Georgetown repeals controversial tiny homes ordinance amid ongoing lawsuit

Why Should Delaware Care? 
Debates over homelessness and affordable housing have dominated the discourse in Georgetown for more than a year. While Georgetown was among the only places in Delaware to previously adopt a cottage housing measure, the town council’s recent rollback of the housing option leaves the future of affordable housing in town in question, particularly amidst an ongoing lawsuit. 

The Georgetown Town Council voted Monday night to repeal its divisive cottage housing ordinance, marking the culmination of a year-long battle over whether small, affordable housing units are right for the Sussex County seat. 

The town council members who voted to strike the measure cited concerns with Georgetown being among the first Delaware municipalities to allow tiny homes, and whether they would lower existing property values. 

At the same time, many residents’ outrage at the concept of tiny homes seemed to blur together with their longstanding issues with the state of homelessness and drug use in the town. 

“We need to step back and digest what this could turn into,” Georgetown resident Janice Jones said at Monday night’s meeting. “If this turns into a trailer park situation, we’re done.”

Mayor Angie Townsend and council members Penuel Barrett and Michael Briggs voted in favor of repealing the measure because of what they described as an overwhelming consensus among residents that they do not want tiny homes in their town. 

“Georgetown is the guinea pig of disasters, as I call it,” Barrett said. “I don’t think tiny homes belong in Georgetown at all.” 

Councilman Tony Neal was the lone vote against the repeal, as the fifth council member, Christina Diaz-Malone, was absent from the meeting altogether. 

Neal said he understands residents’ fears about what types of projects could pop up in town under the ordinance, but described the need for affordable housing as outweighing those fears. 

The council’s decision does not impact a planned 20-unit tiny home project on East Market Street, which was already approved last winter. It does, however, stymie a proposal by Springboard Delaware, which currently operates a pallet village transitional housing program, to build a tiny home community in town, which has turned into an ongoing legal battle. 

New Castle County has an ordinance for so-called ‘pocket neighborhoods,’ that allow for a similar density to Georgetown’s tiny homes measure, but Georgetown is among the only Delaware municipalities to have considered the housing type, which has become popular in other areas of the country. 

The 3-1 vote comes nearly a year after the town council — under different leadership at the time — approved the ordinance, which allows up to 12 homes on a single acre of property. 

It also followed the elections of Briggs and Townsend, who based their respective campaign platforms, in part, on repealing the ordinance. 

After taking office in May, the new town government majority began taking steps to overturn the measure, first by pausing consideration of any new cottage housing applications over the summer, and then with Monday night’s vote. 

More than a dozen of the same residents who have been vocal in recent months about the ordinance — both in favor and against — spoke at Monday night’s meeting, citing both the need for affordable housing and concerns that they do not want a cottage housing project within town limits. 

And in a rather unusual move for a local ordinance, Housing Delaware – formerly known as the Delaware State Housing Authority – Director Matt Heckles weighed in on the debate. Heckles wrote a letter urging the town not to repeal the measure. 

“Retaining the ordinance would preserve an established pathway for additional housing choices and support the housing supply and diversity goals reflected in Senate Bill 23,” Heckles wrote. “If the Town has concerns about how the ordinance operates, we encourage targeted refinements through our ongoing technical assistance work.” 

Lawsuits, ongoing projects

The council’s move to halt review of tiny home project applications prompted a Court of Chancery lawsuit against the town in mid-September by Springboard Delaware, an organization which already operates the pallet village transitional shelter in Georgetown. 

Springboard Delaware is seeking to build 122 cottages on a 14-acre property near Sussex Academy. Springboard alleges in its lawsuit that it had already begun the application process through meetings with state and local planning officials well before the moratorium was adopted. Therefore, the organization argues, it should not be blocked from continuing with the project. 

Judson Malone, Springboard’s Executive Director, did not respond to Spotlight Delaware’s request for comment on Tuesday. 

A handful of residents living near where Springboard is seeking to locate its project spoke in favor of the ordinance repeal, arguing that 122 nearby tiny homes would lower their property values and make their kids feel unsafe playing outside. 

“We don’t want to say we have to leave because of what’s happening in Georgetown,” Paul Lenhart said. 

While the future of the Springboard project is unclear, a 20-unit tiny home project on East Market Street, proposed by the organization Little Living, will move forward because the town council approved it last winter. 

Little Living Director George Meringolo told Spotlight Delaware it was “not a wise thing” for the town to repeal the ordinance, but he is pleased his project is still moving forward. 

Meringolo said he expects to get the necessary permits from the town in the coming weeks, and be entirely done with construction by August 2027. 

“This is not a homelessness project. This is not a transient community,” he added. “This is a full-time community, and most of the people that have asked for applications are semi-professional people.” 

Townsend said at Monday night’s meeting she plans to appoint an ad-hoc committee next month to look at Georgetown’s housing needs and incorporate a plan moving forward that more accurately reflects “what you would like to see in your town.”

Maggie Reynolds is a Report for America corps member and Spotlight Delaware reporter who covers rural communities in Delaware. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://spotlightdelaware.org/support/.

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