Fourth Street Preserve plan moves forward in Lewes

The future of the Fourth Street Preserve in Lewes moved forward with mayor and city council’s acceptance of a conservation easement.

The panel voted unanimously for the easement Aug. 5, which sets guidelines and qualifications for what can and cannot happen on the property.

“It’s such an important piece. You get to this stage, you say, ‘It’s all done,’”  said Mayor Amy Marasco.

Marasco said the public will not see any change to the preserve in the near future.

The city has already approved the conceptual plan for the 30-acre preserve, which includes walking trails, a constructed wetland and forests.

“This is a habitat preserve with very minor infiltration of people,” said Jim Ford at a July 28 public hearing. Ford is the former Lewes mayor who led the Greater Lewes Foundation’s campaign to raise $8 million to buy the property. Ford received a standing ovation for his leadership at the Aug. 5 meeting.

The agreement with the current owners, the Rollins Family Trust, calls for no structures, parking lots or restrooms to ever be built on the land.

Rodney Robinson, the landscape architect who made the conceptual plan, said it will take 10 years for the preserve to become a full-fledged forest.

Mike Rawl, GLF executive director, said the project will cost an estimated $825,000. He estimated planting and maintenance will cost $35,000 per year.

Rawl said GLF hopes to wrap up fundraising by 2028.

Mayor and city council is setting up an ad hoc subcommittee that will work with the state on a final master plan for a period of one year. It will be led by Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba.

The subcommittee will report to the new Lewes Resiliency Committee, which will be set up in September.

The city is expected to make settlement and take ownership of the Fourth Street Preserve by Monday, Sept. 15.

Ford said there will be a huge Arbor Day celebration during the first week of May next year.

Delaware Lt. Gov. Kyle Evans Gay toured the Fourth Street Preserve and the Cedar Street floodgate project July 30.

Both projects are in line to receive money from the new Lewes Resiliency Fund.

Evans Gay said Lewes is already an innovator for the rest of the state.

“I want to make sure, where we see successes here, that we encourage other municipalities to look to see how they might approach climate change,” she said. “Our state is going to have to keep an eye out as we create our own plans to be resilient and support local resiliency plans.”