Hidden Acres, Delaware

Hidden Acres is a neighborhood officially located in the city of Dover in Kent County, Delaware. It was founded in 1991.

History

In the late 1980s, founders bought some land from a local farmer and paved roads. The design of the roads is an oval with two lines going all the way across the oval on both sides. Construction took about 3 years to be completed. The neighborhood is located about convert|5|mi|km west of downtown Dover and is about convert|1|mi|km|sing=on east of the Hartly/Dover border. Hidden Acres branches off of Delaware Route 8 (Forrest Avenue). There are 97 residences in the development.

Street Layout

Birchfield DriveThe entrance of Hidden Acres off Route 8 is Birchfield Drive and runs throughout the length of the deveopment. This road also contains the smallest number of residents because the land surrounding it contains the storm drainage runoff and many trees used to keep the privacy of the development's residents. This road was also the first paved since it was required for anyone entering the neighboorhood to travel on.

East and West Huntington CircleThe first intersection that meets Birchfield Drive when entering the neighborhood is that of East and West Huntington Circle. East Huntington is to the left (East) and West Huntington is to the right (West). East and West Huntington Circle are both symmetrical to each other. They head in opposite directions for about an eighth of a mile before both changing direction and heading South. After about 1/16 of a mile, they change direction again and head in different directions but this time facing each other. They end where they meet at a new three-way intersection of East and West Huntington Circle and Birchfiel Drive.

Springwood DriveSpringwood Drive is the only completely straight road in hidden Acres. It starts where East Huntington Circle is halfway through its North/South direction and heads East/West in the direction until it meets the halfway point of the North/South portion of West Huntington Circle. It shares an intersection at its center with Birchfield Drive.

Housing

Most of the homes in Hidden acres are either one or two story houses which were all built through private contractors as determined by the preferences of the buyers. Most one-story homes are worth anywhere between $200,000 and $250,000 with the exception of the Puckett home, located on Springwood Drive, which sold for a value of about $300,000. Most of the two-story homes are worth somewhere between $260,000 and $350,000. All homes came with the option of being equipped with a basement when they were originally built. As such, roughly half of the homes now include a basement. Almost all homes have a property size of at least half of an acre and no more than one acre. The only exceptions are the homes which contain woods behind them. With these homes, property size is determined by the line at which grass ends and trees begin which varies between properties. More correctly, property lines are determined by survey to verify permanently placed property markers. These markers are indicated on property plots as IPF (Iron Pipe Found).

Rules

Rules on the homes are determined by the neighborhood governing body. Rules on homes include that they may not be painted with any non-traditional colors of a house, they must be kept in decent condition, and lawns must be cut before they reach a height that would be considered unattractive. Attachments and upgrades may be made to the visible portions of homes as long as they are approved by the state and by the neighborhood board. Fences of any style may also be erected as long as they are less than convert|6|ft|m tall and are not of a non-traditional styles. Owners/residents are welcomed to ignore the rules as the neighborhood association lacks the clout or backbone to enforce them.

External links

* [http://groups.google.com/group/Hidden-Acres Hidden Acres] at Google Groups