Plans for the 187-unit Rivers Edge cluster subdivision on Cave Neck Road near Milton will be the subject of a public hearing set for Wednesday, March 4.

The Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission will allow comments on the project proposed by Natelli Companies LLC for a 125-acre parcel seven-tenths of a mile east of Round Pole Bridge Road.

The hearing is set for 3 p.m. in the county council chambers in the County Administration Building on The Circle in Georgetown.

The project was originally known as Totem when it was proposed in early 2024.

The site is zoned AR-1, agricultural-residential, and there are no plans to change the zoning.

Several state agencies raised concerns about the project during a March 2024 Preliminary Land Use Service review.

The houses and roads are planned on the west side of Beaver Dam Creek, away from the most environmentally sensitive portion of the site, but some homes are near the creek.

The site is located in a rural area, where the state does not plan to improve roads to accommodate it. Parts of the property are subject to flooding, and 43 acres of forests would be cleared to make way for the project.

“Beaver Dam Creek runs along the southern and eastern portions of the parcel,” a summary of the PLUS review stated. “Both forested wetlands and scrub-shrub wetlands (rare within the state) exist on this site, all of which support an array of plants and animals.” 

Removal of trees within the Broadkill River Natural Area, which borders the site on three of four sides, “will have considerable negative impacts to wildlife, associated habitat and water quality,” the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control noted.

“These forests also lie within the Delaware Ecological Network and are considered to be key wildlife habitat within the Delaware Wildlife Action Plan,” DelDOT added. “Several birds listed as State of Delaware rare, threatened or endangered species are likely to [be present or visit the] site as they have been documented within similar habitat near the project area.”

The agency noted concerns that flooding and future sea-level rise may affect residences in certain areas of the proposed development.

The plans called for retaining 41 acres of forest undisturbed, and DNREC recommended limiting the removal of trees near the Broadkill River Natural Area.

The agency also pointed out that maps indicate tidal and nontidal wetlands on the site. It advised the developer to check if state and federal permits will be required for any improvements in that area.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture strongly opposed development at that location, where farming and forest preservation are encouraged by the county comprehensive plan. 

The developer would be required to make road improvements along the property.