This is the official government website of the Village of Arden, Delaware.
We are a utopian, single-tax community noted for its arts, crafts, and theater, with a town-meeting form of government, a place where homeowners lease their land from a trust, and where half the land is forests and greens. Founded in 1900, the village is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Village Emails
Click here to subscribe to the emails occasionally sent out by the Chair of the Town Assembly.
Office Hours
2nd Wednesdays,
7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
and
4th Wednesdays,
8:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Buzz Ware Village Center
2119 The Highway
Arden, DE 19810
Next Regular Town Meeting: Monday, June 24, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. at Gild Hall.
Read what went on at recent Town Meetings, including January, 2013.
2010 Energy Audits:
Arden Library On-Line Catalog
Alton Dahl, with help from his son, Erik, and from Larry Strange, have succeeded in creating an on-line catalog for the Arden Library. Give it a try! Thousands of titles have been cataloged! You will be able to search by author, title, subject, etc. and in many cases see the covers.
Instructions: Click here to enter the library catalog. Then click on the "Guest Account" button and then on the "Login" button. There is no need to enter an Account Name or Password. If you have problems, please contact Alton Dahl.
Permits, Reservations, Forms
Right of Way Permits
(required of all those working on Village of Arden rights of way, including county workers and utility companies).
Reserve a Room at the Buzz Ware Village Center
Reserve the Field Theater, Sherwood Green, Arden Green, or Indian Circle
Reserve Gild Hall (The Arden Club is a separate entity from the Village of Arden.)
Arden Vacant Property Registration and Fees.
Meeting Times?
Village Finances, Vouchers
Buzz Ware Village Center:
Election Results, March, 2013
- Election Results for Officers and Committee Members in the Village of Arden
- Updated List of Committee Members
New Buzz Committee Meeting Times
The Buzz Ware Committee now meets 3rd Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. at The Buzz.
POSTPONED: Joint Forest and Civic meeting at entrance to 2409 Woodland Lane.
The agenda will be to set the points for with the surveyor for the right-of-way, the property line, and the proposed turn-around area for the new garage.
Called Town Meeting
If an agreement is reached between the leaseholder at 2409 Woodland Lane, the Forest and Civic Committees, and the Arden Trustees, then a Called Town Meeting will be held for all residents to approve or disapprove the agreement. According to the village's charter, (Section 5b) "Special meetings of the Town Assembly shall be called by the Secretary of the Town Assembly upon the written request of 25 residents, provided that such request shall state the purpose for calling such meeting, which purpose shall be set forth in the notice of such meeting. ... Notice of the time, date and place of any special meeting of the Town Assembly shall be mailed to all residents at least 5 days before the date thereof." Click here to see the Village of Arden charter.
Three Motions Passed at March Town Meeting concerning 2409 Woodland Lane
- Jeff Politis: The village requests the county impose a cease and desist order on the leasehold at 2409 Woodland Lane until such time as plan can be approved by town assembly.
- Jeff Stein: The village will explore the purchase of the lease currently held by Mr. Robert Wynn and his son, Kenneth Wynn (2409 Woodland Lane). The purchase would be made with funds from the bequest of Johann Schroeder. The purchase amount would be an amount agreeable to Mr. Wynn and to the village.
- Ruth Panella: Forest and Civic Committees will study the creek side behind the Wynn's leasehold structure in order to consider negotiating an easement for a path at edge of Naaman's Creek at 2409 Woodland Lane.
Arden Trustee Election Results
Eligible voters 346
Votes needed to confirm: 174
(a majority of 346 eligible voters)
"YES" votes received 183
The Trustees' choice of Elizabeth Varley as an Arden Trustee IS CONFIRMED.
Complete voting results:
Approve 183, Disapprove 57, Blank 1
Ballots returned 241
Voter Participation 70%
Thank you to Elizabeth for being willing to serve our community as an Arden trustee. Thank you to all the people who voted. Your participation keeps our democratic process strong.
--Arden Registration Committee,
Cecilia Vore, chair
Click here to see the confirmation letter issued by the Registration Committee.
Finances and Audit Report for Fiscal Year 2012
March 24, 2012 Financial Statements and Audit Report
Jannie Stearns, Celebration of her Life
11:00 a.m., Saturday, December 15, at Gild Hall, 2126 The Highway, Arden, DE. For details, call 302 798-7726. Click here to read Jannie Stearns' obituary.
Vacant Dwelling Registration
Dwellings vacant for over a year must be registered with the Village of Arden and a registration fee must be paid by January 31, 2013. Letters have been sent to owners of vacant dwelling. Owners may appeal, or ask for a one-time waiver. Click here to learn more about the registration of vacant dwellings in Arden, Delaware.
Election Results, November 1, 2012
The 2013-2014 budget referendum was approved, and seven people were elected assessors: Denis OʼRegan (convener) and (in this order) Bill Theis, Tom Wheeler, Brooke Bovard, Joe del Tufo, Warren Rosenkranz, and Larry Walker. Click here to see the November, 2012 election and referenda results for the Village of Arden.
Civic Committee has been busy!
Click here to see links to the Civic Committee minutes of August, September, and October.
Forest Committee has been busy, too!
We just added minutes from their August meeting, and all of 2011.
Trash, Recycling, Yard Waste now picked up on Mondays
Monday has become the single day for all trash, recyclables and yard waste collections in all three Ardens. The new contracts that Arden, Ardentown and Ardencroft have with Waste Management provide for a single day for all pickups. Mondays is now our collection day. If Monday is a holiday, pickup is the following day. During weather emergencies, trash is picked up as soon as it is safe to do so. Click here to see what can be recycled and what goes into the trash instead.
September Town Meeting Minutes
Click here to see a draft of the minutes of the September, 2012 town meeting.
New ACRA Website
Click here to see the new website for ACRA: Arden Community Recreation Association.
Financial Reports
Click here to see the financial reports for the Village of Arden, Delaware.
Arden's Population, Roads: 439 people live in the Village of Arden as of the 2010 U.S. Census. We have 3.63 miles of paved roads.
Election Results, March, 2012: Election of Officers and Committee Members in the Village of Arden
Fallen Limbs Not Rubbish. At 9:15 on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 John Cartier introduced our Forest Stewardship ordinance and it was unanimously approved by New Council County Council. Fallen limbs are no longer considered rubbish in The Ardens and cannot be ticketed.
Articles:
The Arts & Crafts Community at Arden, Delaware: an article on the Old House Journal website. October, 2011
American Dreams: Life in the Ardens, an article by Dante Silicato of Ardencroft for Examiner.com. 9/19/2011
Officers and Committee Members: who serves and when their terms expire.
Town Charter: Click here to see our town charter on the State of Delaware website.
Arden, Delaware, has been a Single-Tax, Arts and Crafts, Garden-City Utopia since 1900.
The Village of Arden was founded in 1900 by sculptor Frank Stephens and architect Will Price, with financial help from Joseph Fels, the soap manufacturer. One of 17 land trusts founded between 1894 and 1950, Arden is based on the Single-Tax economic philosophy of Henry George. As a result, a person's house is not taxed, only the land it sits on. The land is owned in common and managed by three trustees. Inspired by the Garden-City Movement, half the land is woods and open space. Foot paths criss-cross the village.
Arden is known for its artists and also for its theater. Stages abound, including two at the Arden Club and one managed by the Village of Arden: the outdoor Field Theatre. In nearby Ardentown, you will find the New Candlelight Dinner Theatre. The entire community is registered as a Historic Place by the federal government, as are neighboring Ardentown (founded 1922) and Ardencroft (founded 1950). This history is preserved by the non-profit Arden Craft Shop Museum, which preserves the Village of Arden's Archives.
Arden in its early decades was the summer home of artists, musicians, theater people and social activists. In those times it had a summer camp atmosphere and the village still feels like a summer camp in many ways, all year long, in large part because of the activities scheduled at the Village of Arden's Buzz Ware Village Center. and by the non-profit cultural umbrella, The Arden Club and its many Gilds. Once a year, the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, the Arden Club hosts the Arden Fair. Also, every month, the Arden Community Recreation Association hosts a family event.
Explore the links to the left and right to learn about the current role of government in the Village of Arden.
Town Charter
Click here to see our town charter on the State of Delaware website.
