REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - A wave of code violations and strict enforcement has a small beach town divided.
Some business owners say they feel targeted, and say the frivolous fines are burdening their business.
"I'm calling it now the 'R' word... not Rehoboth, but retaliation and retribution," said Tom McGone who is running for Mayor.
That's exactly what some business owners say has them up in arms.
We asked Shelia Savaliski, owner of the Seafood Shack, if she thought she was the victim of retaliation. She responded by saying "Yes, absolutely."
They say code enforcement officers in Rehoboth Beach are slapping them with constant violations, like sandwich board laws, flag laws, and sidewalk samples.
Hugh Fuller, owner of the Purple Parrot Grill says they were cited for being just four decibels over the noise limit.
"The way its coming down heavy handedly enforced, I feel when I look at other people they are not on this list. I don't think its being done fair," he said.
Savaliski says she put her recycling bins out at midnight, and were immediately hit with a violation.
"He came down and said we were in violation and I said 'when are we supposed to put it out' and he said 'five in the morning' and I said 'I'm sleeping'," she said.
She also says she was cited again because their sandwich board was about an inch over the sidewalk.
"They are infractions to the law, but very small, and businesses really received no notification in terms of these occurring," said McGlone.
He taking on incumbent Sam Cooper, and is tackling communication issues. He says he feels the tone of the city needs to change, and the retaliation needs to stop.
We called Mayor Sam Cooper several times on Tuesday, but got no response. Elections are on Saturday August 13th, and many say they hope this one brings some positive changes for the city of Rehoboth Beach.
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