Rehoboth Art League looking to pave dirt parking lot

Looking to improve stormwater drainage and the overall functionality of the property, the Rehoboth Art League is pursuing a plan to pave its dirt parking lot.

Board of trustees member Phil Tobey and Executive Director Sara Ganter presented a preliminary review of the plan Oct. 23 to the Henlopen Acres Environmental Approval Committee. 

The existing parking lot slopes all the water into the area of the Corkran Gallery at the bottom of the hill, said Tobey. Additionally, he said, the dirt parking lot has no structure.

“It’s like the Wild West out there,” said Tobey.

Tobey estimated there would be between 45 and 50 spots if the lot is paved. The lot would be regraded, with a new drainage system installed under the parking lot, he said, adding that the entrance and exit would not change.

As presented, the parking spots would be delineated by bricks, said Tobey. There would also be a brick pathway for people to follow from the parking lot, he said.

Tobey said RAL has explored five options – keeping the same, concrete, pervious concrete, asphalt and pervious asphalt. The preference is regular concrete, he said, adding the estimated cost would be about $650,000.

The major challenge right now is getting the money and making the change without harming the property’s charm, said Tobey.

“Part of the charm of the place is the charm of the place,” said Tobey.

Paving the parking lot is the second phase of a three-phase plan for improvements to the property. The first phase was an improvement to the children’s area, while the third phase will be improvements around the Corkran Gallery.

Pointing to the completion of the first phase of changes, Ganter said she hopes the committee and town think those changes are in character with the property and the town. There’s an understanding that no one wants a paved parking lot that looks like a Walmart, but major improvements can stay in character, she said.

Looking forward, Tobey said the goal is to be back in the next few months to get approval, with an eye toward construction around this time next year. Timing will be key, because it’s likely to be disruptive, he said.

The committee had a brief discussion after the RAL presentation. Among the issues the committee raised were aesthetics, how changes in stormwater drainage on the RAL property would affect stormwater drainage on nearby town property and overall square footage of the current lot compared to the new lot.

In addition to construction-related concerns, there was a discussion about how the town would work with RAL on the project without the relationship souring through the process like it did 10 years ago when RAL requested a rezoning of the property from residential to cultural. The town pushed back on the rezoning request, and ultimately won out, but not before the process turned acrimonious.

The town needs to be prepared for people to be up in arms about this proposal, said Town Manager Anna Fagan, and it doesn’t want what happened 10 years ago to happen again.

At the very least, said Mayor Tim Hidell, all the surrounding property owners should be notified so they can participate when the plan comes back for approval. A joint letter to property owners from the town and RAL may also be appropriate, he said.

There was no time set for when the project would be back before Henlopen Acres officials.