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Village of Arden, Delaware

A Single-Tax Community, Founded 1900

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You are welcome hither! The Village of Arden, Delaware

This is the government website of the Village of Arden, Delaware, U.S.A.

Sign up to get the latest Village announcements sent to your email.

Keep up-to-date on village announcements (special meetings, road closures, etc) by signing up for email blasts from the Town Chair. Only used for official Village business, and only sent to those who opt in. The email information you provide is not shared.
Click here to sign up for email blasts from the Village of Arden. 

TRASH SCHEDULE for 2022. Click links below

Is it yard waste or recycling this week?
Trash Schedule July-Sept 2022
New Trash & Recycling flyer   Lots of information

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

Ardens Transportation Plan

Arden is teaming up with the villages of Ardencroft and Ardentown along with WILMAPCO, DelDOT, and other partners to produce a transportation plan by the summer of 2023. Residents and stakeholders will be engaged through surveys, public meetings, and other means to create a list of projects that together implement a vision of a safer, more accessible future for walkers, bikers, transit users, and motorists.

For more information, check out the Community Planning webpage, go to wilmapco.org/ardens, or contact the Community Planning Committee via email at planning@arden.delaware.gov.

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/dhss/dph/epi/2019novelcoronavirus.html – or the CDC website – Coronavirus.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.

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Office Hours

3rd Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Via Zoom teleconference.
Discuss village governance with officials of the Village of Arden, Delaware.
To learn how to join us by teleconference, contact the Town Assembly Chair, Jeffrey Politis, at ardenchair@arden.delaware.gov.

Recent Posts

The Next Town Assembly: October 3, 2022 • 7:30pm

Please check back after June 7 to see if the June Town Meeting will be conducted in person. Around one week before the meeting, … [Read More...] about The Next Town Assembly: October 3, 2022 • 7:30pm

Email Signup Form

Click here to sign up for email blasts from the Village of Arden. The Village of Arden uses an email distribution list to provide … [Read More...] about Email Signup Form

Committee & Officer List

Here is a the most recent list of who serves on which committees in the Village of Arden, Delaware, and who serves as officers. … [Read More...] about Committee & Officer List

Trash & Recycling

• Trash service in the Ardens includes weekly trash collection and bi-weekly recycling and yard waste. Click here for the … [Read More...] about Trash & Recycling

Records Management and FOIA

To learn more about best practices for records management and about handling Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, Village … [Read More...] about Records Management and FOIA

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