County considers expansion of Shell We Bounce
The Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission is scheduled Wednesday, Sept. 17, to consider a request for revised preliminary site plan for an expansion of Shell We Bounce, an indoor recreation center on Route 9 near Lewes.
During the commission’s Sept. 3 meeting, details of the project at the site of the trampoline park and family entertainment center were discussed and a decision was delayed.
The company is seeking permission to build a freestanding 6,242-square-foot two-story mixed-use building with four residential units upstairs and a 4,000-square-foot addition to the existing 24,000-square-foot building for more indoor recreation activities.
The addition would create three birthday rooms, doubling the number now available, said owner Jim Derrick. It may include augmented reality, using technology to create interactive experiences for customers, he said.
There are several options for the new building, primarily commercial and residential space, Derrick said.
Construction could take at least six months, he said.
P&Z Commissioner G. Scott Collins asked if the project would conflict with the Delaware Department of Transportation’s planned expansion of Route 9.
“They are not permanent structures and parking can always be relocated,” said Jamie Whitehouse, director of the county’s Planning & Zoning Office. “We know there are future widening efforts coming down that route. The farther into the setback it is, the more likely it is that they'll have to be moved.”
Vince Robertson, an assistant county attorney, said parking is usually not allowed in the front-yard setback, but there is a provision that allows the commission to modify the parking requirements if they are excessive or unreasonable.
Consideration is also given to whether there are other businesses nearby that also have parking in front and how it would affect the area, Robertson said.
“Do the properties all up and down that road already have parking in the front-yard setback? It’s unfair to penalize the last one in, versus is this the first one?” he said. “How will this impact that particular roadway? This is Route 9. At some point it may be widened, which [this] would impact the ability to widen it.”
Whitehouse also said parking is planned near site boundaries and suggested the commission may want to require screening to block the headlights from shining onto adjacent properties.
Other than the front-yard setback, the project complies with the rules for development in a C-1 general commercial district, officials said.
Collins recommended delaying a decision on the revised preliminary site plan to allow Whitehouse time to draft conditions for the project. The matter has been scheduled for the Sept. 17 commission meeting.
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.
