Moorings plan would demolish eight homes
Owners of The Moorings at Lewes retirement community have asked Sussex County for a zoning change to facilitate a project to tear down eight homes and make way for construction of 66 units.
Springpoint at Lewes Inc. has requested an amendment to the county’s comprehensive zoning map. The original MR-RPC, medium-density residential planned community, zoning was approved in 2004.
Springpoint’s application also seeks to change the conditions of a previous zoning change and an additional zoning change. Approvals would also cover two residences created over the years without permission from the county.
The requests were reviewed Dec. 10 by the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission, which deferred a decision to a later meeting.
The 38-acre site, formerly known as Cadbury at Lewes, is north and northwest of Gills Neck Road about two-tenths of a mile east of Kings Highway.
The application includes the addition of 21 single-family detached units and 46 multifamily apartment units. The plan would demolish four single-family cottages and two duplexes.
That would bring the total number of units in the community to 273, a net increase of 56 units.
Mackenzie Peet, a lawyer for the owner, acknowledged communication with residents affected by the demolition was poorly handled, upsetting some.
Relocation of six of the eight families who must move has been finalized, and there are discussions with the other two to relocate in the community or elsewhere, Peet said.
The construction of units will be planned to accommodate the relocations, wherever possible, she said.
Efforts to better inform residents have been initiated, including four meetings with The Moorings at Lewes residents and creation of an ad hoc expansion committee, Peet said.
The project also includes an expansion of the community and healthcare center, and the addition of two pickleball courts, a bocce ball court and a dog park.
The Moorings is in a coastal growth area, and the Delaware Department of Transportation has concluded the project would not have a significant effect on traffic, Peet said.
During a public hearing, Paul Enterline, a lawyer representing the residents of Cottage 31, said the 90-year-old husband and 85-year-old wife who live there were upset with having to move.
“This proposal has been exceptionally stressful for my clients,” Enterline said. “When they moved into this residence … they thought this would be the final residence of their lives and they wouldn’t have to be moving anymore.”
The increase in density of the site is of particular concern for senior citizens, Enterline said.
Also during the public hearing, Donald Smith, a six-year resident of The Moorings, spoke in support of the project.
“I do endorse the expansion and taking advantage of the green space that is unused in The Moorings right now,” Smith said.
A member of the expansion committee, he said the wishes of residents were considered in planning the changes.
Smith said The Moorings is one of the few continuous-care retirement communities in the area that has independent living through skilled nursing.
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
