[caption id="attachment_431" align="alignright" width="450" caption="Greater Lewes, Delaware Map"][/caption] What defines the Greater Lewes Area?" you may ask. That is exactly what the Greater Lewes Foundation of Lewes, Delaware seeks to define. "There are lots of plans out there for the Lewes region," said Greater Lewes Foundation chair Dennis Forney. "What we need now is a vision that everyone can share." Working in concert with the City of Lewes and the University of Delaware, the GLF board of directors has agreed to retain K. Bruce Galloway, a noted independent planning consultant, to lead a major initiative to create a vision for the newly defined "Greater Lewes area." That geographic area emerged from a series of public meetings hosted by the GLF as part of its ‘Future Scan’ project. A full report on that project will be released later this year. The region includes the City of Lewes and adjoining acreage, extending for 2 miles beyond Rt. 1 to the west; to the Great Marsh on the north and to Pot Hook Creek and the terminus of King’s Highway at Rt. 1 on the south. "DelDOT has a plan for this region,” said Forney. “So do the major landowners and developers. The City of Lewes has a plan that includes the possibility of extensive annexation. Some local citizens groups have their own plans. Sussex County has a new plan for land use that must be accommodated, and the State of Delaware has an over-arching set of priorities.” “It is time for the citizens of our region to speak” Forney said. “And they have told us, clearly and unanimously through Future Scan, that they want land around Lewes protected, open space preserved, traffic conditions addressed and communications to improve among all parties." “These priorities, determined by the people, will guide our efforts with this vision planning. A clear vision will give us a clear path forward.” Forney said that an effort will be made to bring all concerned parties to the table for vision planning at the appropriate time. Galloway has retained Patricia L. Faux, principal of the Faux Group, to collaborate on the planning. The project will be done with the support of the Sea Grant initiative of the College of Marine; Earth Studies, University of Delaware. Bruce Galloway has over 30 years of experience in community design, planning and land development. Most recently he created a development process for Maryland’s local highway work, and has helped manage numerous major multi-year community revitalization, planning and zoning, and design projects in Delaware and Maryland. The Faux Group is a planning and design firm with over 30 years experience with town planning and community design in the Mid Atlantic region. “Bruce Galloway understands the issues and knows how to get things done,” said Mayor James L. Ford, III. “We are looking forward to working with him, and reaping the benefits of his expertise and knowledge of land use planning and management.” The complete Future Scan report, and a full biography of Bruce Galloway, will be available on the web sites of the City of Lewes, CMES and Greater Lewes Foundation by the end of November. The Galloway planning effort is now underway and will take place in three phases, the first of which, final information gathering, will be completed by early 2009. Each phase will require about three months to complete.

According to a 2008 survey, more buyers now report that they are looking to purchase a smaller property than their previous home. In the current Lewes market, I can tell you that smaller homes are definitely selling faster than larger ones.

Larger homes are often seen as burdensome by empty-nesters, especially those with a concern about fuel bills. In this area buyers are becoming more and more concerned with heating, cooling, hot water, and electric costs. They’ve suddenly become interested in a house’s energy-star rating, or how many gallons of propane the current owners go through on average each winter. More and more buyers are looking for tankless water heaters or energy efficient windows. I never thought that I would see a buyer look up at a beautiful vaulted ceiling and shake their heads at the thought of their heating bills, but that seems to be the trend.

Smaller homes are also appealing for their lower maintenance costs – roof repairs, painting, power-washing, carpet replacement – all cost less with a smaller home. Single-story homes, in particular, have always been more popular with retirees. One only has to experience a single foot, knee or hip surgery to understand the desirability (nay, necessity!) of a first floor master bedroom.

There will always be a segment of the buyer population who don’t have to worry about their maintenance costs and who literally consider their home to be their castle, wanting every luxury imaginable (and I have several homes available if this is you and you’re reading this!), but in the current economy, these buyers are harder and harder to come by.

- Lee Ann

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