Agricultural education facility hinges on deed restrictions

The fate of a proposed agricultural education facility hinges on how Sussex County officials and lawyers interpret deed restrictions. Before they vote, council members want more time for a legal analysis of restrictions that could affect a proposed facility near Milton.

At its May 24 meeting, the county planning and zoning commission voted 5-0 recommending approval of the application. Jeri Berc has filed a conditional-use application for the educational facility and commercial kitchen on her four-acre property at 16040 Hudson Road. She built a house on the parcel in 2016 and created the Long Life Institute, a nonprofit organization.

Although she does not live in the adjacent Cripple Creek community, her property may be subject to the subdivision's deed restrictions, but it is not clear whether deed restrictions prohibit her proposed use.

Deborah Spellman, a Cripple Creek resident, said there is no doubt Berc is subject to most of the deed restrictions. She said Berc has no voting rights and doesn't have to pay dues, and the parcel is not subject to lot-size restrictions or any additional fees for street maintenance.
"But other restrictions can be imposed," she said. "She can have animals, but any business cannot have customers or employee traffic."

The Hudson family – the original owners of the property – set up the Cripple Creek subdivision as a farm-rural community where limited agricultural activities are permitted including growing crops, and raising livestock and fowl. "With the deed restrictions, can she even do this?" asked Councilman Rob Arlett, R-Frankford.

"I'm not certain of that," replied county attorney J. Everett Moore. "I want to look at it further."

"I'm not in Cripple Creek and not a member of the HOA. All my buildings have been approved by the county," Berc said. She said as she reads the covenants, there are no restrictions on operating a business.

During a recent planning and zoning commission meeting, county assistant attorney Vince Robertson said he did not see a reference to commercial restrictions in the covenants. While the agricultural uses on the parcel are permitted in AR-1, agricultural-residential zoning, Sussex County Planning and Zoning Director Janelle Cornwell said Berc needs a conditional use because she wants to build a commercial kitchen and use the property as an education facility.

P&Z recommends approval

During the May 24 planning and zoning commission meeting, Commissioner Kim Hoey Stevenson said the proposed agricultural uses were consistent not only with the AR-1, agricultural-residential zoning, but with uses in the neighboring Cripple Creek community. "There was concern about the commercial kitchen. If it's built, it must be used for educational purposes," she said.

The proposed commercial kitchen must be used only by students for canning fruits and vegetables, and not preparing meals, she said.
Hoey Stevenson acknowledged that Berc's parcel is subject to some of Cripple Creek's deed restrictions, but the restrictions do not prohibit commercial uses. She said Cripple Creek is designed as a farmette community. According to the deed restrictions, even non-agricultural people in the community must accept the consequences of farming activities and agree not to file legal action against any of the permitted uses, Hoey Stevenson said.

Proposed plans for the facility

Berc said the goal of the institute is to teach people sustainable land use on small plots of land. During a May 22 hearing, she read into the record her extensive background in natural resources conservation, including work for the U.S. Navy and the USDA. She especially wants to reach out to teach those with developmental disabilities to provide them with marketable skills. She said she has no intentions of making money from her farming operation and will continue to donate products to area organizations and food pantries.

"I use every blade of grass, every ray of sun, all manure and every drop of water in my operation," she said. Berc said she is reaching out to local organizations to not only teach but to also find volunteers for a board of directors. Berc said her original plan to teach Sussex Consortium students at the farm has hit a roadblock. "They have decided not to place students at the institute because of staffing issues," she said. "I will leave the door open for them to reconsider."

However, Community Integrated Services, a group providing vocational training for young adults with developmental disabilities, has sent a student to the farm for assessment. "I'm looking for more clients," she said. Berc said she has had 50 volunteers at the farm. "Right now, there is not a formalized program, but we have had students over the years, but not developmentally disabled," she said.

When asked about the proposed kitchen, Berc said it would be built in an existing 700-square-foot building and be used by students to process food raised on the farm for sale at other locations, including local farmers markets.

Patricia Kaminski, a Lewes resident, said the project has been a great benefit to her family. "It's like an oasis. Sometimes when people try to be one with the land, other people get upset. What she is doing can only be positive," she said.

Neighbor John Gardoski has been a strong opponent of the application. He said he was not against the proposed idea of teaching students. "But I don't trust what will happen," he said, including the addition of a commercial kitchen in the neighborhood. According to a planning and zoning staff analysis, the proposed conditional use is consistent with land use, zoning and uses in the area.