With a 3-2 vote Tuesday, Jan. 19, county council denied a rezoning application that would have paved the way for the 320,000-square-foot Village Centre shopping and office complex on Kings Highway and Gills Neck Road. The decision ends an emotion-charged debate dating back almost two years.

The applicant, Lingo-Townsend Associates LLC, was seeking a zoning change from AR-1 to CR-1 for a 46-acre parcel. What happens next no one is saying, but most said the parcel will not remain as farmland forever.

“This is not over by a long shot,” said Jules Jackson of Lewes. “They’ll be back with another plan. They’ve already come in with two plans.”

Mike Tyler, president of the Cape Region Citizens Coalition, said it would be at least a year before another application could surface, if indeed that is what happens. “I’m pleased and happy that the swing vote swung our way,” Tyler said.

Mable Granke smiled a little. “This gives us some hope,” said the longtime Cape Region activist and Citizens Coalition board member. Granke and Tyler were among the standing-room-only crowd of more than 120 people in council chambers.

Applicant’s representatives didn’t say much. “My client is disappointed by the outcome,” said Dennis Schrader, attorney for the applicant. “We will be meeting in the next few days to discuss the options available.”

The decision could be appealed to Chancery Court.

At least one grassroots group doesn’t see any grounds for an appeal. John Mateyko, spokesman for Managing Growth Around Lewes, said the only grounds for an appeal would have been faulty voting by members of the council who voted against the application. “They went out of their way to articulate reasons for denial based on the record,” he said. He said they did everything properly.

“We owe it to the residents of Sussex County to show that this council can act responsibly and not support conceptual plans for large-scale commercial development where it is not needed,” Cole said.

Deaver read a long list of reasons why she was against the application. “Rezoning is not by right and the comprehensive plan does not mandate a change,” she said.

She echoed some of the same concerns expressed during more than 10 hours of public testimony. “This does not promote the orderly growth of the county,” she said.

No other similar project exists in the area, and its location across from Cape Henlopen High School could create safety concerns, especially related to increased traffic in the area, she said. Deaver said large-scale development like the proposed Village Centre would be better suited in a commercial area such as Route 1. She was also concerned about the cumulative impact on congested roads by other projects already approved along Gills Neck Road. She said Kings Highway is a road that does not serve a wide area, but is congested because of traffic from the high school, Cape May-Lewes Ferry and Cape Henlopen State Park.

Cole agreed that increased traffic would be a problem, and he used what has occurred on Route 1 as an example. Cole said even with multi-year and multi-million-dollar improvement projects to widen and improve the corridor, there are still significant traffic problems on Route 1.

“We have well-documented, high traffic volumes, and the question is do we want to continue to create more problems with excessive commercial development?” Cole asked.

Wilson said no one had proven to him the traffic concerns were legitimate. He said from his studies of the application, traffic would be increased only by about 1 percent.

Phillips disagreed with Deaver’s and Cole’s summation. “Our comprehensive plan clearly encourages this type of development,” Phillips said. “The public reaction to this application reflects the frivolity of master plans.”

In addition, he said, the state’s Livable Delaware program promotes growth around towns. “That’s a document I take to heart,” Phillips said.

Tyler said he was surprised that Phillips voted in favor of the application. “It was overwhelming and so obvious the case should not be done, and he still went against the tide,” he said. “He could have gained a lot of respect and a lot of points if he voted against it.”

Vincent said he could only make a decision based on the public record, not emotional comments made by the public. He said after reviewing all of the testimony and record he still had two concerns: the large size of the project and its effect on the surface water recharge area.

“It’s an area we must take all measures to protect,” he said.

In addition, Vincent said he had faith in the planning and zoning commission and its recommendations. By a 3-2 vote, the planning and zoning commission had recommended denial of the application. The decision also puts a kink in a proposed collaboration between L.T. Associates and the Sussex Family YMCA. Had the application been approved, adjoining land to the Village Centre would have been available to expand the YMCA, now located in Rehoboth Beach.

Developer had scaled-down project

L.T. Associates has two other projects planned along Gills Neck Road – the Senators and Governors housing developments. Although some sewer infrastructure work has been completed, no construction work has started on either project.

An application for a larger 521,000-square-foot shopping center was withdrawn in December 2008 before it reached a council vote. The project resurfaced before the state review process at 387,000 square feet and was later reduced to 320,000 square feet. In addition, developers trimmed the size of the parcel from 68 acres to 46 acres.

Spokesmen for L.T. Associates said transportation planners and state officials did not object to the rezoning or proposed shopping complex. They also said that more than $8 million in road improvements and dedication of rights of way for future projects would help alleviate traffic problems in the area.