Residents of Old New Castle may soon have a new addition to the historic town, and not everyone is happy about it.
If the City Council has its way, a grassy field off a narrow street will soon become a paved 50-car parking lot designed to ease parking problems in the small town.
Several residents complain council is putting the interests of tourists and businesses over those of homeowners.
Despite backlash from the community, City Council passed plans on July 31 to build the lot, but the proposal still has a few hurdles.
“At this point, it’s past City Council and going through a three-step review process,” City Council President Linda Ratchford said.
The first step is with the planning commission, which will review the plans and make a final recommendation to City Council. Next, the Historic Area Commission will verify that the development plans will not alter the historic character of the area.
According to council member John Di Mondi, the historic commission wants to use natural materials for the parking lot construction rather than asphalt. If approved, the proposal will move to the final step, the board of adjustment. There, appeals can be made by any person upset over decisions made by New Castle officials.
However, Di Mondi, as well as many other residents, have bigger concerns than solely what type of material the parking lot is built with.
“The proposed parking lot is just the tip of a much more involved civic issue,” Di Mondi said. “It’s the continuation of an agenda to commercialize our historic community.”
According to Ratchford, in 2014 a parking subcommittee recommended five viable locations for a new parking lot. All five locations were approved by city council based on the idea that more parking would be needed in the future.
“Many residents don’t have adequate parking,” Ratchford said. “Most houses offer one car wide parking options, so many parking lots in the city are used by residents.”
Kathy Dunn, a New Castle resident who opposes the parking lot, said that in 30 years she has only had trouble finding parking once.
Dunn is one of many residents working to stop the construction of the parking lot. In July, when the plans came to the City Council floor, Dunn said she and approximately 80 to 90 other people came to speak out against the proposal.
“With minimal to no discussion, without listening to anything residents said, they passed the proposal,” Dunn said. “They knew before they came in how they were going to vote.”
Dunn and Di Mondi both agree that the parking lot is in violation of the comprehensive plan, which states that parking lots must be built on the fringes of the Historical District. According to Dunn, this parking lot is smack dab in the middle of the district, on one of the most narrow streets in New Castle.
“I don’t live on that street but those people are going to have the values of their homes disturbed,” Dunn said. “I have yet to meet a resident that says ‘we need more parking.’ ”
Residents are at odds with more than just City Council members. The Board of the Trustees, a non-profit group that began in 1764, owns the land where the parking lot is to be built. The trustees are tasked with preserving and protecting the land to benefit New Castle residents.
“Trustees are providing land to the detriment of residents and to the benefit of visitors,” Dunn said. “They’re defying their own charter.”
Di Mondi, who ran against Ratchford for City Council president in 2017, stressed that the town can’t handle the type of expansion that is taking place in New Castle. He believes that in a few years the community isn’t going to be anything like it used to be.
“I’ve been at odds with the administration and the trustees over expansion,” he said. “What we’ve seen in the last 10 years is a major expansion to benefit the connecting people who are becoming millionaires.”
Overall, residents are confused as to why the parking lot needs to be built adjacent to Battery Park when four other locations were first proposed by the parking subcommittee.
Di Mondi and Dunn believe that it is a ploy to commercialize the Historic District. The parking lot will give visitors more ready access to the shops and restaurants on Delaware Street.
“We are unique, people live in these houses and take pride in them,” Dunn said. “We’re protective of the town, so yeah, we don’t want a parking lot.”