Jack Lingo Asset Management, LLC v. Board of Adjustment of the City of Rehoboth Beach
Annotate this CaseJack Lingo Asset Management (“Lingo”) owned and occupied property at 240 Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The second story only covered a portion of the first, leaving a flat roof over the rest of the ground floor. In 2018, Lingo wanted to convert the second floor from residential to office space. As part of this project, it sought permission from the City of Rehoboth Beach (the “City”) to build an unroofed, railed walkway extending from the second floor over the flat roof to a stairway leading down to Christian Street. The exit walkway would not be visible from the main thoroughfare. The City denied Lingo’s application, finding the railings surrounding the walkway would technically expand the Gross Floor Area of 240 Rehoboth Avenue under Section 270 of the City's Zoning Code. This expansion would, in turn, require Lingo to provide an additional parking spot, which it had no room to do. Lingo appealed the denial. The Board of Adjustment of the City of Rehoboth Beach affirmed in two decisions, and the Superior Court agreed. The Delaware Supreme Court reversed, finding that the Rehoboth Zoning Code in effect at the time of Lingo’s application did not clearly and unambiguously establish that the proposed egress structure would increase the Gross Floor Area of 240 Rehoboth Avenue. Applying settled canon that zoning ambiguities be construed in the property owner's favor, the Supreme Court vacated the Board's decision.
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