Committee advances Newark Union Church and Cemetery historic overlay request

The New Castle County Land Use Department presented ordinance 22-006 to create a historic overlay zoning district for the Newark Union Church and Cemetery on the west side of Newark Union Public Road.

Kevin Barna, the county’s preservation planner, summarized the site’s history and the Historic Review Board’s recommendation. He said the meeting house and cemetery trace to the late seventeenth century, with the surviving church constructed in 1845 and renovated in 1906. “When this came before the historic review board, it was reviewed as application 20 24 dash 0527DashH,” Barna said, and he identified the property by tax parcel numbers and location. Barna told the committee the church and cemetery meet New Castle County historic overlay criteria A, D, E and K and that the Historic Review Board voted to approve the application at its November 6, 2024 meeting.

Barna said the cemetery parcel is about 1.94 acres and that the site has continued to accept burials. He described the site’s significance under multiple criteria, including its listing on the National Register of Historic Places (listed February 6, 2020) and its value for local architectural and burial-practice history.

Councilman Cartier (attending after a technical delay) praised volunteers who maintain the site and said the board overseeing the property has raised funds for renovations. “I'm strongly in support of this historic, zoning overlay ordinance,” Cartier said, and added he would sponsor the ordinance at the full Council meeting next Tuesday.

Anne Daley, treasurer of the Newark Union Corporation, spoke by phone and urged approval. “I wanna thank you all for considering this ordinance,” Daley said, and asked the committee to approve the designation to preserve the property for the future.

The committee heard that written public support was received from Councilman Cartier and state Representative Deborah Heffernan. The county staff recommendation and the Historic Review Board’s favorable vote were presented to the committee; no committee vote on the ordinance was taken during the meeting. The chair said the item will proceed to the full County Council for consideration.