Can't someone stop this? Are the developers the only ones in this county with any power? There is a development going up near the UD campus, which exits off New Road, a narrow road often under water. A development is planned for Gills Neck Road and now, practically the only wooded area left in Lewes on West Fourth Street is about to be destroyed.
The West Fourth Street plan recently proposed is designed to send much of the water runoff toward Pilottown Village, which already has water problems of its own. Some yards in Pilottown Village are swamps when it rains; some houses have several sump pumps in their crawl spaces; and the draining plan for the water runoff was never correctly installed by the builder and the city seems unable to correct the problem. This is an abomination.
The attraction to Lewes has always been its charm, its small size, its beach and its access to Cape Henlopen State Park. When all of these proposed developments are completed, will the traffic make us prisoners in our own homes from May to October and weekends throughout the year? What will the developers want to tear down to make more parking available? Will people start moving away because of the congestion? Won't the value of the existing property, much of it of historical interest, be diminished? Will the charm disappear?
Why are we about to destroy a wonderful wildlife habitat that is such an asset to the community? There is indication there is already a Red Fox den in Pilottown Village, indicating that this wood is already over capacity. We see deer in our gardens on a regular basis. When the buzz saws begin, what will these animals do? Where will they go?
Where are our mayor and city commissioners on this issue? Per their website, It appears the the City of Lewes has a comprehensive plan, adopted in October 2005. I am unable to see any compatibility between this new development and that comprehensive plan.
Many of us, when we were looking for property, were told that this woods would never be destroyed because it was too wet. We believe that still to be true and this development should not be approved.
Ann Nolan
Lewes
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