Town Assembly January 26, 2026
Come early to the Gild Hall, starting at 7PM, to chat with your neighbors, committee members, and Town officers to socialize and learn more about your Town Assembly. Refreshments will be served!
TA Jan 2026 Agenda
Information & Discussion – Thurs. January 22 7PM @ TheBuzz–Ask questions about the Agenda items. Learn about Town Meeting.
Scheduled motions:
- Governance & Charter Changes: Motion Address coverage for Charter changes Re: New Ordinances
- Community Planning: Motion in response to WILMAPCO – Milky Way/Clubhouse Paths at Harvey Rd Crossing
- Civic: Commission and install two Memorials for Walt Whitman and Soldiers & Sailors Memorial on the Arden Green.
Scheduled readings:
First reading of these proposed ordinances is scheduled.
Ordinance #16 – Board of Assessors (click here to see Ordinance #16)
Ordinance #17 – Budget Committee (click here to see Ordinance #17)
Ordinance #18 – Registration Committee (click here to see Ordinance #18)
Results of the 2025 Assessors Election and 2026-27 Budget Referendum
Click here for results of the 2025 Assessors Election
Click here for results of the 2026-27 Budget Referendum
Thank you to all of the candidates for their willingness to serve, to the volunteers who helped with the vote counting, and to the voters who made their voices heard.
Click here for results of the 2025 Charter Vote
June 2025 Special Budget Referendum on Civic Committee Funding
The June 2025 Special Budget Referendum has concluded. The referendum passed by a vote of 242 to 30.
Click Here to see a copy of the referendum ballot.
Click Here to see a summary of the voting results.
Thanks to all who participated in this important village referendum
Welcome Our New Trustee!
Congratulations to Jeffrey Politis, who was confirmed by a vote of Arden residents as our newest village Trustee, succeeding Carl Falco. The vote was 229 to 41 in favor of confirmation.
Thanks to all who participated.
Town Assembly – June 23 2025
Election Results for Vacant Committee Positions
Civic Committee: Harold Kalmus elected
Forest Committee: Brooke Evans elected
Registration Committee: Rachelle Zazzu elected
Click here to view vote totals.
Town Assembly – March 24 2025
Election for Committees, Officers, and Stewards Final Results
March-25-2025-TA.pdf
Final results for Schroeder Stewards election click here.2025 Election Results
New Arden Committee Members and Officers –results here. 2025 Committee Listing for Conveners
Assessors meet every 3rd Tuesday at 7:30 pm through June with fascinating discussions of land rent, ADU’s, lot sizes and factors.
ALL Assessor meetings are public, welcoming and you can learn about the process and procedures without having any of the responsibilities of being a member!
To find out more about meetings and the Assessor Board click here Arden Board of Assessors
The 2025 Assessors are: Denis O’Regan (convener), Deborah Ricard, Sachin Puranik, Brooke Bovard, Tom Wheeler, Shana Pinter and Simon Hamermesh.
Budget Results 2024 Click blue writing to read the results of the election.
In September 2024, the Ardens began service with Evergreen for Trash pick-up.
For information about their services click this link –
Evergreen Transition Flyer Click to view flyer
Tree Policy draft
The Civic and Forest Committees and the Arden Trust support these guidelines to better use resources and coordinate responsible tree work throughout the village. Any edits for the draft can be sent to forest@arden.delaware.gov. View the draft Tree Policy here.
All Village of Arden ARPA Funds are now “Obligated”
For more information about ARPA check out this link.
Governance Task Force: Final Charter Recommendations and Proposed Ordinance Changes
Click here to see a copy of the Town Charter with changes recommended by the Governance Task Force
Click here to see the Governance Task Force links for recommended changes to ordinances
Schroeder Trust
The link below is the Schroeder Trust that was approved at the June Town Assembly 2024 of the proposed trust for the remainder of the Schroeder bequest to the Village of Arden. As been discussed in several town meetings, the Village agreed to set up a Trust for the bequest as part of a settlement for the Mill Race Road lawsuit filed against the Village. This agreement was created with input from several open meetings and with guidance from the Village attorney. Please review this the Trust and if you have comments or concerns, please refer them to the Chair of the Town Assembly, Jeffrey Politis, at ardenchair@arden.delaware.gov.
The June Town Assembly approved the Schroder Trust Link here for Approved Arden Schroeder Trust – 06-24-2024
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.
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 82.7%. 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.