Henlopen Acres settles pickleball suit against commissioner

The Town of Henlopen Acres and Commissioner Alex Jacobs have reached a settlement on a lawsuit filed by the town against Jacobs over the installation of a pickleball court on his property.

Town Manager Anna Fagan announced the settlement during her town manager’s report at the commissioner meeting Dec. 12.

The settlement requires the Jacobses to restore the pad as closely as possible to the appearance originally approved by the town’s environmental approval committee, said Fagan, following the meeting. The pad is allowed to remain, but must be a single neutral color with no markings resembling or delineating a pickleball court, she said.

They must do this within 60 days and no later than May 1, 2026, said Fagan.

The town filed a lawsuit against Jacobs, before he was elected, and his wife Carey in June 2024. The town argued they illegally installed a pickleball court along the side of their house. The Jacobses installed an electric vehicle charging pad, but painted the pad blue and green, and striped it with white lines to play pickleball. The town argued that under the town code, only the board of adjustment is authorized to approve a recreation court. Additionally, if approved, it must be in the rear yard behind the dwelling with appropriate screening and fencing to limit the impact on neighbors.

In May, a Chancery Court magistrate issued a ruling saying there are issues of material fact that must be resolved before complete relief can be granted properly.

Jacobs was elected as a commissioner this summer, and took office in September. At the same meeting where he was sworn in, the other commissioners voted in favor of pursuing a settlement.

There’s a provision saying that within 10 days of the Jacobses resurfacing the pad, the two parties will file the necessary paperwork with the Court of Chancery to resolve the issue. 

There’s another provision in the settlement saying the town and its security staff will apply the same code enforcement policies to recreational activities at the Jacobs’ property as they apply to recreational activities on other properties throughout town. The Jacobses had argued that neighbors had basketball courts in their driveways, which are just as noisy as playing pickleball.

Mayor Tim Hidell said he’s happy the lawsuit is over. It's an amicable and neighborly solution, and it's a great way for the town to end the year, he said.

Comp plan

Town commissioners voted unanimously in favor of sending a new comprehensive development plan to the state for approval. The planning commission began the process for rewriting the town’s plan in August 2023. 

Glenn Mandalas, town solicitor, said commissioner approval was the last step in the process before the document is sent to the state for the governor’s approval. All indications are that the state will certify it, he said.

When going through this process a decade ago, the town and the Rehoboth Art League weren’t on the same page related to the zoning of the art league property. The disagreement led to delays, and the plan was ratified by the town, but not by the state.

The creation of the development plan was a much different process from last time, said Hidell. It’s been great, he said.

PFAS filters 

Henlopen Acres is one of the many local municipalities that has received an infusion of one-time funding related to a class-action lawsuit about emerging contaminants – PFAS – and the companies that knew the negative health impacts. The federal government has told municipalities that filter equipment used to remove the PFAS from the water is required to be in place by 2030.

Commissioners discussed where that equipment would be installed on the water plant property – specifically, inside the building that hides the existing water equipment or outside. Fagan said putting the new equipment inside the building would require expanding the building’s footprint.

No decisions were made, but Commissioner John Staffier said he thought the equipment should probably be in the building. The outdoor solution isn’t likely to be well received, he said.

Fagan said there was a non-treatment option included, taking all the town’s shallow-water wells – about 40 feet in depth – offline and using only the town’s one deep-water well, which is about 120 feet deep.

Fagan said the deep well is far below the contaminates and has the ability to serve the town all year, except for the time around July 4.

Sandy Bottoms action

The town has officially begun pursuing a quiet title action for a 1.23-acre parcel of uplands located along Sandy Bottoms lagoon, which is critical for the town’s stormwater management.

The town has always maintained the parcel, but it appears it was never officially deeded to the town after the town was built out by Col. Wilbur S. Corkran.

A hearing has been scheduled for this case at 1:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 15, in the Court of Chancery, Sussex County Courthouse, 34 The Green, Georgetown. Respondents and any other interested persons who wish to be heard must respond in writing no later than Tuesday, Jan. 13, to the court.