Atlantic Fields developer challenges Jan. 13 denial of Route 24 project
The developer of a proposed 665,000-square-foot commercial center on Route 24 near Rehoboth Beach filed an appeal Feb. 12, challenging Sussex County Council’s Jan. 13 decision to deny a zoning change.
Southside Investment Partners, developer of the Atlantic Fields project through a subsidiary, is asking the state Chancery Court to reverse the denial, and send the application back for another hearing and vote. Also named as a plaintiff is property owner J.G. Townsend Jr. and Co.
“Plaintiff Mulberry Knoll Associates LLC has spent more than two-and-a-half years and over $3.5 million preparing a proposed rezoning for a large, commercial project along a commercial corridor in an area designated by the County’s Comprehensive Plan as a ‘commercial area,’” according to the complaint filed with the court.
The document was provided by Ben Hoskins, president of Southside Investment Partners.
“I think the standard is arbitrary and capricious,” Hoskins said Feb. 12. “The council did not follow its own zoning code or its comp plan. Politics trumped common sense.”
The council voted unanimously against changing zoning of the 73.5-acre site from AR-1, agricultural-residential, to C-4, planned commercial district. The property is on the northeast corner of Mulberry Knoll Road at Route 24.
During the Jan. 13 meeting, Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum summarized several arguments against the project, noting it did not include a required residential component and citing traffic concerns.
The challenge points out that a review by state agencies found no issues, and the plan was reviewed by the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Department, and backed by the county P&Z commission.
“The land-use approval process is not a game of ‘gotcha,’” the court document states. “Fundamental fairness informs us that local governments can’t wait until the record is closed and then claim that there is a deficiency in an application without giving the applicant a chance to address the issue.”
C-4 zoning district rules were created in 2018 for a combination of retail and residential activities, Gruenebaum said. Atlantic Fields included only retail space, she noted.
The appeal notes that a project in a C-4 zone “may” contain a residential component, but county law does not require one. The plaintiff criticizes the council for raising that issue so late in the approval process.
“No one prior to that – not the Sussex County Department of Planning, not state agencies conducting reviews of the proposal, not the Planning & Zoning Commission, and not even any County Council member during the public hearing which preceded its vote – questioned or suggested that the proposed rezoning was fatally flawed for lack of a residential component,” said court documents.
Gruenebaum also said there is no schedule for planned state improvements to Route 24 that would ease the anticipated increase in traffic from the development. She raised concerns about safety.
The project is projected to generate 26,271 daily vehicle trips. The average daily volume of traffic on Route 24 at the site in 2022 was 18,591 vehicles year-round and 23,713 vehicles during the summer tourism season.
Route 24 narrows to two lanes a short distance west of the site, past two schools. There is no timetable for the Delaware Department of Transportation to make planned improvements along the road, including widening a bridge over Love Creek to the west of the property.
The developer said it worked with state transportation officials to design infrastructure improvements to accommodate traffic from the project.
The state required a traffic study that resulted in plans for projects costing $3 million to $4 million, including improving Mulberry Knoll Road and Route 24 within its road frontage, and targeted work on nearby roads.
The county also failed to comply with a state mandate that zoning be changed to reflect the intent of the county comprehensive plan, the suit notes. The land remained zoned AR-1, despite it being designated for commercial development in the 2018 comprehensive plan.
The $175 million Atlantic Fields project was expected to include a Costco, Target, Whole Foods, Nordstrom Rack, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hobby Lobby and Ross Stores.
Neighbors and other individuals had organized opposition against the project for months, and several people said after the Jan. 13 hearing that they were pleasantly surprised when the Atlantic Fields vote by the council to deny the rezoning was unanimous.
But there were also many who support new retail and restaurant offerings included in the plan and the 1,750 jobs those businesses would have created.
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
