This is the government website of the Village of Arden, Delaware, U.S.A.
Coming March 27: Election of Committees & Officers
The Registration Committee strives to make voting as easy as possible and accessible to all eligible residents. This election is held at the March town meeting. Voting takes place at the start of the meeting and continues throughout the meeting — so you can arrive late and leave early if you need to. If you will not be able to attend the meeting, you can request an Absentee ballot by submitting a request form.
Click here: Affidavit Request for Absentee Ballot
Click here: Draft Ballot We still need a lot of candidates. The village cannot run well without lots of neighbors sharing the tasks of caring for out village. Please consider serving on a committee.
Watch this space for links candidate statements. For more information about the Committee & Officer Election, as well as Arden’s other elections, see the Registration Committee’s Election Procedures & Records page.
TRASH COLLECTION now on TUESDAYS
Click this link for basic service information.
More links:
Trash Schedule for 2023 Is it yard waste or recycling this week? Click here Revised1/24/23
Ardens Trash & Recycling flyer Click here Updated for all-Ardens Tuesday collection
What can you include in your single-stream recycling bin? See the DSWA poster here: delaware-recycles-poster.
Community Garden Kick Off!
The Community Garden annual kick-off meeting will take place at the Buzz Ware Village Center on Monday, March 6, 2023 at 7:00 PM. Applications for plots will be available for those who have the time, energy and commitment to grow their own vegetables, but lack the space or sun to do so. Please consider joining us. The community garden will officially open the first Saturday of Spring March 25th. Contact Garden Reps: Toby Riddings- AALCHEMY2@gmail.com or Dave Jones- ekona14@gmail.com.. Additional details can be found here and will be announced in the February Page.
Ardens Transportation Plan – New Public Meeting Feb 15
For more information, go to wilmapco.org/ardens/ or contact the Community Planning Committee at planning@arden.delaware.gov.
Governance Task Force has convened
The special task force created by the Town Assembly has begun its challenging work reviewing the governing documents, ordinances and policies of the Village. You can see meeting announcements, a schedule of topics under consideration, and more by visiting their new web page.
Governance Task Force link
Schroeder Trust Draft
Per the settlement agreed to by the town at the January 2019 Town Assembly Meeting, a draft trust structure for the Schroeder funds has been created. The draft Trust can be found at the link below. Look out for dates and times for upcoming open meetings to discuss the draft trust prior to the March Town Assembly Meeting.
Arden.Schroeder Trust 3
The Ardens Community and the Arden Club
Featured on WHYY TV’s “Movers & Makers”
Learn more about the Ardens and the Arden Club in this recently aired 30-minute program, Movers & Makers, produced by WHYY…
“The Village of Arden in Delaware was founded in 1900 by sculptor Frank Stephens and architect Will Price as a Single-Tax community. They wanted to create an Arts & Crafts colony that included people from all walks of life. Experience the early architecture, meet the talented artists and performers, and discover why so many people flock there every year to attend the Arden Fair.”
Click this link to watch.
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.
Village Racial Justice Pledge
In September 2020 the Town Assembly approved the following motion:
The Village of Arden acknowledges that society is in a moment of significant transformation. Therefore, the Village pledges its support for working towards racial justice and for solidarity with all people of color both within our community and in the larger culture. Approved amendment: This will be posted on the Town website and sent to our local, state and federal representatives.
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 Craft Shop 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.