Final plans for wedding venue left at altar for now
The owners of Milton-area bed-and-breakfast Mansion Farm Inn have designs to make the historic home along Route 16 a wedding destination for southern Delaware.
Those plans were stymied when Sussex County Council denied their application for a conditional use for a venue for up to 10 weddings a year. Under the county special-events ordinance, they are now limited to three events per year. For more than three events, they must obtain a conditional use.
Will McQueen and David Stiber purchased the home a year ago and have turned it into a showplace inside and outside, with five guest rooms. They came to Sussex County after operating a bed and breakfast for 13 years in the Hershey, Pa. area.
Parking for weddings surfaced as the main issue during two public hearings in April before planning and zoning commission and county council. The 1.6-acre property has an area near the back of the parcel for parking 30 to 50 cars.
But the parking plan McQueen submitted to council was deemed unacceptable because it did not contain drive aisles for entering and exiting the lot as required by code. McQueen's plan for parking across Route 16 was looked on as too dangerous by the planning and zoning commission.
The owner of property around Mansion Farm is not interested in selling any land for parking, McQueen said.
He said he regrets not hiring an attorney or engineer to present the application. “But this is the first time I've ever done anything like this,” he said, adding he was under the impression no special permission was required to have weddings at the bed and breakfast.
McQueen said they have to wait a year to refile a conditional-use application, which they will do later this year. “This time the plan will include off-site or hotel parking with shuttle service,” he said. “It's going to cost another $500 for the application fee. It's a shame how much money you have to spend.”
McQueen said what upset him most was that council mentioned possibly allowing him additional time to come back with an alternate plan, but no council member made that motion; instead his application was denied.
Homestead dates back to 1800s
The Victorian Mansion Farm house was constructed in phases by the Robbins family from 1860-1909 on the site of a modest home built in the early 1800s by David Robbins Sr. The most notable addition was a two-story section in 1889 doubling the size of the farmhouse. In the 1930s, Charles Jones operated a mail-order holly wreath business from the property. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.
