Neighbors raise concerns about Stockley Road development plan
A proposal to build 83 single-family houses on a 41.7-acre site off Stockley Road near Milton drew complaints from neighbors concerned about the loss of forest and other potential environmental concerns.
The planned Stockley Acres cluster subdivision is on the south side of Stockley Road, about four-tenths of a mile west of Beaver Dam Road, southeast of Milton. It includes two properties along Stockley Road.
The project would comply with county rules, said Mackenzie Sindelar, a lawyer for developer Foxlane Homes Delaware, based in Lewes, which specializes in projects of fewer than 100 homes.
Amenities include a pool, bathhouse and leisure area. The plan complies with open space requirements and will preserve more than 5.4 acres of woodlands and resource protection buffers from the 4.3 acres of nontidal wetlands. The forest along the buffers will be undisturbed, Sindelar said.
The southern end of the site owned by Susan Dibonavanture crosses Chapel Branch and will not be part of the developed portion of the property.
During a public hearing, Laura Ritter said she fears the project will harm Chapel Branch, the adjacent floodplain and wildlife, such as eagles, herons, deer, foxes and flying squirrels. Ritter’s family owns 195 acres of farmland south of the property, and she said they tried to buy the development site but lost out to Foxlane Homes.
“We are very opposed to this development,” said Ritter, adding that it is part of a troubling trend.
“As a local, it feels like we’re being invaded by development on all sides,” said. “We need to pump the brakes and consider what these developments are doing to Sussex.”
“This is going to ruin what we have back there,” said Mike Abram, whose home is secluded within 22 acres along the north side of the project site.
Abram said he worries about the loss of forest on the neighboring property, and there will only be a 30-foot wooded section left next to his land.
“Here you're allowing these forests to be destroyed,” added Gary Wexler, who has been working to restore a home nearby on Stockley Road.
During her rebuttal, Sindelar said the developer is preserving high-quality forest on the site, and the overall project will exceed code requirements.
She said the project would be compatible with other housing projects that she listed in the area.
Abram noted those projects were on nearby roads but not on Stockley Road, where there is farmland and large residential properties.
“It doesn’t fit into the area,” he said.
Abram contended the developer is only preserving trees in the areas where it cannot build.
Each homebuyer would donate $1,000 to the Sussex County Land Trust for land preservation elsewhere in the county, Sindelar said.
The project will be connected to central water provided by Tidewater and sewer service through Artesian. It will extend public sewer service to the development and homes along Stockley Road, extending 3,100 feet from Fortune Circle to the west.
The project is not expected to have a significant effect on traffic, Sindelar said. There are plans for a roundabout at the intersection of Stockley and Beaver Dam roads.
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.
