99-year terms granted to Lewes canalfront leaseholders

By a vote of 4-1, Lewes Mayor and City Council passed a resolution granting 99-year leases to a group of 13 canalfront property owners along Pilottown Road. The leases, which have peculiar histories, were set to expire in 2025.

“This is an opportunity for the City of Lewes to update, reform, the way we are dealing with properties here, especially leaseholds,” said Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba.

Lee Ann Wilkinson, one of the 13, discovered the checkered past and comparatively short lease terms after purchasing 354 Pilottown Road. Wilkinson organized the property owners, attended workshops, researched the history of the properties and even charted a map detailing the location of all 13 homes and the canalfront properties hooked to them. Officials used input from affected property owners, some not included in the 13 but still with questions, to research previous decisions that led to the current situation.

Saliba said the decision is not an indictment on previous councils, but aligns the canalfront lease terms with those available on Lewes Beach. Wilkinson explained at a previous workshop that an expiring lease does have an effect on a property’s value if someone is attempting to sell. Councilwoman Carolyn Jones, who joined Saliba in proposing the extended terms this summer, verified the stability and peace of mind extended terms provide a buyer and seller. Property owners will now be granted 99-year terms when renewing an existing lease and have an option to renew for an additional 99 years.

Lease payments will be based on year 2000 property values plus an additional 25%. Sussex County is expected to finish its property reassessments in summer 2024, and while Lewes has yet to decide if it will use the county’s figures, officials would like to align rates as close to current values as possible. The city reserves the right to adjust the fee if there is a change in the tax rate or property values due to a city assessment. Property improvements will be taxed at the same rate applied throughout Lewes. 

The resolution applies to all canalfront leaseholders lying between the south side of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal and the north side of Pilottown Road. There are three types of properties in the area: fee simple, leaseholds and quit claims. Officials were informed of quit-claim arrangements involving some of the properties during the workshops, leaving three to four property owners wondering about the status of their land. Saliba said the city will continue to look into the quit-claim deeds.

“These leaseholds cannot be transferred. Someone who owns property cannot sell that to a third party. We now consider these to be hooked and locked together. I just want to make that clear so that no one thinks that they can continue to live on Pilottown Road, but also sell their leasehold to someone else,” Saliba said.

Resident Kim Ayvazian worried that by passing the lease terms, officials have now given permission to property owners to continue to obstruct the viewshed.

“What you have done now is basically given a few property owners the right to put up their fences and bar people from walking anywhere around, and I just wish you had given it a little more consideration than you have done because I think it’s a loss to the citizens of Lewes. It's a gain for a few individuals, but a loss for the rest of us,” Ayvazian said.

Tom Sheridan, one of the leaseholders, joined his fellow property owners in applauding council’s decision to pass the extended lease terms. Sheridan helped Wilkinson throughout the summer, and informed officials of rules and regulations already in place regarding the management of properties along the canal. He pointed to codes regarding excessive vegetation and joined other property owners in calling for enforcement of the viewshed along the Historic Lewes Scenic Byway and Lewes Greenway. 

Councilman Tim Ritzert was the lone no vote, proposing at workshops to link the lease terms to mortgage term lengths rather than 99 years.