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An announcement that Villages of Elizabethtown developer Darin Lockwood gave 30 acres of land abutting H.O. Brittingham Elementary School to Cape Henlopen School District was premature. Lockwood does not yet, and may never, own the 30 acres.
“He [Lockwood] doesn’t own the land, I can tell you that; in no way, shape or form,” said Gerald Reynolds, who added that he owns the land with his brother-in-law, Willard Workman.
Lockwood also doesn’t own an additional 107 acres proposed to be included in Elizabethtown, effectively putting development of the high-density residential community on the back burner, said a Realtor representing the owners of the property.
Judy Dean of Long & Foster is the listing agent for 137 acres owned by Reynolds and Workman, including the 30 acres that were reported to have been donated to the school district. Dean said Lockwood had a contract on the property but Lockwood decided not to go through with the deal many months ago.
“We do not know if Elizabethtown will ever be developed, but the thought is it may work out in the future,” Dean said.
The confusion began when school board member Noble Prettyman informed the board of a meeting with Lockwood during which Lockwood said he was donating 30 acres of land to the school district for its use. Prettyman showed the board the development drawings as recommended for approval by the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission. Submitted in January, 2007, the plans clearly delineated the 30-acre parcel as a “school site dedication.”
Superintendent George Stone sent Lockwood a letter thanking him for his generous donation.
After the Cape Gazette reported Lockwood’s donation of the land to the school district in its Oct. 16 edition, Reynolds’ grandson sent an email to the paper stating the property was owned by members of his family and Lockwood could not give away something he did not own.
A deed search shows the 30-acre parcel is titled in the name of Louise Workman.
Reynolds said that is just a matter of recording the new owners’ names, being himself and his brother-in law, Willard Workman. “Our ownership of the property is clearly provided for in the will,” he said.
Property in district’s future
Sussex County Council changed the zoning for 226 acres proposed to become part of Elizabethtown from an agricultural residential district, permitting no more than 552 dwellings, to a high-density residential planned community district permitting more than 1,000 dwelling units.
As a condition of the zoning change the Sussex County approval states: “The developer shall set aside approximately 30 acres within the proposed development adjacent to the existing school district property for the future use of the local school district.”
Though Lockwood may eventually have to give use of the land to the school district to make his current Elizabethtown plans become reality, he cannot do so now, Reynolds said. “All I can tell you is we have no deal with Darin Lockwood at this time – no deal at all.”
Milton Town Manager George Dickerson also contacted the Cape Gazette in response to several calls he said his office received after the paper reported Lockwood’s donation of the land.
“I don’t understand how the county can approve a developer’s plans with a condition that requires use of property that developer doesn’t own,” Dickerson said.
Asked if he had any additional information about the 30-acre gift of property to the district, Stone said he knew nothing other than the information he received from Prettyman. Telephone calls to Lockwood had not been returned, he added.
School board President Gary Wray expressed a similar sentiment.
“I suggest you talk further with Noble [Prettyman] and Darin [Lockwood] to find out what is going on. I know nothing about it other than what I read in the paper,” Wray wrote in an email to the Cape Gazette Tuesday, Oct. 23.
Lockwood, Prettyman and Shane Abbott, assistant director of the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission, could not be reached for comment.
Contact Georgia Leonhart at g.l.leonhart@comcast.net
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