Dedicated street parking permitted for Lewes Beach home
Lewes Mayor and City Council have granted a private on-street parking space for the owner of 12 Kentucky Ave.
For a number of reasons, there are properties in Lewes that do not have off-street parking, and if a resident lives in one of these homes and experiences difficulty when walking, they may apply for dedicated on-street parking. People without personal hardships may also apply.
Residents struggling to find parking within what they believe is an acceptable distance from their homes are starting make requests. Anyone seeking such spaces is required to fill out an application, detailing why a parking space cannot be created on their property. The owner of 12 Kentucky Ave. recently applied for a space. Residents may apply for up to two. The adjacent neighbor at 14 Kentucky Ave. was recently granted permission to have two spaces in front of their home.
Councilwoman Carolyn Jones said she believes the property owner, who is in her 80s, met the requirements needed for granting permission to such a request. Jones said the applicant needed to exhibit personal hardship or health-based reasons for needing the dedicated spot. Councilman Khalil Saliba, who was the acting chair because Mayor Andrew Williams recuses himself during issues involving off-street parking, informed Jones that when they passed legislation to allow for dedicated parking, physical and personal hardships were not included as a prerequisite.
Saliba said the process was based on the hardships the property presents to parking. Applicants only need to prove that there is no way for them to add or utilize their property for parking. Jones did not want to contradict legislation that was already on the books, but did add a review qualification that Councilwoman Candace Vessella included in her motion to grant dedicated parking to the applicant. The space is assigned to the property; no license numbers are submitted nor are there permits given to the homeowner, and the city installs signage to indicate only authorized parking in front of the applicant’s home. Saliba suggested giving accepted homeowners hanging tags to avoid unnecessary ticketing and other confusion. Council members believe the review will be a critical component to the application process moving forward, because situations can change and this provides them with the flexibility to assess those changes.
Councilman Tim Ritzert emphasized the fact that council can grant fewer than two spaces. He referenced the two spots were already on the street, making this a third on a narrow street, and said he believed the review would be a very useful tool.
Lewes resident Kim Ayvazian expressed concerns about the city’s approach because she believes it is not universally applicable throughout Lewes. The Lewes Historic District, like Lewes Beach, has several homes without off-street parking. Ayvazian said some property owners, or previous owners, consciously made a decision to eliminate parking from their property.
“There are a lot of houses who maybe once had a grass driveway ... but they've made gardens,” Ayvazian said.
Ayvazian worries that if the city grants dedicated parking to residents without sufficient reasons, future problems could arise. Visitors may struggle to find parking when visiting the Lewes Historic District or Lewes Beach, while people who have good reasons for the spots may not be able to obtain one. She said she doesn’t believe the city will be able to fit every resident who wants a parking spot while continuing to facilitate the growing number of guests coming into town.
City Manager Ann Marie Townshend said the parking program currently in place is just an interim measure that was developed following several meetings about parking earlier in the year. Townshend said they received hundreds of comments from the public about parking, which they just recently finished categorizing. Officials will continue to work on those lists once the summer season is over in an effort to produce a permanent solution to the parking problem. Lewes previously had three separate committees, one focusing on downtown and two on Lewes Beach.
Groundcover
The City of Lewes is seeking feedback regarding what groundcover is appropriate for the three types of right-of-way contexts – the strip between the sidewalk and curb, adjacent to the curb where there is no sidewalk, and where there is neither curb or sidewalk. Discussions about acceptable groundcover have taken place during the last few mayor and city council public workshops. In certain situations, some groundcover has inhibited the ability to park. Mayor and city council would not comment on whether modifying the groundcover to allow for parking would be considered with future dedicated parking applicants, but they said they will continue their discussion on groundcover at the Thursday, July 28 workshop. Officials would like to hear from property owners and residents because property owners are responsible for maintaining the right-of-way adjacent to their private properties. Feedback can be submitted at ci.lewes.de.us.
