The developer of a proposed housing development at Old Landing Golf Course has gone back to the drawing board.

Jim Fuqua, attorney for Osprey Point D LLC, said on the new plans that have been submitted, the density of the project has been reduced from 339 mixed-use lots to 217 single-family lots.

All 180 proposed townhomes have been removed and replaced with 58 single-family lots; a reduction of 122 units. Fuqua said property owner Robert Marshall considered concerns expressed by residents in the area, particularly the proposed density of nearly three units to an acre; the new plan is less than two units to an acre.

In two hearings in January and February 2015, 10 hours of testimony for and against the application were presented.

The planning and zoning commission and county council had placed the application on hold awaiting a more detailed review of the plan by state transportation officials. That review – recently sent to the county – took more than a year to complete. The report and the applicant's response are on the commission's Thursday, March 24 agenda.

The developer has filed an application for a zoning change from AR-1, agricultural-residential, to MR-RPC, medium density, residential planned community, for the 127-acre parcel along Old Landing Road.

Fuqua said the zoning change is still needed because of the proposed lot sizes, which would average about 10,000 square feet. In AR-1 zoning, the minimum lot size is 20,000 square feet. In addition, Fuqua said, medium-density zoning is more consistent with the surrounding area along Old Landing Road.

The revised plan has been submitted to Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission.

Property owner Robert Marshall has owned the property since 1991, but it has been owned by the Marshall family for nearly a century. The first nine holes of the golf course were developed in 1960, with the second nine added in 1968.

The public will have 20 days to comment on the revised plan once it's received by planning and zoning. There will be another 20-day comment period once the matter is placed on county council's agenda.