The council deferred on a final decision on the application presented by Cheryl Normandeau of Lewes and 32 Blue Seas LLC. “We understand the issues, and we need some more time for other council members to take another look at it,” said Councilman George Cole, R-Ocean View. The application will be placed on a future council agenda.

Normandeau, who lives in the nearby Mulberry Knoll development, wants to demolish one house and combine two lots for 9,200 square feet of professional office and retail space adjacent to Beacon Middle School.

The entrance to the complex would be off Mulberry Knoll Road, not Route 24, said Mark Davidson of Design Consultants Group in Milton, as proposed by Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT).

He said DelDOT would not grant an entrance off Route 24.

Davidson said the retail planned for the location would be small scale. “It would not be just any type retail; it would be very restricted,” he said.

Examples he offered would include medial supplies, a small grocer or produce market.

“Ms. Normandeau lives in Mulberry Knoll, and she would not put anything there that would limit her access to her property,” Davidson said.

The complex would be located in the middle of several residential lots, and that has some area residents concerned. The other major concern is traffic along Route 24 and the intersection with Mulberry Knoll Road.

One resident who would live near the complex, Sue Denbow, broke down in tears as she spoke. “This would take away my quality of life and no one consulted me,” she said. “This is a quiet, serene neighborhood. It’s not fair.”

She said she did not want to see a proposed 6-foot fence as a buffer to nearby houses blocking her view.

Mulberry Knoll resident Gary Papp said the application includes a lot squeezed into a small space. “There is no way a business could succeed in that location,” he said. “There is plenty of other space available.”

Several residents said they were unaware of the proposed project until a week before the county council hearing. County staff posted a sign along Route 24 providing information about the application and hearing date. “We didn’t see it,” said Ken Denbow.

Since the planning and zoning decision on Nov. 5, the planning and zoning office has received 17 emails and a petition signed by 44 area residents in opposition to the application.

“This will have a negative impact,” said Ken Denbow, who would live near the proposed office complex. “The character of the neighborhood would be lost. I have to question the necessity of a building that no one wants there.”

Many questions were asked about a traffic study done that estimated 280 vehicles per hour used Mulberry Road, which is a dead-end roadway. Denbow pointed to another section of the study listing 41 vehicles per hour. “It’s more like 41 cars per day,” he said.

“Our concern is for safety for residents who use Mulberry Knoll Road,” said Joe Seymanski, who lives in the Mulberry Knoll development. “It’s a very dangerous intersection. Adding traffic at that corner would make it almost impossible to get out.”

He also wondered why state transportation officials would not allow an entrance off Route 24. “I can’t see how that would be any more dangerous,” he said.

“That intersection is a nightmare,” said Mary Ann Bell, a resident of Mulberry Knoll. “I can’t imagine what it would be like with even 50 more cars.”

She said residents who use the intersection feel like sitting ducks when they sit in traffic on Route 24 waiting for a chance to make a left turn onto Mulberry Knoll Road.

Papp said the intersection is poorly lit and Mulberry Knoll Road is a narrow country road with no shoulders. During the summer, traffic backs up past the road from the traffic signals at Route 1 and Plantation Road, he said.

“Mulberry Knoll Road is an obscure road and we like it like that,” Ken Denbow said.

Eleanor Masseo said Mulberry Knoll residents have been in contact with DelDOT officials to make improvements at the Route 24 intersection without much success. She said a traffic signal is needed.

“I don’t see the need to put a strip mall between houses,” she said.

Area resident Leonard Wade said the proposed location for the complex is ill advised. He said it would be difficult for anyone wanting to access the complex from Route 24. “I see those buildings being vacant for a long time,” he said.