Belle Mead development plan raises concerns at hearing
Neighbors at a Sept. 16 public hearing urged denial of a zone change for a proposed residential and commercial development near Lewes, saying it would change the area’s character and worsen traffic and school crowding.
They made their case during a nearly four-hour public hearing at a Sussex County Council meeting.
The Belmead Farm LLC project needs a change in zoning for the 30-acre parcel on Route 24 from AR-1, agricultural-residential, to C-4, planned commercial. The property is nearly a third of a mile southwest of Mulberry Knoll Road.
Much of the presentation was led by the project engineer Mike Riemann of Becker Morgan Group and Judy-Rose Seibert, a spokesperson for project opponent Route 24 Coalition. They each spoke for about an hour.
The project is compatible with the county and state development plans, half of the 10 acres of forest will remain and a traffic light will be added at the boulevard-style access entrance, Riemann said.
County Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum said she worries about the loss of established forest on the site.
The developer will contribute $2.7 million to road improvements in the Henlopen Transportation Improvement District, Riemann said.
Plans designated 10% of the apartments for affordable housing, but the developer agreed during the meeting to increase that figure to 15%.
Plans include five commercial buildings near Route 24, four structures behind them with commercial space on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors, and seven multifamily apartment buildings in the back of the property.
Seibert contended that the zone change for the commercial and 344-unit apartment complex should be rejected because it does not comply with county laws.
The project lacks interconnectivity with neighboring properties, a requirement in county law, she said.
Riemann noted one interconnection point was removed at the request of the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission. He said connections will be added, if requested by the county.
Seibert also said the roads nearby are inadequate to accommodate the additional traffic the development would generate and state plans to widen the road are years away. She showed a photo of traffic near the site extending far into the distance on screens during her presentation.
The last traffic count was in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic when roads had less-than-usual traffic, Seibert said.
A loud rumble went through the audience when people heard traffic projections did not include a nearby 700,000-square-foot commercial center named Atlantic Fields. The project, which was the subject of a separate public hearing at the planning & zoning commission meeting the following night, is expected to add tens of thousands of vehicle trips daily to Route 24.
Rosalind Mailander of Rehoboth Beach said traffic projections are inaccurate and urged a new review.
“This is too much traffic to be safe, especially around the schools,” Mailander said, referring to Beacon Middle School and Love Creek Elementary School, both on Route 24.
The road narrows from four lanes to two in front of the site. While the developer would widen the road in front of the project site, it will only shift the bottleneck slightly south, neighbors said.
Alison Artisz of Lewes raised concerns about water and air pollution; additional burdens on roads, schools and emergency services; and the effect of noise and lighting on her neighboring property. She asked council to thoroughly study those issues.
Several affordable housing advocates supported the project, but others said the rents would be too high for some of the target residents, including teachers and nurses.
William Zak, who lives off Route 24, said housing and commercial development near the site will worsen traffic.
Zak said the county has approved construction of another 3,500 houses in the area, and the Belle Mead and Atlantic Fields projects alone would increase traffic on Route 24 by 150%.
“It is an attack on the economy that the major arterial – or one of the two to Rehoboth and Lewes – is so overtaxed that people aren’t going to want to come if they can avoid it. They aren’t going to like it. They will go to other places for their vacations. This isn’t good for the economy, as well as the people who happen to live here and should have some rights.”
County council delayed a decision on the project to seek information from the Delaware Department of Transportation and the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
Questions will be formulated over the next two weeks. The agencies will be given two weeks to respond, and the public will then have two weeks to comment on those responses. All communications will be posted on the county’s website.
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.
