I attended the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission meeting Sept. 28, and spoke in opposition of the Twin Masts development plan on Round Pole Bridge Road near Hudson Fields Airport, which includes 249 homes on 132 acres. After more than one full hour of testimony from the developer’s experts, it was time for the public to speak.
I had been prepared to speak for three others who could not make the meeting in person, and since phone-in calls are not permitted, I was given their presentations. One is a DelDOT engineer who had done her own traffic analysis and is a resident of Round Pole Bridge Road, The chairman hurried me through her 21 PowerPoint slides, missing crucial information which the developer omitted.
The next presentation I was going to present was from an environmentalist who spent extensive time studying the plot plan and soil information, including the excellent groundwater recharge area and the wetlands. I was a quarter of the way through her presentation when again, the chairman hurried me along to finish. Her calculations of woodlands and wetlands area cut the development down to 98 homes that would be in the buildable area.
While giving my presentation, I spoke about the lead contaminants that are in general aviation fuel. We all remember lead gasoline for automobiles which was banned. The chairman piped up and asked how I knew about this lead in aircraft fuel. If he had read the application packet in the documents from the public comments he would have seen that lead is mentioned several times.
Does the commission read the packet of information prior to each land-use hearing? We are left with a planning and zoning commission that allows the developer to give a full presentation while censuring public presentations. How sad. We need commissioners on the planning and zoning commission that will follow Sussex County code and protect the citizens of Sussex County. One commissioner blurted out several times: ”We have seven more hearings tonight,” hurrying the public along with presentations.
Hudson Fields pilots asked for a Runway Protection Zone of 150-by-2,000-feet for a safety zone, and I asked the developer to upgrade Round Pole Bridge Road from end to end to meet state standards. Currently, it is a single-lane, tar-and-chip road. I hope the commission reads all the public comments and makes an informed decision on Twin Masts.
Janet Ledigabel
Milton
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