Members of the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission heard concerns March 4, on a proposed 187-unit subdivision from neighbors, an environmentalist and a giant blue-and-yellow hedgehog who claimed to live on the site.

The Rivers Edge development proposed on Cave Neck Road near Milton would construct single-family homes on 113 acres of the 125-acre site, said Glenn Mandalas, an attorney with the firm Brockstedt Mandalas Federico, which represents applicant Natelli Companies. 

Nobody spoke in favor of the project during the hearing, after which the commission delayed action to gather more information.

While the site is considered rural in county and state planning documents, Mandalas said there are other housing developments nearby and the county should abide by its own rules, which he believes would allow the project there.

The development density would be 1.6 housing units per acre, less than the two units per acre allowed under county rules, he said. The 62% open space in the plan is double what is required by the county.

The project includes a pier with a kayak launch on Beaver Dam Creek, which flows through the site, Mandalas said.

While he portrayed the creek as an attractive feature of the development, several people who commented during the more than hour-long public hearing said the project would endanger the creek.

“This is an extremely sensitive area,” said Michael Nofi of Milton, who suggested the development be scaled back.

The northern portion of the site along Beaver Dam Creek has tidal and nontidal wetlands, and the development plan will preserve that area and a wooded section on the eastern side of the site, Mandalas said.

Johannes Sayre said he worried about the project’s effect on the creek, which flows through the Broadkill River into the Atlantic Ocean. He questioned the adequacy of the planned buffer zone.

Sayre said the road capacity is inadequate to accommodate traffic from the site, especially taking into account other projects that have been developed or proposed in the area.

Mandalas said the state’s Level 4 designation, where the state does not intend to support development, should not dictate the county's decision. He disagreed with the status, considering other developments already approved in the area. Cave Neck Road will have a grade-separated intersection constructed at Route 1, Mandalas noted. The GSI is currently planned for construction in 2027-29.

P&Z Commissioner G. Scott Collins said he worried about the removal of 43 acres of forest from the site and increased traffic on the road, which he described as a farm path that was paved over.

Thomas Pepper, who owns land to the west and north of the site, with the exception of one lot, had concerns about the damage to the development site, wildlife, ecosystem, tidal lands and infrastructure of the area.

Uhland Pepper IV, a fifth-generation landowner who lives next to the site with his wife and four children, also objected to the project.

“My family has lived on and cared for the land for generations,” Pepper said. “This is not just where we reside; it is also where we have worked, raised our children, built a life rooted in agriculture and stewardship. I am here to strongly oppose the large residential development proposed adjacent to my home and family property.”

Part of the Rivers Edge site is active in farming, and Pepper said the project would be another loss of agricultural land that will never be replaced.

He said he also worries fertilizer and other chemicals from houses could pollute groundwater. His family’s home nearby draws drinking water from a well.

The Rivers Edge project will be on public sewer.

Jill Hicks, president of the Sussex Preservation Coalition, questioned the adequacy of planned vegetative buffers and whether several lots are too close to Beaver Dam Creek. 

As the public hearing wound down, Joaquin Cortez of Lewes strode down the center aisle of council chambers wearing a blue-and-yellow hedgehog suit. He stopped at the podium in front of commissioners and staff.

“My name is Mr. Hedgehog and I am a resident of Rivers Edge today,” Cortez said from under a hood shaped like a hedgehog head. “I'm here to fight for my neighbors and my furry friends who can't be here today.”

“Fight the power,” he added, raising a fist in the air.

Cortez went on to list concerns about how the plan would affect his neighbors.

“I spoke to an old-timer there, Mr. Beaver – he's also known as The Beav,” Cortez said. “He's really concerned about what's going to happen. Like is he going to be able to do some beaver stuff? Like if he builds a dam, is he going to be criticized by the HOA? That's a lot of dam power that the HOA is going to have.”