Gills Neck Village Center rezoning debate continues

Opponents of a proposed rezoning for the Gills Neck Village Center said the project would add to traffic woes in the area and called for updated studies and planning before county council considers the application.

That comes as the developer's team testified that millions of dollars have already been invested in road improvements for projects in the Gills Neck area.

Developer J.G. Townsend Jr. & Co. has filed a rezoning application from agricultural-residential, AR-1, to B-1, neighborhood business district, for an 11.6-acre parcel at the intersection of Kings Highway and Gills Neck Road, a change that could pave the way for a shopping center. Under B-1 zoning, the commercial area could be no more than 75,000 square feet. That's after plans for a larger 215,000 square-foot center were placed on hold by the developer.

The debate over traffic that began at a July 14 planning and zoning commission hearing continued at the seven-hour county council hearing Aug. 23.

Debate over 2006 traffic impact study

Several residents asked council not to rely on a 2006 traffic impact study presented by the developer and approved by the Delaware Department of Transportation.

Because the commercial scope of the proposed Village Center from the 2006 study has been reduced substantially, state transportation officials said a new study was not warranted.

“The application is improving the level of service,” said Todd Sammons, DelDOT's southern division engineer. “There was a huge over-inflation of what the traffic would be.”

The 2009 agreement – which outlined what road work the developer was required to complete – was based on the rezoning application for the larger, 215,000-square-foot shopping center.

“We want to fix everything, but there has to be a balance,” Sammons said. “In a resort area, there is an expected level of delays.”

However, Sammons said, DelDOT is requiring the developer to complete a traffic operational analysis as part of site-plan review to better evaluate two planned entrances for the proposed shopping center.

Gene Bayard, the applicant's attorney, said the center is proposed along a major arterial road in a Level 1 growth area as defined by county and state standards.

Michael Lenhart, a traffic consultant hired by Lewes Partnership for Managing Growth, said a decade-old study does not provide current or reliable information for an evaluation as required by county code comparing buildout in AR-1 zoning versus full build out with B-1 zoning. In addition, he said, the study does not identify the increase in traffic due to the rezoning and the effect of rezoning on surrounding roads.

Lenhart said traffic counts taken in August at intersections along Kings Highway show that week-day traffic counts are now higher than peak-hour Saturday counts 10 years ago. “There has been a significant change in traffic,” he said. “It's approaching capacity for a two-lane road with the existing traffic.

Lenhart said under existing AR-1 zoning, about 210 new vehicle trips per day would be added, compared to more than 5,000 new trips with B-1 zoning.

Councilman George Cole, R-Ocean View, asked DelDOT's Sammons whether updated information as provided by Lenhart would be beneficial to state transportation planners. “Times have changed,” Cole said. “There is more traffic. We need to be responsible when we rezone property.”

“We would end up with similar results. The infrastructure improvements have already been made,” Lenhart told Cole.

Lewes Mayor Becker said traffic from even the downscaled center would further impede traffic flow. He said a Lewes study shows traffic on Kings Highway would increase about 20 percent. “With 3,900 new vehicle trips, failure at intersections is guaranteed,” he said.

Becker also restated that Kings Highway serves as one of the key access points not only to Lewes, but also the Cape May-Lewes Ferry and Cape Henlopen State Park. It's also a primary route for EMS services to Beebe Healthcare and is an evacuation route. “Access to this road remains critical,” he said.

In addition, even the downsized shopping center would draw shoppers from the surrounding area and not just residents along Gills Neck Road, as the developer has suggested, Becker said.

Ring Lardner, the applicant's engineer, said the City of Lewes traffic study and the traffic study as approved by DelDOT can't be compared. The size of the center has been reduced 85 percent, and the developer is abiding by the 2009 agreement, Lardner said. 

Joe Kelly, a retired attorney who is a part-time resident of Lewes, urged council to request an updated traffic impact study. “It's required by state law and upheld by the Delaware Supreme Court,” he said, adding a 10-year-old study should not be valid. He said to make a decision, council needs updated, actual traffic counts, future development projections, peak-peak traffic counts and studies at more intersections – such as Gills Neck Road and Front Street – which was not included in the 2006 traffic impact study.

“Even if no one is asking for it, it's still needed,” he said.

Councilwoman Joan Deaver, D-Rehoboth Beach, said she under the impression that council had asked for a new traffic study.

“Regardless of studies, it makes no sense to draw more cars to this area,” said Jane Lord, a resident of Cadbury at Lewes on Gills Neck Road. “Here the school zone and business zone would conflict and one or the other would have to be compromised.”

John Mateyko, president of Lewes Partnership for Managing Growth, said national data shows that the Gills Neck Road area could support a smaller-scale center about half the size of the proposed center. “The larger center will need traffic from Route 1 to keep the lights on,” he said.

Road improvements

Nick Hammonds, a principal at Jack Lingo Asset Management, said to mitigate traffic issues, the developer has invested millions of dollars in road improvements on Gills Neck Road and Kings Highway in conjunction with the Senators and Governors projects as well as the proposed Village Center project.  Jack Lingo Asset Management is project manager for J.G. Townsend Jr. & Co.

Hammonds said the following road improvements have already occurred based on the 2009 agreement DelDOT: Nearly 5 acres of dedicated rights of way for intersection improvements; widening of more than 5,500 feet along Gills Neck Road with 11-foot lanes and 5-foot shoulders; realignment and improvements – right- and left-turn and through lanes – at the Cape Henlopen High School/Kings Highway/Gills Neck Road intersection; Junction and Breakwater Trail improvements; and two curve smoothing projects on Gills Neck Road.

He said if the rezoning is approved, the developer will fund a new traffic signal at the Clay Road/Kings Highway intersection at the main entrance to the proposed shopping center and also provide upgrades on the remaining section of Gills Neck Road. DelDOT could also require a $50,000 developer contribution to improvements at the Dartmouth Drive/Kings Highway intersection.

When asked by Councilman Rob Arlett, R-Frankford, what the total cost of the improvements has been, Hammonds said he did not have a final figure. But, he said, the recently completed work at the high school intersection cost $2 million, and work on the two curves was about $1.7 million.

Residents ask for master plan

Gail Van Gilder, chairwoman of the Lewes Scenic and Historic Byway, said as many as 1.5 million visitors come to the Lewes area each year, and many access Kings Highway to reach the ferry, state park and downtown Lewes. She said she joins with others who say a master plan for Kings Highway should be in place before any more land-use decisions are made. “Without it we'll chip away at it piece by piece,” she said.

She said a Kings Highway-Gills Neck Road master plan in collaboration with DelDOT is expected to be released at the end of September.

Van Gilder said the county's comprehensive land-use plan provides for sub-area plans to address smaller sections of the county. She supported the request for a new traffic impact study, noting that even with new roadwork, issues remain because there is limited space to make improvements.

Attorney Bayard said the developer supports the scenic byway. He said an investment of $200,000 to renovate the Townsend barn – which faced demolition – maintains a Lewes icon along the byway.

Lawyers disagree over road designation

John Sergovic, an attorney representing the Lewes Partnership for Managing Growth, said the county's land-use plan does not support land use as proposed on the 11.6-acre parcel in an environmentally sensitive developing area overlay zone. One of the main reasons, he said, is that the proposed center is not located on a major arterial road, one of the provisions dictating commercial development in the overlay zone.

The developer's team and the county's lawyers disagree with Sergovic; they agree that Kings Highway is a major arterial road as defined by state transportation officials.

Conceding that the definition may be a legal matter, Sergovic said the major arterial road referred to in the county's land-use plan is Savannah Road and not Kings Highway. He said the parcel for the proposed shopping center is designated as a low-density area on the county's future land-use map.

“It's Savannah Road as defined by Sussex County. That's the definition that should be used,” Sergovic said.

Process continues toward council vote

At its July 28 meeting, the county's planning and zoning commission recommended approval of the application. "This application is an 82 percent reduction from the original proposal," said Commissioner I.G. Burton. "Unlike a destination center, this is for citizens who live in the vicinity. It serves a need and is good planning."

At its Aug. 30 meeting, county council closed the record for public comment, but left the record open until the end of the day Friday, Sept. 30, for council members to ask questions or seek information from staff or agencies.

Assistant county attorney Vince Robertson said the questions and responses would be made public followed by a time period for written public comment on the responses. Council is not under a deadline to take a vote on the application.