Carey Farm annexation to come before Milton council

The road to annexation of a 192-acre parcel of land near the intersection of Shingle Point and Harbeson roads planned for 385 homes will begin at Milton Town Council’s regular meeting, 6 p.m., Monday, April 6, at Milton library.

It is expected that council will hear a brief overview of the project before referring the application to the town’s special review committee, which will do much of the heavy lifting in assembling a report either recommending or not recommending the annexation. 

The proposed Carey Farm project calls for 242 single-family homes and 143 townhouses. The land is currently in Sussex County, zoned AR-1, agricultural-residential. The Carey Farm development would be part of three developments in the same area across from Mariner Middle School, joining Scarlet Oaks and Four Winds. Scarlet Oaks has already been annexed into Milton; that project’s developers have also submitted an application to annex an additional 5 acres at the tip of Scarlet Oaks that is proposed for a commercial component. That request is still under review by the planning and zoning commission.

Four Winds remains part of the county and is a 336-unit subdivision on 169 acres.

The Carey Farm project went in front of the state’s Preliminary Land Use Service in December. The property is within Milton’s future land-use area.

Milton’s annexation process starts with council accepting the annexation request and forwarding it to the special review committee. After the committee makes its recommendation, the application goes to planning and zoning for a review of the proposed zoning for the parcel within Milton. Planning and zoning then submits an advisory report to council, which then schedules a public hearing on the annexation. After a 30-day waiting period, in which citizens could mount a petition drive to approve or disapprove the annexation via referendum, council will make a final decision.