Sussex council requires developer to prevent sediment erosion
Sussex County Council imposed strict rules to control sediment runoff from a proposed housing development, indicating this is the new standard for future projects countywide.
While the 30.6-acre Creekside cluster development of 116 homes proposed by Rudder Road LLC off Banks Road in Long Neck was approved, it came with a list of rules. Council included additional erosion control methods, such as silt fencing, increased monitoring and wider natural buffers along an adjacent creek leading to Rehoboth Bay.
Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum, at the May 20 meeting, lamented the loss of thousands of acres of forest land in the county in recent years, saying she wished the Creekside site could be restored as a forest. She also cited concerns about environmental damage from silt and nitrogen washing into the bays.
“Undisturbed land, healthy wetlands and marshes are essential to our well-being, providing recreation and vital ecosystem services like water filtration, flood protection and carbon storage,” Gruenebaum said.
“This development will sit on Guinea Creek,” she said. “Guinea Creek joins Hopkins Prong and Burtons Prong in feeding into Herring Creek, which flows into Rehoboth Bay. So, every bit of runoff from asphalt, rooftops or lawn treatments along those waters will run into the bay.”
Nitrogen levels are at an unhealthy level, particularly in Indian River and Guinea Creek, Gruenebaum said.
While she disagreed with the Creekside plan, she said there was little the county could do to stop it, as the developer has the right to build up to two houses per acre.
“So, if we deny this conditional-use application, the developer can return with a new application for single-family units,” Gruenebaum said. “In that case, the application will not come before county council and we will have no ability to pursue any protections for the environment.”
The rules, drafted by the Sussex Conservation District and Gruenebaum, and introduced by her May 20, are intended to minimize environmental damage from the project as much as possible, she said.
Council voted unanimously to amend the county comprehensive zoning map from AR-1, agricultural-residential, to MR, medium-density residential.
Gruenebaum offered three amendments to conditions recommended by the planning & zoning commission for the conditional use, which council approved.
They require the developer to create and enact an enhanced stormwater sediment-control plan; limit soil disturbances to no more than 10 acres at a time during construction until previous sections are stabilized; and hire an independent company to monitor compliance with the sediment-control measures.
Sussex Conservation District and county engineers will approve plans and help ensure rules are followed.
Council also unanimously approved a 20-foot-wide natural resource buffer in addition to the buffer along the creek recommended by the planning & zoning commission. It is intended to provide more protection from sediment erosion for the waterway and the downstream bay.
“I agree with the sentiments that Councilwoman Gruenebaum mentioned,” said council Vice President John Rieley.
“I am very troubled by the multiple instances of silt and topsoil runoff into the creeks in that general area over the last couple of years,” Rieley said. “And I think some of the conditions that will be offered may set a new standard, I hope, for how developments that are proposed next to bodies of water will be handled going forward.”
He noted a lot of money was spent to improve the water quality of the Inland Bays, and the University of Delaware is planning a project to develop oyster beds in the bays, with a requested contribution from the county of up to $1 million.
“I believe that the conditions we are placing on this development will limit, hopefully eliminate, more sedimentation in Guinea Creek and the likelihood of flooding during construction,” Gruenebaum said. “We intend to monitor this closely and to impose appropriate penalties for failure to meet the conditions we are setting.”
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.
