LT Associates is asking the county to rezone 46 acres along Kings Highway and Gills Neck Road in Lewes from AR-1 to CR-1 to pave the way for its proposed 320,000-square-foot Village Centre shopping and office complex.

Councilman Mike Vincent, R-Seaford, who many say could end up as the swing vote on the application, made the motion for a 60-day extension when the matter came up on the Tuesday, Oct. 27 council agenda.

“I’ve read the documents from both parties, and I need more time,” he said.

Under council rules, there is no discussion on motions to table. The motion passed 4-1 with Councilwoman Joan Deaver, D-Rehoboth Beach, casting the lone negative vote in a council room filled with people from Lewes awaiting the outcome of the vote.

Because the parcel is located in her district, it was Deaver who placed the rezoning application on the agenda. It’s been one month since the council heard testimony on the application at a public hearing; planning and zoning commission recommended denial of the application Oct. 14.

Contacted after the meeting, Vincent said there is a lot to read and understand concerning the application. “It’s very important to a lot of people, and I didn’t feel comfortable taking a vote at this time,” he said. “I’d rather have people upset at me for not voting than voting just for the sake of making a decision. I really don’t see a dire rush.”

Vincent said the paperwork on the application is more than 4 inches thick. “I have some more to read and some more to reread,” he said. “I still have questions to ask our lawyers and planning and zoning staff.”

He said he thought 60 days would give them enough time to provide those answers. He also said he wanted to keep the decision away from the holiday period; council does not meet after Dec. 15.

Vincent said he understands the strong emotions attached to the application. “Most people don’t understand the only thing we can make our decision on is what is in the legal record from planning zoning and our hearing,” he said. “It’s not about yellow signs, postcards or emails. It’s not a popularity contest; it’s what the law says you can do and the right thing to do.”

John Mateyko, spokesman for Managing Growth Around Lewes (MGAL), who attended the meeting, said most people who attended said they could understand a few weeks’ delay. “Most people are asking, ‘Why so long?’” he said.

Mateyko said the delay would give groups who oppose the application more time to examine the facts. “We will use the time constructively to examine the massive evidence to deny the rezoning and to publicly explore the procedural irregularities discovered in the processing of the case at the county and state levels,” he said.

“Now we focus our energy on changing the process,” said Nadine Wick, another MGAL spokesperson. “We have to monitor the Sussex County Council. We have to get out and campaign for change if we want a professional process,” she said.

Gail Van Gilder, chairwoman of the Lewes scenic byways committee, said she hoped the additional 60 days would allow for more time to discuss the application. “Maybe cooler heads will prevail, and the project will be a smaller scale,” she said. “It’s just too big and overbearing for land in an environmentally sensitive developing district.”