This is the government website of the Village of Arden, Delaware, U.S.A.
Here you can access the major governing documents of the Village, ordinances, minutes of Town Meetings, information about the Standing Committees, government contacts, permits, voting information and election records, and more. The site is maintained by the Town Secretary. Please contact the Secretary if you cannot find the information you need, if links are not working, or information is outdated.
To be discussed at the Town Meeting, Sept 27
• Proposed Trash Services from two contractors:
Waste Management and Trash Tech.
The Civic Committee has put together a detailed comparison. You can read it here:
Recommended 2021 Trash, Recycling & Yard Waste Contract
• Stormwater Management Plan
Read the DRAFT here!
Water Quality Master Plan from Foresite Associates.
See the Appendices for the Stormwater Management Plan – go to the Forest Committee page
Here are a few interesting appendices:
- DE Best Management Practices (BMP) Standards and Specs here!
- Methodology for developing cost estimates here.
Watch the discussion of the Stormwater Plan from 9/8/2021:
Drew Hayes of Foresite Associates presents the first look at Arden’s Stormwater Master Plan. After a brief wait for others to join the Zoom meeting, the presentation starts around 4:31. Click on the link below.
Stormwater Mgmt presentation link.
• New Governance Task Force
The Community Planning Committee will make a motion to approve a Governance Task Force for the Village. Find a description of the new Task Force at this link:
Previously discussed at June 2021 Town Meeting:
• DelDot project at the Harvey/Marsh intersection.
This information has been moved to the Safety Committee page.
NEW! Arden map showing lot numbers and addresses
The Registration Committee created this map based on a digital map that Alton Dahl put together. (Thank you, Alton!) The committee uses it in their annual review of the Residents List. A number of people asked for a map like this through the Planning Committee’s web site survey – so your wish has been granted. The size is 11″ x 17″. This map does not include the “Avery property” addition to the Sherwood Forest. It is not a survey map, but every effort has been made to show accurate lot boundaries, several of which are incorrect on the County map. It is a work in progress and updates are made each fall. Please send any inaccuracies to the Registration Committee. Click the link to see the Arden Lot & Address Map. There is also a link using the Map heading in the top menu.
Coronavirus Updates
Please see the items in the sidebar for information about the next town meeting. Also, please check this website for any Arden-specific updates.
Here are some links to keep updated with the Ardens, the state, and the national situation:
• Click here to learn more about the State of Delaware’s response to COVID-19.
• For more information, go to either the Delaware Division of Public Health’s website – https://dhss.delaware.gov/
•The Buzz Ware Village Center is fully open again! See their website for current events space usage policy.
• Activities are happening at the Arden Club. See their website for the latest news. Watch the Arden Page for the latest ACRA events.
Non-Discrimination Policy
In September, 2016, we presented and approved a non-discrimination policy. At that time, a request was made to include “sex” in that policy. The officers agree with that addition and the updated policy now reads:
The Village of Arden does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, residents, and visitors. The Village of Arden is an equal opportunity employer.
About the Village of Arden, Delaware
The Village of Arden was founded in 1900 as a Single Tax community based on the economic philosophy of Henry George, as well as the Arts and Crafts movement of William Morris and the Garden City movement of Ebenezer Howard. It is still noted for its arts, crafts, music, and theater. Half the land is forests and greens, which are not taxed. As a “Tree City USA,” our tree canopy is 73%. The Village is on the National Register of Historic Places.
With around 250 households and 500 residents, Arden is the oldest and largest of the three villages known as The Ardens: Arden, Ardentown, and Ardencroft. The communal land in each village, such as the woods and greens, is owned by each municipality while the land leased out for dwellings is owned by a trust; that is, people own their houses but pay rent on their leaseholds in the form of taxes. Those taxes — land rent — cover village, county, and local school expenses and are assessed on the square footage of each leasehold. Each village has a separate municipal government.
The Village of Arden has a town-meeting form of government, defined in the Act to Reincorporate of July 29, 1996.
For more about the history of the three Ardens, visit the Arden Craftshop Museum.
For a brief description of Arden government see “Arden: Here’s How It Works.”
If you use the printed Village of Arden Handbook as a reference to Arden government, click here to go to the Red Book Interactive Table of Contents for links to updates on every item in the Handbook. All the content of the Red Book, published in 1996, is on this website. Updates are now entered on the website.