Lewes to tackle right-of-way encroachment April 9

When the weather turns warm and tourists flock to the beach, the streets of Lewes Beach are clogged with cars. 

With only limited parking available at the city’s two public beach parking lots, the search for an open spot often moves to the narrow streets between Cedar Street and Bay Avenue out to Roosevelt Inlet.

Each street has a 50-foot right of way, but the pavement is much narrower, sometimes only 12 feet. Over the years, property owners have taken over city-owned right of way and extended their landscaping, hardscaping and other amenities closer to the roadway. The result is a very narrow path for vehicles to pass through, especially with cars parked on both sides. 

To solve the short-term problem, council unanimously passed a proposal March 21 to limit parking on Indiana, Iowa and Missouri avenues to one side. 

Councilman Dennis Reardon proposed the idea after receiving complaints from his neighbors. 

“People who live on Bay Avenue can’t go up the street to get to their house,” he said. 

Council took similar action in 2014, limiting parking to one side of Vermont, New Hampshire, Ohio and Oregon avenues. 

Councilman Rob Morgan found the idea of eliminating parking ironic.

“The beach is becoming more popular, so we’re closing more streets to parking,” he said. “We need to take into consideration the need for Lewes to be welcoming. Because of the congestion, we are increasingly becoming inhospitable.”

Stephanie Tsantes, a 24-year Lewes resident who visits friends on Lewes Beach throughout the summer, suggested that limiting parking was just a ploy to limit who could use the beach.

She said the property owners and renters of Lewes Beach homes have become very aggressive in their attempts to keep people away. 

“People have thrown raspberry jelly on people’s cars to bake in the sun while they go and use and enjoy the beach,” she said. “People come out and say don’t park in front of their property because they have people coming to town as if they own the street. That’s just not right.” 

She urged council to do something about the encroachment issues on the street to ensure there is adequate public parking for beachgoers. 

“You are the custodians of this land,” she told council. “It’s not just for the summer people who can afford to lease a fancy property on the beach. It’s for all the people of Lewes to use.”

Council is expected to dive into the issue at its Monday, April 9 regular meeting. 

Mayor Ted Becker said the challenge for Lewes Beach properties is that there are no defined curbs to limit property owners from taking over the right of way.

He said fixing the problem will not be easy, but it’s worthy and well overdue. 

“This requires a comprehensive approach,” he said. “In some ways, it’s a self-created problem. There are significant encroachments throughout the city. There is a happy medium here we have to look for.”