Milton mixed-use project granted preliminary approval

A planned mixed-use development with 240 residential units on a 26-acre parcel on Route 16 in Milton was given preliminary site-plan approval by the town’s planning and zoning commission by a unanimous vote.

At its May 18 meeting, the commission imposed several conditions on the preliminary approval: first, developer Milton Attainable Housing must get approval from the town’s board of adjustment for a proposed reduction in parking spaces. Second, the developer must get site engineering plans approved by various review agencies prior to final site-plan approval. Milton Attainable Housing must also provide copies of its elevations for the buildings and garages, show the location of proposed electric-vehicle charging stations and make minor corrections to its paperwork.

Preston Schell, co-developer of the project with Rehoboth Beach-based businessman Eric Sugrue, said he is happy with the result and will continue working toward final approval. He said plans need to be reviewed by the State Fire Marshal, Tidewater Utilities for sewer, Delaware Department of Transportation, Sussex Conservation District and Milton’s public works department. 

“I’m still thinking late 2021 or early 2022 before we can put a shovel in the ground,” Schell said.

He said the project, which has been known as Milton Attainable Housing after the name of the company formed to develop it, will now be known as Cypress Grove.

The project involves building 14 apartment-style buildings with 12 to 24 units in each building. The complex, located at the intersection of Route 16 and Country Road, would include five acres of commercial space, two dog runs, a walking path and entrances from Route 16 in the front and Bay Road at the rear of the parcel. The property was annexed into the town of Milton in December. 

Regarding parking spaces, Schell said, the decision to have fewer parking spaces than required is a function of a desire to have more open space and less impervious surface. The need to get a variance from the board comes from the town’s parking code requiring 2.5 parking spaces for apartments as opposed to single family homes. Schell said the town requires more spaces for a 600-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment, than it does for a seven bedroom single-family home, which only requires two spaces.  

“We construct all our apartment and condo projects with two or fewer parking spaces and never have a shortage of parking. Two-and-a-half is overkill and just leads to a bunch of aging, unused spaces,” he said.

Meanwhile, the town is gearing up for when the development goes in. At the water committee’s May 12 meeting, Councilman Sam Garde gave a report on water impact fees associated with the development.

Garde said the town would assess an impact fee for every water meter provided, with the town providing one meter for every building. He said the town would measure the amount of water going into each building and charge standard water fees. Each unit in each building will be outfitted with a water meter, but the town will be paid on the basis of the water use in each building. Garde said each unit will pay an individual sewer fee, as town sewer is run by Tidewater Utilities. He said Tidewater has provided the developer a 29 percent discount on its sewer impact fees. 

The town’s water impact fee is $2,000, so multiplied by 14 buildings the town stands to collect $28,000 in revenue from those fees. Garde said the idea to charge water impact fees per building instead of per unit, was to encourage affordable housing in Milton, while also not abandoning water impact fees, which help pay for needed services for the development.  

Public Works Director Greg Wingo said both the water and sewer impact fees were negotiated with the developer.