Lewes to hold environmental listening sessions June 8, 9, 10

Lewes residents will have three opportunities to voice their opinions on how environmental issues are addressed in the future, with listening sessions scheduled for Tuesday to Thursday, June 8 to 10.

City officials are working with the Resilient Community Partnership to address the city’s environmental challenges as a coastal community.

City Manager Ann Marie Townshend said Lewes was selected because it had been very active recently in trying to develop ordinances to address sea-level rise and protection of source water. Action on those ordinances has been delayed until the city collects more information, including public input from the listening sessions.

“The information received through this process will inform the next phases of the process, including a committee that will be appointed to work toward solutions,” Townshend said. “There will be a summary document, and if there are questions, we will work to gather the information to answer them in the summary document.”

The first session will be held from noon to 1:15 p.m., Tuesday, June 8; the second will be from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m., Wednesday, June 9; and the third will be from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m., Thursday, June 10. Links to the meetings can be found on agendas at lewes.civicweb.net.

Each meeting will follow the same format, so residents need only attend one. The meetings will not be posted on the city’s YouTube channel, and no other listening sessions are planned.

Townshend said the listening sessions are not specifically about the city’s proposed ordinances, but they are related.

“After listening to the public hearing on the sea-level rise ordinance, we determined that we need to take a step back and listen to the public so that we can develop a consensus on defining the problem,” she said. “The listening sessions will provide an opportunity for the people of Lewes to share their perspectives as they relate to the environmental challenges we face as a coastal community.”

The Resilient Community Partnership comprises Delaware Coastal Programs and the University of Delaware Institute for Public Administration.