Sussex P&Z approves two subdivisions
Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission granted preliminary approval for two Cape Region developments totaling 583 single-family lots.
At its Dec. 22 meeting, the commission approved cluster subdivision applications filed by BDRP LLC for The Estates at Middle Creek and Sussex Real Estates Partners LLC for the Belle Terre community.
The Estates at Middle Creek, located along Angola Road one-half mile off Route 24, will contain 314 single-family lots on 150 acres. Belle Terre, located off Mulberry Knoll Road near Lewes, will contain 269 single-family lots on 124 acres.
Both parcels are primarily farmland located in AR-1, agricultural-residential, zoning districts.
The developers will be responsible for submitting a preliminary site plan to the county’s planning and zoning office. The final site plan will be subject to review and approval by the county’s planning and zoning commission. The subdivision applications are not required to be approved by Sussex County Council.
Estates at Middle Creek in Angola
Mark Davidson, a land planner with Pennoni Associates in Milton, said the project has been designed to preserve as many trees as possible. He said he has proposed to Sussex County engineers that the community's sewer line installation point be moved from a wooded section to keep from cutting down trees.
He said nearly half of the site plan is open space devoted to wooded areas, amenities and parks.
The site plan includes 66 acres of open space, 39 wooded acres and 22 acres of rights of way. The parcel contains 94 acres of woods and 51 acres of farmland and vacant land with a 20-foot landscaped buffer around the perimeter of the property. Allowable density in AR-1 zoned land with an environmentally sensitive developing district overlay is 2.17 units per acre. The proposed Middle Creek Preserve density is 2.13 units per acre.
A required traffic impact study included surveys of five off-site intersections. Required on-site improvements would include road widening with shoulders, a sidewalk and bicycle lane along Angola Road and left-turn lanes on Angola Road for Middle Creek Preserve and Angola by the Bay. The developer could also be required to contribute funds to off-site road improvements.
Belle Terre along Mulberry Knoll
The developer had earlier applied to rezone the tract from AR-1 to medium-density, residential planned community, MR-RPC, to build 200 single-family homes and 178 duplexes, a total of 378 units, a density of 3 units per acre.
On Aug. 25 the county's planning and zoning commission recommended denial of the original application. The developer withdrew that application a week later and submitted the application approved by the planning and zoning commission.
Commissioner I.G. Burton said he didn't see much difference between the two plans. “They are maxing out use of all available land,” he said. “I don't like it too much, but the application does meet current code. The current code has glaring flaws that I hope are addressed in the new land-use plan.”
The housing project will share boundaries with the new Love Creek Elementary School, scheduled to open in 2017, and yet-to-be-built Delaware State Police Troop 7.
According to the proposed site plan, the entrance would be off Mulberry Knoll Road to Dorman Road. If approved, the developer would be required to improve the entrance and frontage road, and provide funding for a traffic signal and improvements at the Route 24/Mulberry Knoll Road intersection.
The parcel is bordered on the south by Hetty Fisher Pond and on the north and west by Hetty Fisher Glade, part of the Love Creek Natural Area. The developer will provide a minimum 50-foot buffer along all nontidal wetlands and a minimum 100-foot buffer along the pond's wetlands by preserving the woods.
The community would have a connecting walking path to the school, a clubhouse, pool, playground, walking trail, and canoe and kayak launch.
