fide resident of the Town of Dewey Beach who is not a property owner or leaseholder as defined in this Charter shall be entitled to cast one vote. At the said Special Election, every property owner or leaseholder, as defined in this Charter, of the territory proposed to be annexed, whether an individual, partnership or corporation, shall be entitled to cast one vote and every bona fide resident of the territory proposed to be annexed who is not a property owner or leaseholder as defined in this Charter shall be entitled to cast one vote. Property owners or leaseholders, as defined in this Charter, whose propety or whose improvement located on leased land is exempt from taxation or is not assessed shall not be entitled to vote. The books and records of the Town of Dewey Beach in the cue of town property owners, or leaseholders as defined in this Charter or residents and the books and records of Sussex County in the cue of property owners, leaseholders as defined in this Charter, or residents of the territory proposed to be annexed shall be conclusive evidence of the right of such persons, firms or corporations to vote at the Special Election.
in the event that an individual, partnership or corporation holds a power of attorney duly executed and acknowledged and specifically authorizing the said individual, partnership or corporation to vote at the laid Special Election, a duly authenticated copy of the Power of Attorney shall be filed in the office of the Town Clerk of The Town of Dewey Beach. Said Power of Attorney as so filed shall constitute conclusive evidence of the right of said person, partnership or corporation to vote in the Special Election.
Voting machines shall be used in any annexation election and the form of the ballot to be inserted in the machine shall be as follows:
For the proposed annexation Against the proposed annexation
(CHECK THE ONE BLOCK FOR WHICH YOU CAST YOUR VOTE)
The Mayor shall appoint three (3) persons to act as a Board of Special Election, at least one of whom shall reside and own property in The Town, and at least one of whom shall reside and own property in the territory proposed to be annexed. One of the said persons ao appointed shall be designated the Presiding Officer. Voting shall be conducted In the Municipal Building and the Board of Election shall have available, clearly marrked, two (2) ballot boxes. All ballots cast by those persons, partnerships or corporations authorized to vote as residents, property owners or leaseholders in the territory proposed to be annexed shall be deposited in one such ballot box, and all ballots cast by those persons, partnerships or corporations who are authorized to vote as residents, property owners or leaseholders of The Town shall be deposted in the other such ballot box. The polling places shall be opened from 1:00 o'clock p.m., prevailing time, until 6:00 o'clock p.m., prevailing time, on the date set for the Special Election.
Immediately upon the closing of the polling places, the Board of Special Election shall count the ballots for and against the proposed annexation and shall announce the result thereof; the Board of Election shall make a certificate under their hands of the number of votes cast for and against the proposed annexation, and the number of void votes, and shall deliver the same to The Commissioners of Dewey Beach. The said certificate shall be filed with the papers of the Commissioners of Dewey Beach.
In order for the territory proposed to be annexed to be considered annexed, a majority of the votes cast both from The Town and from the territory proposed to be annexed must have been cast in favor of the proposed annexation. In the evert that the Referendum results In an unfavorable vote for annexation, a subsequent election may be held at any time. If a favorable vote for annexation shall have been cast, The Commissioners of Dewey Beach shall cause a description and a plot of the territory so annexed to be recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deed& for Sussex County in Georgetown, Delaware, but in no event shall such recordation be completed more than ninety (90) days following the favorable referendum. The territory considered for annexation shall be considered to be a part of The Town of Dewey Beach from the time of recordation. The failure of The Commissioners of Dewey Beach to record the description and plot within the time hereinbefore specified shall not make the annexation invalid but such annexation shall be deemed to be effective at the expiration of the ninety (90) day period from the date of favorable election."
Approved April 8, 1986.