Why Should Delaware Care?
As Sussex County grapples with how best to manage the onslaught of new developments in the region, county leaders now must choose between two plans for a large-scale development, Cool Spring Crossing, both with elements that go against this new approach for managing growth.
Sussex County Council will soon decide whether to approve a retail and housing development the size of a small town or risk opening the door for more than 1,200 new single-family homes.
Council members on Tuesday will hold a hearing on Cool Spring Crossing, a commercial and housing development that would bring a YMCA, retail stores, an assisted living facility and about 1,900 homes to farmland along Route 9 near Milton.
The development would be the size of a small town, following a recent trend of large, master-plan communities coming to Delaware. It would be built out over the course of 20 years, according to developer Carl M. Freeman Companies.
Its total area would be 637 acres, about the same as the town of Bethany Beach. It could have a population of about 4,600 – a little more than the town of Clayton – based on the average Delaware household size.
The plan has faced opposition from local residents, at least one advocacy group and even a state agency over concerns the project is part of the unsustainable growth in the area. Residents worry it will only exacerbate traffic congestion, school overcrowding and overextended emergency services.
“Generational community members, longtime residents and newcomers alike, are left watching, feeling helpless as slower lower Delaware is being sold out of existence,” said nearby resident Alison Monroe at a May hearing about the project.
County Council has the power to stop this mixed-use version of the project because the property is currently zoned only for agricultural and residential developments. The council would have to rezone the property for the project to move forward.
Get Involved
The council will hold a public hearing about the rezoning at its Nov. 4 meeting. The hearing will start at 12 p.m., and residents can comment in person or over the phone.
But council members’ ability to completely halt the project are limited.
The developer also submitted a “by right” plan with 1,200 single-family homes and no retail properties. When a plan is “by right,” that means it is already properly zoned and the county has to approve the plan as long as it meets certain standards.
So even if the county denies the rezoning for the developer’s preferred plan, a large-scale project will likely still be coming to the area.
In July, the county Planning & Zoning Commission voted 4-0 to recommend that County Council approve the rezoning request.
County Council does not have to follow the commission’s recommendations, but its endorsement is often a key consideration in rezoning decisions.
Details of the two plans
The initial plan for Cool Spring Crossing would have 1,922 homes, including single-family homes, townhomes, duplexes, condos and villas, “designed to accommodate a wide range of income levels,” the project website states.
Of those, 700 homes would be designated as workforce housing, 175 of which would be reserved for the Sussex County Rental Program, the county’s affordable housing program.
Carl M. Freeman Companies has not said what the workforce housing units would cost, but rents for the Sussex County Rental Program are currently capped at $765 for a one-bedroom, $915 for a two-bedroom and $1,060 for a three-bedroom.
The initial plan would also have a new town center with retail shops, restaurants, a grocery store, educational facilities, a YMCA and an entertainment venue. It would have parks, trails and a clubhouse with a fitness center, multiple pools and pickleball.
The backup plan would include 1,260 single family homes, parks, trails and a clubhouse. It would not have workforce or affordable housing, according to the website.
A county at a crossroads
County Council’s upcoming decision about Cool Springs Crossing is emblematic of its ongoing struggles with how best to grapple with the many new developments coming to the eastern part of the county.
The council recently tasked a working group to propose reforms to the county’s development codes to ease the impact that ongoing growth has had on affordability, road conditions, services and the environment.
The group concluded that the county should encourage denser and more affordable developments – such as townhomes or apartment buildings with retail – in designated growth areas while discouraging developments everywhere else.
But in this moment, the county cannot have its cake and eat it, too.
The initial Cool Springs Crossing plan is dense and has affordable housing. But it is located in an area that both the state and county have designated for preservation in the county comprehensive plan and the State Strategies map.
However, the working group also pointed to sprawled, single-family developments — like the backup plan — as the source of many of the county’s problems.
Carl M. Freeman Companies CEO Michelle Freeman spoke about Cool Spring Crossing at the Delaware Real Estate Summit in early September.
Freeman said then that she would rather build the plan with both retail and housing because she thinks it would help the county solve some of its biggest issues: the lack of affordable housing and traffic congestion.
Residents would be able to walk or bike to stores in the town center to meet their daily needs, she said, and would not have to drive on Route 9 frequently.
The plan with only single-family homes, she said, “would be solving nothing.”
“But it is the easier way to go,” Freeman said.
A company spokesperson told Spotlight Delaware that Freeman cannot respond to any further questions during the hearing process.
Jill Hicks, president of the Sussex Preservation Coalition, a grassroots organization that advocates for smart growth, said some nearby residents have told her they prefer the single-family home plan.
She also said approving Cool Spring Crossing would set a precedent for other developers to propose large-scale projects on land slated for preservation.
County Council could choose to vote on the rezoning on Tuesday or delay the vote for a future meeting. The council has chosen to delay the vote for the past few controversial plans, including Atlantic Fields and Belle Mead, to get more information from state agencies.
