Georgetown OKs cottage housing rules
Georgetown Town Council voted Dec. 8 to amend a local law to allow development of clusters of small houses known as cottage housing, helping clear the way for a vote on the first projects under the new law.
Council voted 4-1 to amend rules for the Urban Residential District to allow cottage housing development, setting design considerations and setbacks. Town council member Penuel Barrett voted in opposition.
The town planning commission had earlier supported the change in housing rules but voted unanimously against a zoning variance Little Living LLC seeks to build workforce housing at 501 and 503 East Market St. under the new ordinance.
Little Living and the Fuller Center for Housing of Delaware had asked Georgetown officials in February if they could build a small-house community, but the town had no rules for this type of development.
The groups want to build homes on a 1-acre site on Market Street across from Parsons Lane.
Town council also held a public hearing Dec. 8 on Little Living’s request to amend the comprehensive zoning map for the site from commercial to single-family residential, and to change the official zoning map from highway commercial to urban residential.
A first reading of the proposed ordinances to change the zoning maps for Little Living is set for Monday, Jan. 12, and the second Monday, Jan. 26. Council can then vote on the changes, Town Manager Gene Dvornick said Dec. 16.
Controversy has swirled around the cottage housing rules and the Little Living project, and large crowds have attended recent meetings because some see those efforts as linked to the growing homelessness issue in town.
Springboard Delaware, which operates Pallet Village, a group of small residences for homeless people in Georgetown, wants to develop a cottage community on a 14-acre parcel off Sand Hill Road. It was also awaiting approval of the cottage housing ordinance.
Little Living officials said its development is designed for people who have jobs but can’t afford to pay typical rents.
People who move on from Pallet Village residences to the proposed cottage housing would have jobs, but some will receive government housing vouchers to help pay rent.
Cottage housing developments are one option for affordable rental and affordable ownership, Dvornick has said. Cottage housing is typically intended for people who have jobs but can’t afford local rents, he said.
Some residents have urged the town to pursue commercial development of the properties where Little Living wants to build. The site was once home of a Valero gas station and the Chicken Shack but has been vacant for more than 20 years, indicating no interest in that option, Dvornick said.
Some residents have expressed opposition to the cottage housing ordinance as a way to block the Little Living project. They see the plan as a potential expansion of services for the growing number of homeless people living in town.
Before the vote on the cottage housing rules, town leaders addressed the public opposition and tried to ease tensions.
“I hate the lies being posted on social media,” Mayor Bill West said, referencing accusations that he and Dvornick had been involved in backdoor dealing concerning the Little Living project. He denied the allegations.
Some residents also questioned whether a $350,000 grant obtained by the developer proved the project would be guaranteed approval. Little Living officials said the grant from DuPont will only be released if the project is approved by the town, and that has not yet been decided by the town.
Dvornick said Dec. 16 any project proposed under the cottage housing rules will be subject to the usual local and state reviews and approvals.
“No matter how this vote comes out tonight, we’re going to have to learn to respect one another,” board member Tony Neal said Dec. 8. “That’s the bottom line … Somebody’s got to give somebody a chance.”
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
