Acres begins comprehensive development plan process
Story Location:
Henlopen Acres Town Hall
104 Tidewaters
Henlopen Acres, DE 19971
United States
Henlopen Acres has begun the process of developing a new comprehensive development plan.
The state requires all municipalities to go through a rewrite of their comprehensive plan every 10 years. After the town finishes the plan, it is submitted to the state, which then vets the plan through Preliminary Land Use Service review. Once state approval is given, the comprehensive plan becomes enforceable under law.
During a meeting Feb. 1, Mayor Joni Reich said the planning commission recommended the hiring of consultant Wallace Montgomery to assist the town through the CDP process.
Wallace Montgomery is a Maryland-based engineering consulting firm with locations in Newark and Dover. The company guided Rehoboth Beach through its comprehensive development plan process a few years ago.
Looking forward, the planning commission has not set its next meeting date, said Reich. They are waiting for town commissioners to make a decision on approving the consulting arrangement, she said, adding that decision is expected to take place at the next town commissioner meeting Friday, March 8.
The budget for the comprehensive plan update will also be determined at the March meeting, said Reich.
Once the approval is given from town commissioners, the planning commission will be clarifying with the state the official due date, said Reich. Town commissioners approved the current plan July 10, 2015, and then reaffirmed their approval after the state review process March 4, 2016, she said.
For the most part, Henlopen Acres’ current comprehensive development plan was approved without much issue, but a request by the Rehoboth Art League to rezone its land got state officials involved and added time to the approval process.
Art league officials asked the town for a new cultural zoning classification. Town officials pushed back on the request, insisting the zoning stay residential. Ultimately, the town got what it wanted, the current plan was approved and there was no change in the zoning for the RAL property.
Reich said she doesn't know what RAL’s position is on the rezoning issue. However, she said, she will be meeting with RAL officials soon to discuss the issue with them.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
