Why Should Delaware Care?
County planning and zoning boards are always homes for debate on unique quirks in land use codes, but a recent application in Kent County considers a rare situation: a residential helipad. Neighbors in the rural area familiar with farm planes have expressed a mix of criticism and support for the project.
A Felton resident is seeking Kent County’s approval to build a helicopter landing pad on empty acres next to his home – seemingly one of the only residential helipads in the state – a proposal that has sparked a mix of outcry and support from his neighbors.
Delaware has about 30 private air landing strips across the state, many of which are used by hospitals or large farms.
On July 10, the Kent County Planning Commission approved Juan Caride Hernandez’s conditional use application to join those, building a helipad on his property. Caride Hernandez’s application described his request to place the helipad and helicopter hangar on his 53-acre property, which is zoned as agricultural residential, for Caride Hernandez and his wife, Toni Caride, to take flights in their EC120 helicopter.
The helipad conditional use application will now move on to a public hearing at the end of July by the Kent County Levy Court, the county’s government.
Kent County Planning Commission Vice Chair Paul Davis, who has been a member of the Planning Commission for over 18 years, said this is the first ever helicopter application in the county he is aware of, and it does meet the county zoning codes.
Seven of Caride Hernandez’s neighbors came to a July 3 public hearing of the Planning Commission to express their concern about the dust and noise the helicopter would generate, as well as its potential impact of lowering property values in the neighborhood.
Applicant agrees to limits
“If you have so much money, why not go somewhere else instead of in the neighborhood where people live?” Felton resident Michael Jordan said about Caride Hernandez’s application.
In response to issues raised by residents at the hearing, the Planning Commission added stipulations to Caride Hernandez’s request requiring the helipad only be for personal use, banning the use of experimental helicopters and restricting the helipad’s use to only daylight hours.
This is a residential, small dead-end neighborhood. We don’t need a helicopter flying in and out.
david killen
Caride Hernandez also said during the meeting he would limit use of the helipad to Sundays. David Killen, who lives on Pine Bluff Road, which borders one side of Caride Hernandez’s property, pushed back that weekends are a particularly disruptive time for the couple to fly their helicopter, as families in the neighborhood are often outside enjoying their backyard pools.
“This is a residential, small dead-end neighborhood. We don’t need a helicopter flying in and out,” Killen said.
Caride Hernandez defended his desire to fly a helicopter from his property, explaining that the helicopter is relatively quiet, and he bought additional acres around his home to put more buffer between his helipad and the neighbors’ properties.
“You’d hear more noise from a crop duster than you would hear from a helicopter, especially the way we are coming in,” Caride Hernandez told Spotlight Delaware.
In addition to concerns about noise and dust from the helicopter, neighbors at the meeting raised personal issues with Caride Hernandez’s presence in the neighborhood. Jordan, who also lives on Pine Bluff Road, said Caride Hernandez has progressively turned the neighborhood into a commercial area, first by putting up fences around his property and now with the addition of the helipad.
Others support application
Caride Hernandez said he feels that his neighbors have been unfairly attacking him and his wife since they moved into the area more than 10 years ago.
“We live in peace. We’re good people. We don’t drink, we don’t smoke. All we do is work and try to enjoy whatever more God gives us,” he said.
The couple has owned and operated a pawn shop, Dover Jewelry and Pawn Exchange, off U.S. Route 13 in Dover, since 1999.
You’d hear more noise from a crop duster than you would hear from a helicopter.
juan caride hernandez
Three Felton residents spoke at the public hearing in favor of the helipad application, saying it is fairly common for people nowadays to have personal helicopters, and they do not believe Caride Hernandez’s helicopter will have a negative impact on neighbors’ lives.
According to members of the Planning Commission, public engagement at public hearings tends to vary quite widely depending on the request being discussed, but the helipad brought considerable discussion. Neither of the other conditional use applications discussed at the July 3 public hearing – a short-term rental owner occupancy requirement change and a property re-zoning – produced any public comment.
“Some applications simply generate more interest than others,” Sarah Keifer, director of Kent County Planning Services, wrote in an email to Spotlight Delaware. “It is an unusual application in that we don’t see many requests for helipads and there are surrounding neighbors so the interest wasn’t necessarily unexpected.”
The helipad conditional use application will continue to a public hearing in Levy Court on July 29 and a vote at a later date. If approved, Caride Hernandez will move on to getting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for the helipad and have engineers begin construction on his property.
Get Involved
The Tuesday, July 29, Kent County Levy Court meeting begins at 7 p.m. The public can attend in person at the Kent County Admin Complex, located at 555 Bay Road in Dover, or by joining remotely by clicking here.
Maggie Reynolds is a Report for America corps member and Spotlight Delaware reporter who covers rural communities in Delaware. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://spotlightdelaware.org/support/.
