Sussex council upholds denial of Lockhaven

At its Jan. 11 meeting, Sussex County Council voted 4-0 to uphold the Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission's denial of the Lockhaven subdivision along Round Pole Bridge Road near Milton.

Limitless Development Consulting Inc. had filed the application for the subdivision containing 25 lots averaging 2.5 acres on a 126-acre parcel. The parcel is owned by Lockhaven Farm LLC.

With a unanimous vote at its Oct. 13 meeting, Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission denied the application.

Council President Mike Vincent said the commission outlined several key deficiencies, which would need to be fixed to comply with the county's subdivision ordinance. “There was substantial evidence to deny the application. The commission acted in an orderly and logical manner in conformance with the law,” he said.

Vincent said he agreed with the eight separate deficiencies the commission found in the 17 mandatory factors required to evaluate subdivision applications.

Among the deficiencies, Vincent said, the parcel's wetlands and buffers would be included within building lots, with no assurance of preservation of the 38 acres of woodlands on the property. “In this environmentally sensitive area, there are not adequate protections for wetlands and woodlands,” Vincent said.

He added that the proposed dwelling lots were located around the perimeter of the property where wetlands and woodlands are located, not in the more open center section of the parcel.

He said questions remain about sewer service on the property. He said 25 separate on-site systems are proposed and he was not satisfied that the soils were adequate, because a soil analysis to determine location of the systems was conducted 15 years ago. “The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has not confirmed the soils for the new site plan,” he said.

Vincent said the developer could alleviate many of the concerns by connecting to a central sewer system, but that was not proffered.