The Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval of a 181-home development near Millsboro and an 83-home project near Milton at its June 3 meeting. 

The commission voted 5-0 to endorse a change of zone for the Tide Pines development off Legion Road near Millsboro.

Sussex County Council is scheduled to consider it Tuesady, June 23. The request seeks to amend the county comprehensive zoning map for the 63.3-acre site from GR, general residential, to GR-RPC, general residential - residential planned community.

The project includes 181 total units, comprising 107 detached houses and 74 townhomes, in a growth area, said David Hutt, an attorney for the developer.

Homebuyers would pay a one-time $500 fee to Indian River Volunteer Fire Company, which would generate $90,500 after full build-out, Hutt said. They would also pay $8 per month after the initial payment, for a total of $17,376 annually.

Stockley Acres

P&Z also recommended approval of Stockley Acres by a 4-1 vote. Commissioner G. Scott Collins cast the only vote in opposition.

“I find this subdivision is out of character for the other residential developments closest to it,” Collins said. “And for that reason, I think it shouldn't exist. Though I don’t believe the county code necessarily backs up a denial for that reason.”

His rationale reflects concerns of neighbors at a April 15 public hearing, who said it is incompatible with development along the road, which is lined with farmland and scattered single-family houses.

Nearby residents also said they worry that development could harm Chapel Branch, the adjacent floodplain, and wildlife such as eagles, herons, deer, foxes and flying squirrels.

The Stockley Acres cluster subdivision site is on the south side of Stockley Road, about four-tenths of a mile west of Beaver Dam Road, southeast of Milton. It covers two properties along Stockley Road. 

Amenities include a pool, bathhouse and leisure area. The plan complies with open-space requirements and will preserve more than 5.4 acres of woodlands and resource protection buffers from the 4.3 acres of nontidal wetlands.

The forest along the buffers will be undisturbed, said Mackenzie Sindelar, an attorney for developer Foxlane Homes Delaware, during the public hearing. Foxlane Homes Delaware, based in Lewes, specializes in projects of fewer than 100 homes.

Among the recommended conditions of approval, the developer would pay $1,000 per lot to the Sussex County Land Trust for preservation of farmland elsewhere in the county.

The commission also recommended moving two houses on the property for use by an affordable housing organization rather than demolishing them.