Neighbors of a proposed industrial park outside Milton asked Sussex County Council Aug. 19 to give them 90 days to plan their opposition to the project that will undergo a new court-ordered review.

In a July 18 decision, Delaware Court of Chancery directed council to hold another public hearing and vote again on the Reed Farm project. No date had been set as of Aug. 21.

In April 2021, council denied the developer’s request to change the zoning from AR-1 agricultural-residential to H-1 heavy industrial. It also rejected a request to amend the county’s future land-use map to reclassify the 67-acre site at the intersection of Routes 16 and 30 to a developing area, which would allow higher-density growth.

Chancery Court agreed with the developer that the county’s decision was arbitrary and capricious, and not supported by evidence on the record at the public hearing. The court sent the project back to council for another hearing and vote.

During the Aug. 19 council meeting, Anthony Scarpa, president of the Pemberton Homeowners Association, representing owners of 65 homes in the Pemberton neighborhood across the street from Reed Farm, asked council for a delay so they can hire a zoning attorney and expert witnesses.

“The applicant has had the past four years to litigate this matter in Chancery Court and is well-prepared to represent their case before county council,” Scarpa said. “We’re requesting a 90-day hearing delay to prepare our case. Given the grave impact the rezoning will have on our property values and quality of life, we feel this is a reasonable request. Homeowners are always at a disadvantage in zoning challenges.”

Council attorney J. Everett Moore Jr. said the Chancery Court ruling gave council no choice but to move expeditiously.

“The chancery has directed county council to rehear this, and it’s expected that it would be forthwith, without delay, so it will be scheduled,” Moore said.

While council was in executive session during the meeting, Scarpa said it is difficult to find an attorney with land-use law experience because they usually represent developers, not residents opposing projects.

Scarpa told council that housing being developed nearby makes the Reed Farm project even less compatible with its surroundings than it was four years ago. Nearly 2,000 residences have been approved by the county and Milton, he said.

“It’s important that all parties have an opportunity to voice an opinion about the Reed Farm rezoning application and the impact it will have on our neighborhood,” Scarpa said.

Comments made at the Aug. 19 meeting cannot be taken into account in the council’s review, Moore said.   

“Anything that was read into the record today is not part of the record when you do have that rehearing,” he explained. ”I ask that at that point you only consider what is in the record at that time during that hearing, which I’m sure a lot of this information will be presented in the record at that time.”

Scarpa said Aug. 20 that neighbors are frustrated at being unable to find out what kinds of projects would be built on the property if the development is approved. That makes mounting an objection more complicated, he said.

“It puts everyone at a disadvantage,” Scarpa said.