Lewes surveying beach streets

A survey of most Lewes Beach streets is underway to clarify the public right of way on all streets between Cedar Street and Bay Avenue. 

Mayor and city council budgeted $15,100 for the project earlier this year following a recommendation from the beach parking ad hoc committee. 

“We don’t really know where the public property ends and private property starts,” said Deputy Mayor Fred Beaufait, who chaired the ad hoc committee.

There are several streets where city officials say homeowners have placed items, planted shrubs and trees, or built fences in the public right of way. Complicating matters, Beaufait said, is that the right of way for every street is different, and rarely is the paved street down the center of the right of way.

This issue was brought to light during meetings about parking at the beach last fall. Beaufait said the city has an obligation to provide parking to the residents of Sussex County, as outlined in the Warner Grant, which dates back to 1682. The city became a trustee of the land in 1857, and the general assembly passed legislation in 1979 to better define the grant’s land boundaries.

City Manager Ann Marie Townshend said the city has contracted Atlantic Surveying and Mapping LLC of Harbeson. The company will work on the state-named streets between Cedar Street and Bay Avenue from Roosevelt Inlet to Savannah Road.

If city officials want to include the town-named streets between Cedar Street and the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal, she said, the city will incur an additional cost.

“We think there might be some benefit to that, especially as we are looking at the whole street inventory,” she said. “It gives us better data.”

Councilman Dennis Reardon, who served on the beach parking committee, said the goal of the survey is to gather accurate information.

“Our recommendation was to get this survey done so we can take a good, hard look at the encroachments,” he said. “Then we’ll know what we’re talking about instead of trying to make guesses.”

Townshend said crews will place wooden stakes in the ground to show true property boundaries. The information will also be recorded electronically, making it available to GIS programs later.

“We can look at it in conjunction with aerial photography,” she said. “It doesn’t line up exactly, but it’s close. There shouldn’t be any surprises.”

Atlantic Surveying and Mapping also surveyed prior to the city’s Bay Avenue road project, completed in 2012. Townshend said data from both surveys can be combined to provide a clear picture of property lines on Lewes Beach.

Resident Nick Carter questioned the purpose of the project. Once all the data is collected, he said, the result could be a nightmare for the city.

“There’s an old saying, ‘Let the sleeping dog lie,’” he said. “If we start putting stakes up and down Lewes Beach … you’re going to find there’s a lot of encroachment. I’m not sure what the end result is. What does the city plan to do?”

Beaufait said the goal isn’t to disrupt. At this point, he said, they’re trying to determine the extent of the problem. However, he said, the city will take action if necessary.

“We’re going to be reasonable,” he said. “We recognize there are some encroachments where people have put stones out that can be removed easily. We also recognize that if you have a 25-foot tree that you planted, it doesn’t make much sense to remove the tree.”

Resident Chip Davis cautioned council about handling encroachments on a case-by-case basis.

“If you pick and choose how you’re going to do it, you’re going to have a legal nightmare,” he said. “You need to establish it, and be consistent and fair.”