Milton appoints committee to begin annexation process

Milton Town Council has appointed a special review committee to review an application seeking to annex a six-lot, 26-acre property.

The three-man committee will include Councilmen Michael Cote and Kevin Kelly and Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Richard Trask.

At a Dec. 2 town council meeting, council unanimously passed a resolution spelling out the committee’s charge and giving them the authority to review the application for annexation brought by Milton Attainable Housing LLC. The committee will investigate the possibility of annexation, consider the positive and negative impacts and provide a written report to town council within 120 days. 

Milton Attainable Housing, a joint project of Rehoboth Beach restaurateur Eric Sugrue and developer Preston Schell, is a proposed mixed-use development across Route 16 from Po’ Boys Creole and Fresh Catch restaurant. 

Currently, half the land is in Milton, zoned commercial; half is in Sussex County, zoned AR-1, agricultural residential. Sugrue has indicated that part of the land will be used for six pad sites that would house small-scale commercial ventures, such as a bank or retail stores, while much of the land will be used as residential rental housing, primarily condominium and apartment units. Plans for the project have not been submitted.

The project was brought to the town’s attention in May, when Sugrue provided a concept review to the planners to determine if the concept was workable before Sugrue and Schell closed on the property. When the commission was generally positive, Sugrue and Schell moved forward and closed on the property in the fall. 

If the land is annexed into Milton, the project would undergo site-plan review by the planning and zoning commission before final approval by town council.