Development of Canary Creek under way

Utility construction on the Canary Creek community adjacent to New Road in Lewes has started.

Lead engineer Zach Crouch of Davis, Bowen & Friedel said the community would contain 72 townhomes and 36 single-family homes.

Crouch has worked on the project for 8 years, shepherding it through scores of city meetings and public hearings.

He said the first phase of the project is installing wastewater main and pump station, sewer and waterline extensions and installation of a stormwater management system. Crouch said during Phase 1, 10 to 13 lots will be readied for housing construction.

He estimated utility installation, which started in February, would be finished by June. “They want to start building the first model by the end of June or early July,” Crouch said.

He said construction of roadways from New Road into the community is also part of Phase 1.

To meet Federal Emergency Management Agency 100-year flood requirements, Crouch said, fill soil is being added at the site. He said the community is located on the highest elevation and best site on the property.

The community will be situated on about one-third of the site’s developable property and will occupy approximately 53 acres. About 75 acres of the site are zoned as outer ring residential district with an open space overlay.

The developer placed in escrow deeds that will convey about 47 acres to the City of Lewes or its designee and about 27 acres of wetlands to the state.

Two areas determined to be archaeologically significant are contained in the parcel that would be given to the city; and one archaeologically significant site adjacent to the main portion of the community is expected to be donated in the future.

Crouch said reengineering and resurfacing the University of Delaware’s New Road entrance is part of the project’s roadwork, which also includes constructing multiuse pedestrian pathways and a roadway into the community.

The plan calls for a 10-foot wide pedestrian path with entry points at New Road and near the new public boat ramp on Pilottown Road.

“There’s a significant amount of work going into improving the University of Delaware’s entrance,” Crouch said.

He said construction on that portion of the project would begin by the end of this month.

He said some people say they’re hearing about excessive tree removal, but that is not occurring.

“All trees that have been removed are per the approved plan. There is an agreement that there would be no net tree loss. Some trees had to be removed based on infrastructure – part of the stormwater management system – but they’ll be replaced one-to-one. That has not changed from the beginning,” Crouch said. He said replacement trees would be mature, but their specific species and size have not yet been determined.

Crouch said he’s spoken with Dave Ennis, a representative of Citizens for A Livable Lewes, and the organization agrees that things are unfolding as planned, including tree replacement plans.

In 2006, the organization gathered more than 900 signatures on a petition asking the Mayor and City Council to deny a Lifetime Living zone change request. The request was denied.

“The developer and we, as engineers, have worked very closely with the city to address all of their concerns from the perspective of engineering and construction activities at the site to keep everyone abreast with what’s going on,” Crouch said.

Since 2004, there have been several Canary Creek iterations. That year, the developer submitted plans to the state’s Preliminary Land Use Survey based on 60 independent living units, 65 assisted-living units, 44 semi-detached homes and 69 detached homes.

By 2007, plans for the community changed to 32 to 44 single-family homes and up to 97 multifamily units designed as single-story carriage homes or two-story town homes.

The developer also proposed a public, nonprofit health and fitness center featuring a variety of indoor facilities including heated swimming pool, running track, basketball court, senior center, meeting rooms and aqua therapy and cardiovascular centers, but all those plans were later dropped.