Houses proposed instead of campground on Lewes tract

J.G. Townsend Jr. and Co., the developer that was denied an RV resort project near Lewes, has submitted new plans for a 247-unit subdivision for the same parcel.

Included on the site plan before the Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission are larger buffers than required to protect nearby wetlands.

The proposed cluster subdivision – in an environmentally sensitive developing district overlay zone – would be located on 201 acres on the south side of Ward Road and Cedar Grove Road near Lewes. With a name change from The Grove at Love Creek to Fieldstone, the parcel is zoned AR-1, agricultural-residential, and GR-1, general-residential.

Sussex County Council nixed the application for the RV campground four years ago.

Gene Bayard, the developer's attorney, said council members said GR zoning is reserved for housing. “It's a different day, and that's why we are here,” he said.

Buffers to safeguard wetlands

The parcel is bordered by Love Creek, Hetty Fisher Glade and Welches Pond. Ring Lardner, the developers' engineer, said 100-foot forested buffers would protect all tidal and nontidal wetlands and Welches Pond. The buffers are double the size required by Sussex County code. “The developer will mitigate any environmental impacts,” Lardner said.

“These buffers increased to 100 feet even in the federal wetlands boundary are exceptional and more than any other project I've been involved with in the county,” said Ed Launay, the developer's environmental consultant.

Launay said the 7-acre Welches Pond is technically not considered a wetland, but it will be left undisturbed, surrounded by a 100-foot buffer. In addition, he said, a wooded area to the west of the pond will be left nearly intact. He said no runoff from the proposed development would be diverted to the area around the pond.

He said state environmental officials have concerns about three species in Welches Pond: Eastern tiger salamanders, barking tree frogs and Cope's gray tree frogs.

Launay said they are not endangered species but rare species in Delaware because they are more common in southern states. He said the fishless, isolated pond provides wet and dry habitat for the amphibians.

Launay said a nearby business along Cedar Grove Road does not have a stormwater management system, and runoff goes into the area of the pond. In addition, he said, the pond's shoreline is inundated with phragmites. “It's a little less than a pristine environment,” he said.

He said a proposed kayak launch for access to Love Creek would be located on a natural landing area with no impact on wetlands.

In addition, Lardner said, 78 acres of woodlands – nearly 60 percent – would be preserved on the site, which will have 115 acres of open space.

Launay said a wetlands delineations survey shows the parcel has 170 acres of uplands and 31 acres of wetlands. “And it has some of the best development-friendly soils you can find in the county,” he said.

After the hearing, the commission voted to defer a vote to a future meeting. Commissioner Kim Hoey Stevenson wanted time to meet with assistant county attorney Vince Robertson to draft language in the ordinance for permanent preservation of Welches Pond, but also provide for a phragmites management plan if residents wanted one.

“It's a good site plan, but I'm a tad worried about the frogs,” she said. “They are an indicator of our entire ecosystem's health.”

New traffic study not required

Lardner said state transportation officials are not requiring a traffic impact study because a study done in June 2013 for the RV resort provides similar traffic counts. He said it's estimated the development would generate about 2,390 trips per day.

He said the developer would be required to provide road improvements the length of Cedar Grove Road from the entrance of the proposed community to the realigned Postal Lane intersection. The developer would also be required to contribute funds to a proposed traffic signal at the Route 24-Mulberry Knoll intersection.

Lardner said two road stubs would be provided for possible future access to a vacant parcel between the proposed development and Mulberry Knoll Road.

Lardner said lots would be at least 10,000 square feet with setbacks of 30 feet in front and 10 feet on the side and rear. A sidewalk is planned on one side of all streets with county sewer and central water provided by Tidewater Utilities. The density of the proposed development would be 1.23 units per acre.

Commissioner Keller Hopkins asked whether an emergency access road could be provided along Ward Road, the west border of the property. Lardner said the State Fire Marshal's Office could make that determination.

“You may want a construction entrance on the west side of the project,” said Commission Chairman Marty Ross. “I'm throwing that out for site-plan consideration.”

Hoey Stevenson said she was concerned fertilizer runoff from lots in the community might impact wetlands.

“The buffer will absorb all nutrients,” Lardner said.

Sussex County Planning and Zoning Manager Jennifer Walls asked whether phragmites along Welches Pond could be treated and eradicated. Launay said a management plan could be coordinated between the residents and DNREC. But, he added, the area is a sensitive habitat and it would require an active management plan.

Ross, who has a phragmites management plan for his farmland near Delmar, said it could become a real big problem for a homeowners association.

No one spoke in opposition to the project, but three nearby residents asked questions. “This area has become crowded with traffic over the years. When is something going to be done?” asked James Schneider. “Shouldn't new developments be responsible for the roads in the area?”

Ross said Sussex County road improvements have been on DelDOT's books since the 1970s and still have not occurred. “You need to go to Dover and your representatives in the General Assembly or go to DelDOT,” he said.

Assistant county attorney Vince Robertson said the 2018 comprehensive land-use plan will have much more focus on roads. “The county is aware of this,” he said.

Since the plan is a subdivision, only the planning and zoning commission will vote on the application. County council does not vote on subdivisions.