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 Please contact the Secretary if you cannot find the information you need, if links are not working, or information is outdated.
Safety Committee Special Election June 28
RESULTS: Simon Hamermesh and Brooke Bovard have been elected to the Safety Committee. The convener for the committee remains Chris Junk, elected in March. Thank you to Adam Fawcett and Kelly Gillen (as well as Simon and Brooke) for their willingness to serve our community by running for a committee. Votes were counted on July 1. There were 38 people voting in this election. Full results can be found on the Registration Committee records page.
The complete list of committees and officers, including terms of office and committee contact information, can be found in the sidebar under Committee & Officer List.
— Cecilia Vore, chair, Registration Committee
Background on DelDot project at the Harvey/Marsh intersection.
There has long been concern about the safety of the Harvey/Marsh 5-way intersection. Although, thankfully, there have been few fatalities, most of us in the area have seen accidents and near misses there, if not experienced them personally. As development north of the Ardens increases, more traffic has put a burden on it.
Some two years ago, then Representative Seigfreid was able to get the attention of Deldot on this matter. DelDot engineers looked at the situation, including the impossibility of widening the intersection without destroying adjacent buildings.
DelDot engineers made proposals which went to public comment. Since no element of the plan was on town roads, DelDot held the meetings and advertised them on both their government page and social media, but announcements of the comment period also went out through Representative Seigfreid and as a petition on change.org
https://deldot.gov/projects/vw/MarshRdandHarveyRd-GrubbRd/
The formal comment period ended March 2020.
https://deldot.gov/projects/Studies/MarshRdandHarveyRd-GrubbRd/
In order to implement these intersection improvements, there are two short portions of the municipal right of way that must grant easements for the installation of segments of sidewalk that have crosswalk signals. We have two similar segments at the crosswalk on Orleans and Harvey. These would be at the top of Sherwood, at the Oddporium corner, and the top of Harvey, on the Lockerman leasehold. They would permit pedestrians to cross Marsh to the Record store or Papa Johns.
The Safety Committee considered these easements and approved them, but wants confirmation by the Town Assembly. An easement only permits the establishment of the segments, but recognizes that the land is in town control. Without these easements, the improvements will not be made.
A simplified graphic of the location of the access points in question is attached. Please contact me with any questions. Brooke Bovard, Safety Chair Emerita, ardenkids@hotmail.com
Coronavirus Updates
Please see the items in the sidebar for information about the upcoming town meeting June 28. 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.