Henlopen Acres commissioners to review draft of new CDP

After about 17 months of work, the Henlopen Acres Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor of handing off a draft of the town’s new comprehensive development plan to town commissioners, who are expected to get their first review of the document during a meeting Friday, Dec. 13.

During a meeting Dec. 7, planning commission Chair Lee Raesly said the document is in a great place and there’s a lot of interesting history included.

“It’s a great read,” he said.

The planning commission began the process in August 2023. In February, the town hired consultant Lauren Good, of the Maryland-based firm Wallace Montgomery, to help. Good now works for another consulting firm, KCI Technologies, but continued to work for the town. Good helped Rehoboth Beach with its CDP a few years ago.

The favorable vote came during a meeting that lasted less than a half-hour. The only real discussion point was the status of the Rehoboth Art League. When the town went through this process a decade ago, the town and the RAL weren’t on the same page related to zoning. The disagreement led to delays in approval, but ultimately the plan was ratified by the town.

Mayor Joni Reich was in attendance at the recent meeting. She said the relationship between the town and the art league is in a totally different place. The two are on the same page and want to be good neighbors with each other, she said.

In addition to forwarding the draft to commissioners, the planning commission laid out the expected timeline to completion. Raesly said a public notice will be issued for a public hearing that’s scheduled for Friday, Jan. 24, with a plan to resubmit the plan to commissioners by Friday, March 14, that includes any changes from the commissioners and public. From there, he said, the plan will be submitted to the state for review in April. The town will hold a meeting in June to incorporate any recommendations from the state before submitting the document for final approval in July.

There’s enough wiggle room left in there to make changes if needed, said Raesly.

The state requires all municipalities to go through a rewrite of their comprehensive plan every 10 years. After the town finishes the plan, it is submitted to the state, which then vets the plan through the Preliminary Land Use Service review. Once state approval is given, the comprehensive plan becomes enforceable under law.

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to show that the planning commission has been working on the new CDP for 17 months, beginning August 2023. Also, the story has been updated to reflect that the consultant the town hired has changed companies, but still works for the town.