land known from 1812 to 1946 as "Derickson's Venture" – and the Paradise Shores community adjacent to and to the west of York Beach. The annexation of York Beach brought York Beach Mall – opened in 1959 and expanded in 1965 – into South Bethany, giving the town its first and only commercial area. In the same year, South Bethany began installing a central sewer system, and Sussex County prohibited construction in the town within of the ocean in the hope of restoring the main dune. In 1977, South Bethany's sewer system was completed, and the community installed its first two traffic signals, located on Coastal Highway at the north and south ends of the town. Also in that year, South Bethany received a federal grant to construct its first town hall, located on land Iggie Hall had donated for that purpose; the town hall opened in 1978. In January 1981, the Delaware Supreme Court lifted Sussex County's ban on construction on the dune, and development of the beach area resumed. In August 1983, property owners formed the South Bethany Property Owners Association, and that year the town annexed the neighboring Sand Piper Pines community. At the time South Bethany consisted of 1,282 separate properties, 748 houses, and 105 year-round residents. During the mid-1980s, a beach replenishment project took place along the town's Atlantic coast to recover sand lost during major storms. On November 19, 1987, South Bethany expanded its boundary westward by annexing the Cat Hill community, and on March 22, 1992, Cat Hill conveyed 22 acres (8.9 hectares) of wetlands to the town. In 1998, South Bethany voted for the installation of a water tower and central water system. Also in that year, the installation of propane lines began in South Bethany; the town began installation of an underground propane storage tank behind the town hall to feed the system in October 2003, and the system began supplying propane to residents and businesses in the early 2000s. Since 2000 In 2000, South Bethany's Community Enhancement Committee launched the town's Adopt-A-Canal/Road-End Program, in which community volunteers renovate and maintain the landscaping at the ends of canals and roads in South Bethany; by October 2015, volunteers had adopted 32 of the town's 48 canal ends and road ends. In 2007, South Bethany demolished its original town hall and replaced it with a new town hall and police building. Around this