Glade property owners oppose Epworth land swap proposal

Officials from Epworth United Methodist Church and from the state are discussing a proposed land exchange that would pave the way for a new Epworth cemetery.

It's a deal residents of the Glade development would prefer to see dead and buried.

The proposed land exchange would see Epworth give up half the land it owns at the Rehoboth Little League fields in exchange for state lands at the curve of Holland Glade Road that leads to the Glade development. That land would then be used for the new cemetery. Meanwhile, the state would control all the land of the Little League fields, which Epworth currently leases to the  Rehoboth Little League.

Jim Wigand, property owner in the Glade, said there has been no formal public process or transparency in determining the fate of land that is public open space. Wigand also wondered what the public benefit was to exchanging 7 acres of state-owned open space for a little more than 5 acres of land at the ball fields.

In a draft letter to DNREC Secretary David Small, the Glade Property Owners Association opposed the land swap on the grounds that the proposed cemetery would be near the entrance to the Glade and have a negative effect on property values.

Wigand also raises concern about safety because of the increase in traffic on a narrow strip of Holland Glade Road where the cemetery entrance would be. Funeral processions could impede access to the Glade for residents, visitors and emergency vehicles, he said.

Wigand suggested three alternatives:

• Allow Epworth and Rehoboth Little League to negotiate a continued lease of the property
• Share the ball fields between the Cape Henlopen School District and Rehoboth Little League at Beacon Middle School
• Have the state purchase the ball fields from Epworth, with Epworth using the proceeds to buy land for the new cemetery.

Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, and Sen. Ernie Lopez, R-Lewes, said residents of the Glade have been misinformed. They said legislation has not been drawn up to push the measure through the General Assembly, as residents of the Glade believe; Schwartzkopf said at this point, the location for the proposed cemetery has not even been decided. He said certain residents of the Glade have instilled fear into people and everyone is reacting to it. In addition to an act of the General Assembly, Schwartzkopf said, the state’s Open Space Council must also approve the measure.

Susan Jimenez, treasurer of Epworth, said the church has no official comment and the proposal is in negotiations with the state.

In a statement, Small said DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation was approached about trying to assist Epworth in its desire to locate a cemetery near the church. As a result, Delaware State Parks and Epworth Church are in discussions regarding the possibility of a land exchange along Holland Glade Road.

"These discussions are taking into consideration any potential environmental impacts from such actions, while also trying to maintain a viable location for the Rehoboth Little League," Small said.  "A land exchange might take place if a suitable site for a cemetery is located in exchange for the half of the Rehoboth Little League complex currently owned by Epworth Church. Any such exchange would be based on appraised value of the lands and on recommendations from the state of Delaware’s Open Space Council."

In 1988, Epworth purchased 15 acres of land on Holland Glade Road for possible expansion. In the early 1990s, part of that land was leased to the Rehoboth Little League for the baseball fields, which abut state-owned land that is part of Cape Henlopen State Park. In 2009, Epworth left its downtown Rehoboth Beach home for a new church on Holland Glade Road.

The church has said Epworth cemetery, located on Henlopen Avenue in Rehoboth, is nearly full. Epworth wants to have the cemetery closer to its church, so the discussion turned to swapping the land at the baseball fields – around 5 acres – for a similar-sized parcel owned by DNREC in front of the church.

In a presentation to the Glade Property Owners Association, the church said it had explored alternative locations, including the wooded area around the church and land at the Rehoboth aquifer, and been denied. Lopez said the location near the Rehoboth aquifer was denied because DNREC did not want to risk contamination from arsenic and other chemicals used in burials to get into the groundwater.

Residents at the Glade raised the point that the proposed site would be nearly a mile away from the church.

“While the ideal location would be across or adjacent to the church, those two possibilities, after examination, are unable to transpire,” Lopez said. “This is what has brought us to the current location, which is on the high ground with good drainage, on state land.”

Wigand said part of the swap proposal involves a small strip of land behind Tanger Seaside Outlets. This land, he said, would create a valuable assembly of land that could be converted from open space to commercial or residential use. However, Schwartzkopf said the land would be deed restricted, just like the Little League fields are, and cannot be used for any development other than athletic facilities or a cemetery.

Schwartzkopf said the biggest gain for the state is that now all the Little League fields would be state-owned open space.

“These are ball fields that are used by hundreds of local children and their families each year, and under state ownership can be enhanced not only to continue to serve the Little League, but local taxpayers and residents, who have a lack of publicly accessible ball fields and other recreational facilities in eastern Sussex County,” Lopez said.