Sussex County Council's approval of Belle Mead is already being cited as a precedent for future Route 24 projects, including Atlantic Fields. This letter explains why Atlantic Fields fails the comparison to Belle Mead.
Not consistent with land-use working group guidance – Belle Mead’s approval rests heavily on its mixed-use character and housing component. Without the housing, it wouldn’t have received approval. The project was justified as consistent with working group guidance that calls for adding homes, especially workforce and attainable units, in designated growth areas rather than more retail-only projects that fuel long commutes. Atlantic Fields, as proposed, has none of this balancing function.
Not consistent with neighborhood‑scale retail – Belle Mead’s retail, while significant, is primarily neighborhood and corridor‑serving. Atlantic Fields is orders of magnitude larger and is marketed as a regional destination. That scale doesn’t simply add some traffic to Route 24; it transforms the corridor into a regional commercial spine, with daily trip volumes and turning movements that aren’t remotely comparable to Belle Mead.
Not the same watershed context – Belle Mead doesn’t sit in the same sensitive watershed setting. Atlantic Fields is proposed where shallow groundwater, wellhead protection concerns and downstream-receiving waters all heighten risk from impervious cover, fueling operations and large parking fields. Adding housing above or beside extensive asphalt and fueling facilities doesn’t make rainfall disappear, lower the water table or reduce the volume or pollution load of runoff toward nearby waterways.
Not the same scale and design – At Belle Mead, the housing and commercial program are sized in rough proportion; the units are a core part of the concept, not an afterthought. For Atlantic Fields, any late addition of housing to a 695,000‑square‑foot footprint cannot be treated as equivalent. If housing is to be the key justification, the retail intensity must be significantly reduced.
Not the same traffic impact – Belle Mead’s impacts, while serious, were judged by a bare majority to be manageable given planned Route 24 improvements and its mixed-use format. DelDOT’s Belle Mead letter doesn’t state the broader Love Creek/Indian Mission Road corridor will be complete by 2032 despite Councilman Matt Lloyd's claim to the contrary. Treating 2032 as a promised completion date overstates what is actually programmed by DelDOT. Atlantic Fields is planned to open in 2028.
For these reasons, Atlantic Fields cannot be treated as an extension of Belle Mead. Where Belle Mead barely cleared the bar, Atlantic Fields falls well short.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
