Hotel Owner Petitions Town for Relief on Glass Balconies

Click above to access the Hotel Cape Charles petition.

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

December 4, 2012

After receiving a second rejection by the Historic District Review Board, Hotel Cape Charles owner David Gammino is using the Internet to mount a popular appeal.

The hotel has closed for the winter, but according to Gammino, the Town of Cape Charles will not allow it to reopen in March unless the glass balconies are replaced with wrought-iron railings to lend an “historic” air to the otherwise modern facade.

At the Review Board’s meeting in September, Gammino pleaded that wrought iron would ruin the look of the building as well as add tremendous expense. The glass panels had cost $60,000. “We don’t have the money to make that kind of change. We are $800,000 over budget already,” he said then.

At the November Review Board meeting, a proposal by Gammino’s architect for wooden casings around the glass wall edges was considered and rejected.  Board Chairman Russ Dunton said the Board’s decision was final, and any appeal would have to be considered by Town Council.

But Gammino’s appeal is to the court of public opinion. In a published comment last night in the Wave, he wrote: “As the developer and contractor, I continue to express my apologies and accept responsibility for this situation. As a business owner I am trying to resolve the issue. We are still hoping that we can seek approval of our design through Town Council.  Our petition is as follows: [Read more…]

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