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Baywood LLC, headed by the Robert Tunnell family, owns manufactured home communities, one of the top-rated golf courses in the region and several housing developments in the Long Neck area. Now the company has plans for an equestrian center.
Sussex County Planning and Zoning had its first chance Thursday, June 26, to look at plans for the center, proposed in the new Bridlewood development off Banks Road near Long Neck.
Commissioners deferred action on a request from Baywood LLC for conditional use of 12 acres of land in the agricultural-residential district.
Calling it a showplace for the show-horse industry, attorney Gene Bayard said the upscale facility would be open to the public.
Frank Kea, a landscape architect with Frank Kea Communities, said the center would consist of eight barns with 48 total stalls, indoor and outdoor arenas, paddocks, riding trails, tack and feed rooms, an administrator’s office and retail space.
The facility would provide a venue for small horse shows, riding lessons, tack sales, horse boarding and trail riding. It would provide jobs for two full-time and up to six part-time employees.
He said the architecture, with stone and timber features, would resemble the clubhouse at nearby Baywood Greens golf course with a veranda leading to the rear outdoor arena.
Kea said small events for five to 10 horses would be staged at the facility for about 100 spectators. Those numbers could double if events are regionally rated.
“We have wanted an equestrian-themed community for a long time,” said Robert Tunnell III, representing Baywood LLC.
Tunnell said there is a growing demand in southern Delaware for this type of facility, based on research by the Delaware Department of Agriculture. One of the closest arenas, although much larger, at the state fairgrounds in Harrington, is booked constantly, Tunnell said.
He said the Bridlewood facility would be able to alleviate scheduling problems in Harrington by providing another venue for small horse shows.
Kea said the developers foresee about 10 to 15 events a year. A parking lot with 150 spaces would accommodate most events, but overflow parking could be available with a grass paddock area accessible to the parking lot, he said. The facility could also be used for other community events.
Jason Palkewicz, project manager with McCrone Inc., said traffic volume should not be a problem.
In addition, Palkewicz said, setbacks would be 325 feet from the nearest homes in the 310-acre Bridlewood development, which has already been approved by the county.
He said there would be riding paths within the buffers around the community, which are larger than required by county ordinance.
There was little commentary during the public comment phase of the hearing. Diane Coch, who lives on a farm on Green Road near the proposed facility, said land for the equestrian center and Bridlewood development should be preserved as open space.
She said, according to the Sussex County Association of Realtors, there are more than 5,000 homes for sale in the county.
She said with the glut of homes on the market and the downturn in home sales, the developers should abandon the housing and equestrian center projects.
“They should donate the entire tract of land to the state for preservation because of the negative conditions in the housing market,” she said.
There was no reaction from the developers on that request.
“This would be a place for public recreation, which is consistent with the county’s land-use plan,” Bayard said. In addition, he said, there would be no other facility like it in the Cape Region and a section of farmland would be preserved.
“Plus, it will be built to the same qualities as Baywood Greens,” he said.
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