FENWICK ISLAND – A meeting has been scheduled to present the town’s draft comprehensive plan.
Last week, the Fenwick Island Town Council approved a request from the planning commission to schedule a special town council meeting June 8. Mayor Natalie Magdeburger, commission member, said the meeting will allow officials to present the town’s draft comprehensive plan.
“The planning commission is getting ready to roll out its 10-year comprehensive plan,” she explained. “And there will be a May 20 presentation here at town hall. Thereafter, the plan will be finalized June 3 or June 4 and copies will be sent to all town council members. Then we’d like a special meeting where the comprehensive planning committee can formally present it to the town council for consideration.”
Last year, the town council agreed to hire consultants to assist the planning commission in rewriting Fenwick Island’s comprehensive plan. And in the months since, officials have worked with University of Delaware advisors to collect data, maps and demographics and develop a vision for the town’s future.
The commission also launched a public survey, the results of which were reviewed by the Fenwick Island Planning Commission last month. Officials say the town received responses from 338 part-time residents, 105 fulltime residents, 13 business owners, and 26 visitors. The survey results, which will be used to shape the town’s draft comprehensive plan, highlighted community members’ opposition to wind turbines, their concerns about bayside flooding, and their desires to maintain the town’s quiet, family oriented character, among other things.
“The number one sort of overriding feature is to keep Fenwick Island a family friendly beach,” Magdeburger said at the time.
The commission last month also adopted a timeline for completing and submitting the town’s new comprehensive plan. The timeline included a May 20 open house, which will give community members an opportunity to discuss and engage in the planning process.
The June 8 meeting will give town officials an opportunity to review the planning documents.
“Then thereafter, they will also be made available to the public, so they can read it as well,” Magdeburger said last week. “Then at the council meeting, at the end of June, we would be voting to accept and approve the draft.”
With no further discussion, the council voted unanimously to approve a special town council meeting for June 8 at 3 p.m.
“It is strictly for the purpose of presenting the comprehensive plan,” Magdeburger said.
