Agenda confusion leaves Daisey house in limbo

Darryl and Darnell Daisey have presented to the Lewes Historic Preservation Architectural Review Commission many times before.

They expected to go before the panel Oct. 9, to seek approval for construction of a new house at 111 Coleman Ave. Their 155-year-old house was demolished Aug. 15, after it was condemned by the city because of termite infestation. 

HPARC approved renovations to the historic home Feb. 1, 2024, but as the work got underway this summer, there was consensus the structure had to come down.

HPARC did not have a say in the demolition, but it does have jurisdiction over new construction in the city’s historic district.

Instead of presenting the application at the Oct. 9 meeting, members of the family found themselves caught in the crossfire of a dispute between HPARC Chair Kevin Mallinson and City Manager Ellen Lorraine McCabe over how the Daiseys’ application ended up on the meeting agenda.

Mallinson said he was never consulted when the application was added Sept. 25. 

“Our process is that the chair confirms the agenda. In this case, it was posted, taken down, and a new agenda posted one hour before it was due,” Mallinson said. “So, items not authorized will not be addressed.”

Mayor Amy Marasco said McCabe had the right to make the change.

Mallinson declared the Daiseys’ application was invalid and pulled it from the agenda, without a vote.

Commissioner Debra Evalds was the only member of the panel to express her support for hearing the application.

“People should generally present their case and give us the opportunity to vote on it,” she said.

The Daiseys then engaged in a heated discussion with Mallinson.

“This is way beyond lunacy,” Darryl Daisey said. “Is this the new Daisey Rule, an invalid application? I’ve never heard of that before, and I’ve watched these meetings for years.”

“I’m beyond angry,” Darnell Daisey said. “We followed the guidelines from the city, submitted the application in a timely manner. I’m not sure why you think we haven’t done that, other than some other kind of bias that I don’t understand.”

Frank Minor, the Daiseys’ brother-in-law and mayor of Logan Township, N.J., told the commission he’s never had anything like that happen in his community.

“I’ve been mayor for 23 years. Anytime an application, an agenda item, is put before me, and it could be five minutes before a meeting, we still hear the applicant,” Minor said.

Mallinson explained why he considered the Daiseys’ application invalid.

“The HPARC approval [in 2024] was for the renovation of an existing house. The historic structure was demolished. It no longer exists. The HPARC approval was terminated when the contributing structure was demolished,” Mallinson said.

He also said the family did not follow HPARC’s process.

“A pre-application meeting was not requested nor scheduled. It is a non-binding, collaborative effort to assist applicants and make sure they are in alignment with HPARC,” he said.

Mallinson told the Cape Gazette he now expects the Daiseys will schedule a pre-application meeting and present a new application at a future meeting.

The Daiseys said they are concerned they will not get a fair hearing at HPARC.

Commissioner Deb Hansen, who lives next door, at 109 Coleman Ave., has publicly opposed the proposed new house and a variance to the 8-foot setback requirement. The Daiseys’ house would be 2 feet from Hansen’s property line.

The Lewes Board of Adjustment granted the variance Sept. 2.

Hansen recused herself from the discussion Oct. 9, but remained in council chambers.

Mallinson said the panel will be impartial in the matter.

“We have been good about not having any interference. Deb recuses herself. Next time, maybe she should leave the room, but she should have the right to speak as a resident,” he said. “The commission is honest, hardworking and transparent. We don’t discuss applications before the meeting. That’s the way it’s supposed to work.”

At the end of the meeting, Marasco addressed the commission about the agenda dispute, calling it a communication and governance issue.

“If you delete an item from the agenda, you must vote on that item as commissioners,” she said. “Changing an item from a public agenda is a big thing. The purpose of a public agenda is to inform the public. On Sept. 25, [McCabe] communicated to council and city staff, based on legal advice, she was adding this. It’s unfortunate that an applicant got caught in this.”