We have been following the proposed development of Northstar, a community of 852 housing units and 96,000 square feet of commercial space on 433 acres on Route 9 immediately across from The Vineyards community and adjacent to Lewes Crossing.
On July 9, we attended an advocacy meeting at Lewes library sponsored by Sussex Preservation Coalition to learn more about the impact that Northstar will have on the already overburdened highway and infrastructure. We applaud the leadership of SPC for an excellent meeting.
We recommend the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission deny the Northstar development as described in the July 9 edition of Cape Gazette.
- The site plan does not adequately preserve open space and scenic views. As drawn, the required forest preservation area is a narrow, gerrymandered green space stretching across more than half of the community
- The affordable housing units are not adequately screened from Mulberry Knoll Road and Route 9, or the adjacent Lewes Crossing community
- No housing units have safe pedestrian access to the proposed commercial areas and centralized community amenities
- Route 9 is already fewer than 1,000 cars from the threshold for improvement as a dual-lane highway. Northstar will add more than 13,000 daily car trips to a road that is at capacity now
- Given the recent voter rejections of two referendums to provide funding for additional space at Cape Henlopen High School, including purchase of acreage for future growth, our school district is not positioned to absorb the additional student population generated by Northstar
- The review of Northstar must be considered in the context of the Cool Spring Crossing community farther west on Route 9. According to a Dec. 23 article in Cape Gazette, Cool Spring Crossing will add 30,000 daily vehicle trips to Route 9 in addition to the more than 13,000 daily trips generated by Northstar.
Finally, we urge our friends and neighbors in Sussex County to join us in telling the planning & zoning commission to deny the current site plan for Northstar.
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