City To Hold 2 Public Workshops - One on the Subdivision and Land Development Code on Nov. 23rd, Second on a New Source Water Ordinance Impacting the Floodplain On December 6th (11/20/2021)

The City’s ordinance push is continuing. This coming Tuesday, November 23rd, starting at 10:00am, the City’s Subdivision Code Subcommittee will be holding a public workshop to obtain public feedback on proposed changes to the Subdivision and Land Development Code. The workshop will be held at the Rollins Community Center. Unfortunately, the proposal to be discussed was not included in the announcement, so it’s not easy to determine what’s being considered or who is impacted.

On Monday, December 6th, the City will hold a workshop on a new Source Water Ordinance. Many were led to believe that any new proposals involving Sea Level Rise or Source Water would be deferred until after the Executive Committee on Resiliency had completed its work. When asked, City officials said the Executive Committee decided not to address the issue of Source Water, so the City is moving forward with new proposals. Reports that the new proposal only applies to major subdivisions or properties of more than 1 acre may not be accurate. Among other things, the new proposal would mandate that with development of properties in “excellent recharge areas” of 1 acre or less, “all walkways, decks, and other paved surface [sic] must be comprised of pervious materials.”

Consequently, based upon the language of the proposal, it appears that properties on Lewes Beach will be impacted. The location of “excellent recharge areas” can be found here. The 12 page proposal can be found here.