The shorelines of all private properties, including
the sides and flooring of boat ramps, and of all public streets, bordering
on bayside waters shall be protected from erosion by the installation
and maintenance of permanent structures such as bulkheads or riprap,
except where positioning of such structures at the shoreline is not
allowed by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
(DNREC) of the State of Delaware.
[Amended 12-19-2003; 3-22-2019]
Each year the Town's Building Official
shall determine which private properties have either no erosion protection
structure or a deteriorated structure no longer effective in controlling
erosion. With the concurrence of the Town Manager and one individual
appointed annually by the President of Town Council, who shall be
known as the Erosion Control Official for the Town, the Building Official
shall give written notice to the owner of each such property requiring
that the installation of a new or repaired structure shall be completed
by no later than one year after the date of such notice. A deteriorated
structure no longer effective in controlling erosion is defined as
one having water routinely collected on the land side of the structure
during normal high tides.
Any shoreline modification such as bulkheading, riprap, boat ramps, landfill or the like requires permits from both the Town of Fenwick Island and DNREC. Applications for such permits shall follow the procedure in Chapter
160, Zoning, §
160-6B(4) consisting of first obtaining preliminary clearance from the Town of Fenwick Island, then approval of DNREC and then final approval by the Town of Fenwick Island.
Any person not complying with the timetable of §
81-2 above shall be subject to a penalty of one hundred dollars ($100.). Each day of continued noncompliance shall be considered a separate violation subject to a separate penalty of one hundred dollars ($100.). Also, the Town reserves the right to proceed by Council resolution to have bulkheading or riprap installed on such noncomplying private property and bill the owner a fee for the cost thereof. Such fee shall constitute a lien on the property and be collectible by the means provided for the collection of delinquent taxes in the Town Charter.