Public comments on Lewes Beach redevelopment
A vote on the site plans for two Lewes Beach redevelopment projects may come as early as Monday, March 14.
White Bucks LLC has filed applications to develop the vacant lot across from Dairy Queen at the corner of Savannah Road and Cape Henlopen Drive, and the lot on Savannah Road currently occupied by Two Dips ice cream shop. The plan is to build 12 condo units on each site.
Mayor and city council held public hearings on both applications March 7. Concerns raised by the public include the potential for flooding, lack of stormwater management, parking, traffic and the general design of the residential units.
The vacant lot across from Dairy Queen would be called Carriage Houses at Cape Henlopen, featuring 12 condos on the 0.6-acre parcel. The lot is currently zoned general commercial. In order to build residential units, the application must contain a commercial aspect. For this site, the developer is proposing up to 13 public metered parking spaces along the property’s Cape Henlopen Drive property line. Metered parking is a permitted use and satisfies the commercial requirement. The parking, with an entrance off Alaska Avenue, is proposed to be open to the public, but managed privately, said Rick Quill, the property owner and applicant. He said he would be willing to discuss handing it over to the city if officials are willing to talk about it.
The Two Dips site would be called Carriage Houses at Savannah, featuring 12 condo units on the 0.52-acre parcel. The lot is also in the general commercial zone. Quill plans to retain a portion of the existing Two Dips building and add two condos above it. The site would contain 10 other residential units without any connected commercial units.
As proposed, the residential units would stand 40 feet tall, the maximum allowed, with elevator shafts and rooftop deck railings extending beyond 40 feet. Underneath all units except the two condos above Two Dips, ground-level areas would be reserved for owner parking. Two spaces are shown on the plans, but three are available if cars are stacked. Above the ground level, each unit would have three levels of residential space and a rooftop deck.
Planning commission member Debra Evalds did not hold back in her written comments made via Zoom during the March 7 hearing.
“This is an incredibly clever proposal in its ability to squeeze so much development into an envelope of this size,” she said.
She criticized the developer’s use of metered parking to check the commercial box.
“Legally, is this truly a commercial development or a residential?” she said. “If it was residential, the setbacks from the wetlands would be vastly different and more stringent. As it is, this is an application that solidly paves almost an acre with little to no setback from delineated wetlands.”
Evalds postulated that the two applications are one and being disguised as separate to avoid more stringent regulations. While the projects are very close to each other, City Manager Ann Marie Townshend said, they are not contiguous and cannot be considered a single application.
Nearby residents commented that flooding is already bad in the area and further development of the lots could exacerbate the issue.
“Stormwater management is too important at this location to be minimally addressed,” said Melanie Moser, a member of the planning commission.
Quill said he will consider using porous pavement on the sites.
“I feel angst about flooding and rising sea levels,” he said. “I don’t have my head in the sand.”
As he often does, he also quoted the city’s comprehensive plan.
“On page 26 of the Lewes comp plan [it says] Lewes cannot prevent flooding or reverse sea-level rise,” he said. “I’m keenly aware of the flooding across the street. Our intention is to follow the procedures, the engineering, to get us across the finish line to not add to the flooding.”
Savannah Road resident Christian Mullins criticized the lack of parking planned for the Two Dips site. In addition to parking for the residential units, the site plan shows two spaces for employees and two spaces for patrons of the commercial unit.
“It gets slammed down there,” Mullins said. “There’s probably 15 to 20 parking spaces that are always full in July and August. It’s really going to back up Savannah Road on a summer night.”
Quill said his plan meets city code. He noted he is not seeking a variance or anything outside what is permitted in the general commercial zone.
“What we are doing is the intent of the comp plan,” he said. “We are a community of 65 and older. We are a community of people who want to downsize; they want a smaller impact, face-to-face intimacy.”
He said the city has 54 percent open space, and he suspects the percentage is even higher on the beach side of town. Only 20 percent of the town is residential, he said. Of the housing stock, he said single-family homes comprise 76 percent, which he says is the highest in the state. Condos and townhouses only make up 5 percent of residential units, he added.
“I will welcome anybody, any time to contact me and I will go over the comp plan word by word,” he said. “It tells us we need this housing stock. If you want a single-family home, we have ample inventory.”
A possible vote on the two site plans is on Lewes Mayor and City Council’s agenda for Monday, March 14. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., and will be held in person and via Zoom. A link to the meeting can be found on the agenda at lewes.civicweb.net.
