Dewey Beach delays vote, refers draft alcohol-hours ordinance to P&Z to preserve 1 a.m. practice

Dewey Beach town council on June 26 reviewed a draft ordinance intended to preserve the town's current practice that alcohol sales and service end by 1:00 a.m. even as the Delaware legislature considers a bill allowing municipalities to extend closing hours to 2:00 a.m.

Mayor William Stevens explained the review was proactive: municipalities will be given the option to extend closing hours under House Bill 433, so the town is considering language to maintain the current 1:00 a.m. sales cutoff. Several business owners and members of the public had conveyed they did not want extended hours.

Public commenter David Mosquitz asked the council to make the practice explicit in the ordinance by prohibiting new entry or re-entry after 1:00 a.m. to maintain predictability for enforcement and operations. "If you want to do the current practice, you need to add an extra line that says that there's no entry or re-entry at 1:00 a.m.," he said.

Council members noted that operational specifics such as last call timing and the time patrons must vacate premises are administered by the Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Commissioner, and that replicating all ABC rules in local code risks conflicts. For that reason, the council voted to refer the draft ordinance to the Planning & Zoning Commission for careful wording and a recommendation rather than taking immediate action.

What happens next: the draft will go to Planning & Zoning for review and suggested language, and council expects P&Z to consult ABC as needed before returning a recommendation to council. No final ordinance was adopted at the June 26 meeting.