Donovan-Smith public hearing put on pause in Lewes

After two hours of discussion and public comment, the Lewes Planning Commission hit pause on a public hearing for an application to place dozens of new homes in the Donovan-Smith Manufactured Home Park.

The hearing began Feb. 24, but when it will actually end depends on when commissioners receive information they are requesting from the applicant, Donovan-Smith LLC, and principal owner Ken Burnham.

Commissioners were frustrated that Burnham’s application did not include wetlands or flood-plain surveys, as required by city code.

“We are looking at an incomplete application. It’s the sort of thing that, when I was a teacher, I would have said, ‘I’m sending you home to work on that again,’” said Commissioner Debra Evalds.

John Paradee, the attorney for Donovan-Smith, also admitted to what he called surveyor’s errors on the preliminary site plan. Those mistakes refer to six vacant leased areas as open space, when they are really lots where homes would be built.

There was also confusion over the exact number of lots available. The application calls for 31 new homes, but Lewes Planning and Building Manager Janelle Cornwell said that number is really 28, because there are three areas labeled as double lots.

Paradee said they do not intend to subdivide those lots.

Cornwell told Paradee she wants clarification that areas that have always been open space or are former septic fields are not turning into lots.

“Why wouldn’t they be turned into lots, if they’re just vacant and not formerly septic fields?” asked Paradee.

Burnham seemed to take issue with Paradee’s inquiry and the two briefly conferred.

Because of the errors and omissions, commission attorney Max Walton recommended the commission suspend the public hearing until a date to be determined. The hearing was left open and not adjourned. The commission also left open the public comment period.

Paradee agreed to waive the 30-day requirement for the commission to act. He did say he could probably submit a new plan with the required surveys within 30 days.

There are currently 90 occupied home sites in Donovan-Smith. The community has 1.62 acres of open space.

The homes are considered legal nonconforming. They do not comply with city code, but are grandfathered in.

Any new homes built in the community have to comply with city code for lot coverage/impervious surfaces and have two parking spaces per unit.

They would not be required to install sprinklers, as required by the city. Paradee said if they were, the cost would “torpedo the project.”

Cornwell said the state fire marshal has determined the separation between homes is sufficient enough to not require sprinklers.

Until a conditional-use application is approved, no new homes can be built in Donovan-Smith. If a home burns down or is destroyed, it cannot be replaced.

Cornwell instructed commissioners that they are considering the preliminary site plan as a whole, not by individual lots. She said approving the plan means Burnham can apply for building permits.

The city annexed Donovan-Smith in April 2022. One of its stated goals was to create another option for affordable, workforce housing.

As part of the annexation agreement, the Lewes Board of Public Works hooked up all Donovan-Smith residents to city water and sewer. They are receiving service free of charge for the next 20 years.

BPW completed that work in November. The streets in the community and part of Donovan’s Road were then repaved.

Residents are also now receiving city trash and police services. But, some residents said at the public hearing that adding more homes will set back that progress.

“Thirty-one new homes crammed into any usable space. We are citizens of Lewes. We demand a carefully thought-out plan that serves the community’s needs, not just the needs of the landlords,” said Terry Saunders, who has lived in Donovan-Smith for 16 years and has been an outspoken member of its homeowners association.

Saunders said a major concern is how new homes would impact the community’s aging electrical infrastructure.

“It is outdated, dangerous, rotten and inadequate. People have lights flickering on-off, circuits are breaking. How is that going to work for 30 new homes?” she said.

The landlord is responsible for maintaining the electrical system. Cornwell said city inspectors are at Donovan-Smith daily to look for and report any code violations.

The preliminary site plan, which was just drawn up about six months ago, shows some existing homes and sheds that are situated across property lines.

“[My home] is sticking out over somebody else’s [property],” said Sharon Ashe, whose home is on lot B-16 on the site plan. “I don’t even know where my shed is. They staked in back of my shed and it excludes two-thirds of my shed,” she said.

Ashe also said the landlord has never recalculated the cost for trash and recycling, even after the city started providing those services. She said her rent went up by about $30 last year.

Lewes resident Ric Moore said the electrical system is just one of the quality-of-life issues the city needs to address.

“This was a former dump site. It has been denied repeatedly, but I have pictures. Has it ever been cleaned up?” Moore asked. “The health and safety has never been assured. This is a risk to the entire community, not just to the people who live there. Housing should be safe and affordable, not just affordable.”

The public hearing began with a Spanish translator, but that dramatically slowed the pace of the hearing.

After a short recess, Commissioner Rich Iness, who chaired the meeting in the absence of Melanie Moser, said the panel and the attorneys had agreed to suspend the translation. The recording of the hearing will be translated as posted on the city’s website, ci.lewes.de.us, within 10 days, along with a written translation.