We have concerns and questions about the Fisher’s Cove settlement agreement and general release recently signed by the Lewes Mayor and City Council. Even though the agreement is signed by the city and a representative of the developer, Burke & Rutecki LLC, it cannot be considered a final agreement until approvals and signatures are obtained from different levels of the State of Delaware's court system.
Citizens and taxpayers of Lewes have a right to know what happened that required the matter to be settled so quickly and behind closed doors. How and when will the mayor and city council explain their actions to us? More specifically:
1. The reversal of the MCC's Oct. 14 decision to deny approval of the Fisher’s Cove preliminary application came as an absolute surprise. The lack of transparency, given the importance of the Fisher’s Cove development to so many of us, is troubling in that it raises questions about the governance of our town.
2. The agreement appears to do more than approve the developer's application for preliminary consent. Unless the agreement is challenged in a judicial proceeding, it will authorize final approval and grant variances without requiring the developer to follow codified procedures embodied in city code and ordinances. Why was this free pass awarded to this developer? Has this action by the city established precedent?
3. The city has agreed to pay the developer $500,000, to purchase a lot in Fisher’s Cove. How will this purchase benefit the city? What is the planned long-term use of this property? This is $500,000 that had not been allocated in the city budget. It remains unclear in which fiscal year the payment will be made, how much of this cost will be paid through insurance claims and how much will be borne by the city. The same is true for the additional $100,000 that the city has agreed to potentially pay: Up to $40,000 to the developer for the cost of a construction entrance and $60,000 more toward the purchase of an access easement. The actual amount is uncertain as it will depend upon whether the developer succeeds in obtaining an alternative to Rodney Avenue as the construction access point. Why the city is paying for this?
4. Potential flooding of neighboring homes still exists. The stormwater management system previously deemed unacceptable now has been deemed acceptable in the agreement. Stormwater management was a continuing problem in the preliminary application, with little attention paid to sea-level rise and other factors. We do not know whether any improvements were made to Fisher’s Cove's stormwater management plan. How will the city handle anticipated flooding? Requiring the Fisher’s Cove homeowners' association to retain a professional to oversee long-term maintenance and repairs of the development's stormwater management system and provide reports to the city leaves neighboring homeowners without any protection.
Another report and we still are left to wonder what will happen if there is flooding. The city must have a contingency plan for paying the costs of repairs to Fisher’s Cove’s stormwater management system and the costs of repairing damages to homes in neighboring communities. Current city codes are of little, if any, help in requiring the types of actions this developer should take to prevent anticipated flooding. The city has yet to pass ordinances that adequately address the effects of climate change on this coastal town. Homes on Rodney Avenue, Hoornkill Avenue and Pilottown Road remain vulnerable in this current situation. How will Lewes protect its established communities from flooding and the related decrease in property values?
The Lewes City Manager recently informed us that the agreement will not be posted on the city's website. If you want a copy of the document, contact City Manager Ann Marie Townshend at atownshend@ci.lewes.de.us or email us at RodneyHoornkillandFriends@gmail.com.
If you are concerned and have questions of your own about the agreement, we encourage you to share them with the Lewes Mayor and City Council and the Cape Gazette.
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