Cave Neck Road subdivision plan set for March 4 public hearing
Plans for the 187-unit Rivers Edge cluster subdivision on Cave Neck Road near Milton will be the subject of a public hearing set for Wednesday, March 4.
The Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission will allow comments on the project proposed by Natelli Companies LLC for a 125-acre parcel seven-tenths of a mile east of Round Pole Bridge Road.
The hearing is set for 3 p.m. in the county council chambers in the County Administration Building on The Circle in Georgetown.
The project was originally known as Totem when it was proposed in early 2024.
The site is zoned AR-1, agricultural-residential, and there are no plans to change the zoning.
Several state agencies raised concerns about the project during a March 2024 Preliminary Land Use Service review.
The houses and roads are planned on the west side of Beaver Dam Creek, away from the most environmentally sensitive portion of the site, but some homes are near the creek.
The site is located in a rural area, where the state does not plan to improve roads to accommodate it. Parts of the property are subject to flooding, and 43 acres of forests would be cleared to make way for the project.
“Beaver Dam Creek runs along the southern and eastern portions of the parcel,” a summary of the PLUS review stated. “Both forested wetlands and scrub-shrub wetlands (rare within the state) exist on this site, all of which support an array of plants and animals.”
Removal of trees within the Broadkill River Natural Area, which borders the site on three of four sides, “will have considerable negative impacts to wildlife, associated habitat and water quality,” the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control noted.
“These forests also lie within the Delaware Ecological Network and are considered to be key wildlife habitat within the Delaware Wildlife Action Plan,” DelDOT added. “Several birds listed as State of Delaware rare, threatened or endangered species are likely to [be present or visit the] site as they have been documented within similar habitat near the project area.”
The agency noted concerns that flooding and future sea-level rise may affect residences in certain areas of the proposed development.
The plans called for retaining 41 acres of forest undisturbed, and DNREC recommended limiting the removal of trees near the Broadkill River Natural Area.
The agency also pointed out that maps indicate tidal and nontidal wetlands on the site. It advised the developer to check if state and federal permits will be required for any improvements in that area.
The Delaware Department of Agriculture strongly opposed development at that location, where farming and forest preservation are encouraged by the county comprehensive plan.
The developer would be required to make road improvements along the property.
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
