I am writing to express my grave concerns regarding the proposed change in zoning from AR-1 to C-4 for the Atlantic Fields project.
Aside from the horrendous traffic nightmare this project will most certainly create, the conversion of 73 acres of agricultural land to 95 % impervious surfaces (roofs, parking lots, roads, sidewalks, etc.) is most notably an issue that needs to be addressed head on.
Specifically, rainwater runoff from this project needs the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission’s utmost attention before granting the applicant’s request.
In order to fully comprehend the amount of water these 70-plus acres will no longer absorb, I am providing some easy-to-understand examples and statistics.
One inch of rainfall on 1 acre deposits 27,154 gallons. Sussex County farmers will know this as an acre inch. A typical tanker truck has a capacity of between 10,000 and 12,000 gallons. Thus, 1 inch of rainfall on 1 acre would overfill two tanker trucks. Now imagine 70 times that amount. A minimum of 140 tanker trucks would be needed to collect the runoff from Atlantic Fields.
Another way that might help conceptualize the amount of impervious surface is to imagine a paved 50-foot-wide highway similar to most of Route 24. Since 1 acre contains 43,560 square feet, a 50-foot-wide stretch of road would occupy 871 linear feet. Multiply that by 70 and you will get 60,970 feet. That is equivalent to 11.5 miles of road. That’s long enough to stretch from Midway to Millsboro. That could be a lot of rainwater runoff.
Upon reviewing the developer’s submitted documents available on the Sussex County website, I was unable to find a Sussex Conservation District Stormwater Assessment Study checklist. Furthermore, I was astonished to see a letter from Bohler Engineering informing the commission that a drainage assessment is not required. How could this be?
Before P&Z recommends a change of zoning from AR-1 to C-4 for the Atlantic Fields project, they should determine where the stormwater runoff will go and obtain written guarantees from the developer that rainwater runoff will not negatively impact surrounding property.
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