Earlier this year Rehoboth Beach passed a special events ordinance that threatened to stifle free speech and assembly rights. After recieving several complaints, we wrote a letter to city officials urging them to reconsider some of the language in Chapter 230 of the City of Rehoboth Beach Municipal Code to fix some unconstitutional aspects of the newly created “Special Events” statute. You can read the full letter below.
Update May 13, 2019: New Ordinance is Substantially Improved
Recently, the city of Rehoboth voted on a new section of code relating to expressive activities. This is substantially better than the old because it: (a) removes the permit fee; (b) shortens the notice period to 36 hours; (c) removes language trying to put the cost of policing on the applicants; (d) removes the insurance requirement; and (e) reduces the information that must be supplied on the application.
Click here to read more info about the improved ordinance.
Update March 8, 2019: Victory!
Prompted by our letter and continued citizen pressure, Rehoboth officials have agreed to suspend the fee and application submittal deadline for its special-events ordinance while it works to create an ordinance that addresses the city's growing events issues without hindering the right to assembly and free speech.
