Overbrook rezoning hearing scheduled for April 10
Sussex County Council has rescheduled a public hearing on a rezoning application filed by TD Rehoboth LLC for 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, April 10, in the county administration building, 2 The Circle, Georgetown.
The developer is seeking a zoning change from AR-1, agricultural-residential, to CR-1, commercial-residential, for the 850,000-square-foot Overbrook Town Center shopping complex on the east side of Route 1 near the Cave Neck Road intersection north of Lewes.
County council was ordered by Chancery Court to schedule a new hearing following a lawsuit filed by the developer based in Timonium, Md.
Council voted 4-1 on April 12, 2016, to deny the rezoning request for the 114-acre parcel of farmland.
The developers filed suit June 8, 2016, in Chancery Court against council, stating three council members who voted against the application made statements not supported by the public record.
Council members Mike Vincent, Sam Wilson, George Cole and Joan Deaver, who has since stepped down, voted against the application. Councilman Rob Arlett voted in favor. The county's planning and zoning commission had recommended approval of the application.
As a member of the county's planning and zoning commission at the time, Councilman I.G. Burton voted to recommend denial of the application.
On Aug. 11, following briefings and oral arguments, the court granted the plaintiff's motion and ordered a new public hearing. The public record on the application is available 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays at the county’s planning and zoning office in the administration building.
The same developer has proposed plans for Overbrook Acres, a housing subdivision on a section of the parcel, which has been reviewed under the state's Preliminary Land Use Service. The plan includes a 135-unit, single-family development on 66 acres with possible commercial zoning on the remaining acreage. An application has not been introduced by Sussex officials for Overbrook Acres.
