Community Planning Committee
Minutes, 21 January 2009
Present: Ron Meick, Danny Schweers, Ray Seigfried, and Sally Sharpe. Absent: Terry Colgan and Michael Falstad. Also in attendance were Shelly Robyn and Denis O'Regan.
Ray Seigfried called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. at the Buzz Ware Village Center.
Community Gardens
Shelley Robyn presented a plan for ten community garden plots. There is an area 54'x30' on Sherwood Green, just northwest of the Buzz Ware Village Center, surrounded by chain link fence that gets lots of sun. Formerly a day-school playground area, part of this area is to be turned into ten 8.75'x13.75' organic garden plots during the first year of the program. If the program is successful, a proposal may be made to convert the rest of the area, which is now covered with playground chips, to garden plots. Participants, awarded plots on a first-come basis, would pay an estimated $25/season for each garden plot, this money to be managed by the Buzz Ware Village Center, which would provide the water and hoses, as well as tilling and other charges out of the fees. Ron Meick suggested catching rainwater from The Buzz for irrigation. This committee unanimously approved the proposal. Shelley will present this proposal, which has also been approved by the Civic and Buzz Ware Committees, at Monday's Town Meeting.
Intersection Improvements
Danny Schweers, representing neighbors at the intersection of Harvey and Orleans, propose three simple improvements to the intersection to cut down on accidents there (eight in the fall of 2008). Danny will bring a proposal back to the committee after getting further input from neighbors, the Civic and Safety Committee, and perhaps the state and fire departments as well. Easy improvements contemplated are to change the traffic light to a flashing red light in all directions from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. and to add chevrons the full length of the curve. Also contemplated is an arts-and-crafts guardrail along Harvey Road in front of the Morrison leasehold.
Additional Domicile Units
Ray Seigfried distributed the final list of proposed ADUs for all three villages. Once approved by New Castle County, the hope is that the County will notify each leaseholder of the approval, send a letter to the trustees of each village confirming the ADU status of all the leaseholds, and include the ADU approval on the entries in the county's tax parcel database.
Instant Ticketing: Public Meeting February 18, 7:00 p.m.
The next meeting of the Community Planning Committee will be a public meeting to discuss the issue of instant ticketing by New Castle County of landscaping violations. This issue was brought before last Town Meeting, where it was suggested that Arden opt-out of this process. At the same time, some feared that Arden would then have to enforce all County landscaping codes, some of which are wanted.
Nominees for Community Planning Committee
Sally Sharpe, Ray Seigfried and Ron Meick are willing to run again in March. Sally will ask Terry Colgan if she is willing to run again. In all, six nominees are needed by Monday's meeting.
We adjourned at 8:41 p.m. The next meeting will be the public meeting on February 18 at 7:00 p.m.
