Robinsonville Road mini-storage facility approved
After amending conditions for a planned 891-unit self-storage facility near Angola to help it better blend in with its surroundings, Sussex County Council approved a conditional use for the project Feb. 25.
Before granting its approval, Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum offered four revisions to the 13 draft conditions for the project that codify changes the developer offered at council’s Feb. 4 meeting. They limit all buildings to a single story; relocate a fence so it will not be visible from adjacent properties or roads; set a 30-foot landscape buffer around the property; and require the buildings to be painted in earth-tone colors and the office building facade to be made of scalloped blocks. All were unanimously approved.
Council then took a separate unanimous vote to approve the project of Rehoboth Family Storage LLC, owned by Bill Soltesz and family members.
Sitting in the audience with his family, Soltesz responded by holding up a piece of white paper with the words, “Thank You,” handwritten in thick black letters.
During the approval process, some people urged approval of the project on a 6.7-acre lot off Robinsonville Road, saying there is a shortage of similar facilities in the fast-growing county.
Others raised concerns about safety on nearby roads. The original plan called for an entrance off Route 24, but the Delaware Department of Transportation required it be moved to Robinsonville Road, which has less traffic. One neighbor said Robinsonville Road is also congested and hazardous at times during the day.
The business is expected to have 30 vehicle trips per day, said Mackenzie Peet, an attorney with the law firm of Saul Ewing LLP, who represented the developer.
Customers usually only visit to drop off items and pick them up, and the average duration of a rental is seven months, Soltesz said.
He said after the Feb. 25 meeting that construction will probably begin this summer and be completed next year.
A decision on the project was delayed at the Feb. 4 meeting because Gruenebaum and Vice President John Rieley were absent.
The Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval at its Jan. 8 meeting, with 13 conditions, including a landscaped perimeter buffer with fencing, preservation of 1.62 acres of woods, no outdoor storage and access from Robinsonville Road.
The project includes three storage buildings totaling about 125,000 square feet.
Customers will only access the site from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily, and the rental office will be closed on Sundays, Soltesz said. The Soltesz family owns and operates six similar facilities with more than 5,000 total units.
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.
