Development topic of homeowners meeting
The impact of development in and around the City of Lewes will be the topic of a roundtable discussion Friday, Feb. 7, hosted by the Lewes Homeowners Association.
Slated for 7 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall at Lewes Presbyterian Church, the group has invited several local and regional officials to take part in the forum, including former Sussex County Administrator Joe Conaway, Lewes Board of Public Works General Manager Darrin Gordon, Lewes Police Chief Jeffrey Horvath and coastal communities policy expert Rich Innes.
“We're trying to stay neutral,” said Marc-Antoine Lopez, the group's president. “We try to provide information from people who work with or close to the city or have studied some of these issues. I think, obviously, residents may be worried there is too much development.”
A meeting hosted by the Lewes Community Partnership Jan. 26 also tackled development and Lewes' future; however, that meeting did not feature dialogue with local and regional officials. That meeting was well attended and, Lopez said, he hopes folks will participate at his group's roundtable as well.
He expects the meeting to last 60 to 90 minutes and will be mostly a question and answer session with the officials in attendance.
The Lewes Homeowners Association generally hosts a meeting each winter that features a topic affecting the city. Lopez said it looks like the group chose a good subject this year.
Lewes City Council and its committees are in the midst of proposals for planned developments and projects in and around city limits. The board of adjustment committee recently approved special exceptions for two townhouse projects on Savannah Road in the city's marine-commercial district, and city council is considering a moratorium on such exceptions. Highland Heights is proposed to be built in a wooded area on Fourth Street, and the developers of Point Farm are seeking annexation into the city. All projects have drawn criticism from members of the public.
For more information, go to www.leweshomeowners.com.
