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City work on Lewes Beach needs to be scrutinized

April 10, 2020

Some taxpayers of the Lewes Beach neighborhood recently received emailed notifications from the City of Lewes informing them that survey crews would be continuing to delineate property lines and improvements to those properties on Lewes Beach.  The emails instructed citizens to not interact with the surveyors as per CDC guidelines during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The reason the city is performing survey work which is costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars is to realign the roadways in order to provide hundreds of additional parking spots. The city desires to add these parking spots in an effort to encourage and recruit additional visitors with their automobiles to the beach and bay area fronting the Lewes Beach community. 

I have had the opportunity to address the city council along with several of my neighbors regarding this ill-conceived effort. It appears that the proposal is being spearheaded by Councilmen Reardon and Beaufait. They have confirmed that there is no plan to address the consequences of this effort. They have no vision or plan for public services which will be required to accommodate the influx of additional visitors.

There will be no restrooms, additional refuse bins, showers, or other services provided.  This is planned at the same time as the city, working with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources, has installed fencing to severely limit the area of the beach which can be used for recreation. 

The City of Lewes currently owns dozens of acres of clear lands on Lewes Beach which could be used for parking if this half-baked idea is slammed through. There is even a city-owned lot next to Councilman Reardon’s home which should easily accommodate eight to 10 parking spots. There is no need to realign roadways in our community and bulldoze yards which have been in place for decades. 

For every action there is a reaction. There are no public services on Lewes Beach and the city has put forth no proposal to provide them. Land-use decisions when implemented typically remain in place for lifetimes. The city council has no plan other than to uproot hundreds of families’ lives, destroy the beauty of our homes, and bring in thousands of visitors with no infrastructure or services to support them.

This will be a disaster. As Benjamin Franklin was quoted, “Failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Lewes should first explain why they plan on bulldozing our community and then let us know what the plan is. 

Mark G. Schaeffer
Lewes

 

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