There are several reasons to oppose rezoning Belle Mead from AR-1, agricultural-residential, to C-4, commercial planned zoning, a change replacing the horse farm next to Beacon Middle School. The planning & zoning commission recommended the approval of Belle Mead to Sussex County Council, which will hold its public hearing Tuesday, July 22.
One thing P&Z lauded about Belle Mead is that it will add about 33 affordable housing units, which commissioners think will be great to attract the medical staff we need to serve the current and future residents! Huh? If the county just puts a stop to the development frenzy, we may not need so much medical staff.
About a mile from the Belle Mead site is another 67-acre commercial development, Atlantic Fields, in the queue. Together, 20,000-plus daily vehicle trips will be added to Route 24, more than doubling current traffic volume.
DelDOT recently completed the eastern Route 24 improvement projects – dualization of about a couple of miles from Plantation Road to the entrance of the Saddle Ridge community; expanding the turning capacity at Camp Arrowhead Road; and improvements at the Angola Road/Robinsonville Road intersection.
The recently finished double lanes will not even cover the frontage of Belle Mead. Less than a mile west of Belle Mead is the single-lane-each-way bridge over Love Creek. DelDOT has no plan to dualize this environmentally fragile bridge until 2040, if it ever happens!
If DelDOT decides to further improve Route 24, then what? After the four or five years of constant construction jam, how many more years are we to endure?
The hidden factor of a large development such as Belle Mead is that previous approvals are used as justifications for more, creating a domino effect. A recent example is Commissioner Holly Wingate’s reasons to recommend approval of Cool Spring Crossing on Route 9. She said the many subdivisions that have been approved in recent years make the approval of this “town” appropriate. Mind you, Wingate is one of five commissioners who hardly say no to any developments, laying a red carpet for large projects such as Cool Spring.
Council must put an end to taking these piecemeal zoning changes of such large scale. They should wait until the new comprehensive plan review period, when the cumulative impact can be considered.
Say no to Belle Mead! And to the town of Cool Spring Crossing!
Add your comments against Belle Mead at connect.sussexcountyde.gov/PublicDocket/#/details/CZ%25202001.
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