Residents join Sussex officials to defend OTC decision
Story Location:
Coastal Highway
Cave Neck Road
Lewes, DE 19958
United States
Local residents opposed to rezoning for Overbrook Town Center won legal standing in Chancery Court to intervene in partnership with Sussex County on an appeal of county council's decision to deny rezoning.
On June 8, developers TD Rehoboth LLC and Overbrook Acres LLC filed suit in the Court of Chancery requesting the “vote taken to deny the rezoning of the property should be permanently enjoined and a new vote ordered.”
On April 12, 2015, county council voted 4-1 denying the Timonium, Md.-based developer's request to rezone a 114-acre parcel of farmland, along Route 1 at Cave Neck Road, from agricultural-residential, AR-1, to commercial-residential, CR-1, for an 849,000-square-foot shopping center, the largest commercial project ever proposed in the county.
On June 11, 2015, the planning and zoning commission voted 3-2 to recommend approval of the application.
The suit alleges three council members who voted against the rezoning application made statements not supported by the public record.
According to the motion to intervene, the group's interests are distinguishable from the public's interests because the residents live adjacent to or near the parcel where commercial use is proposed in the rezoning application.
Members of the group are Rich Holtkamp, Jeff Stone, Kenny Hopkins, John David Vincent and Rich Borrasso, all of Lewes.
“The court has acknowledged that they are involved as formal litigants,” said Robert Witsil, the attorney representing the residents. “This will ensure their interests are represented.”
Witsil said he will consult with county legal staff on behalf of his clients to file one answering brief as the case progresses.
David Rutt, the attorney representing Sussex County, said motion gives the residents some voice in the appeal although the county is the named party in the lawsuit. “They have an interest in the outcome, and this will allow them to express their opinions,” he said.
Witsil said he anticipates the briefing schedule will be determined by the court by the end of October, and the briefing process will take about three months.
He said the court is awaiting transcription from county staff on more than 11 hours of public hearings before county council and the planning and zoning commission. In addition, he said, 1,400 pages of documents contained in the public record on the rezoning application have yet to be filed.
“Getting this all done is a humongous job,” he said.
