Why Should Delaware Care?
Sussex County residents continue to debate how and where to allow new development, particularly near Delaware’s popular beaches, where traffic has become a major concern. County Council’s approval of Belle Mead not only will add new homes to the area but also gives residents a glimpse into what types of developments may be approved in the future.
As a debate rages over how to manage growth near the Delaware beaches, the Sussex County Council on Tuesday narrowly approved the controversial Belle Mead retail and housing development.
Specifically, the council voted 3-2 to approve a rezoning request from the project developer, Capano Management. While the developer still needs other approvals, the council’s vote Tuesday essentially greenlights the development, which will transform a horse farm into 125,000 square feet of commercial space and up to 334 apartments.
As part of the development plan, Capano Management agreed to set aside 15% of the apartments for the county’s affordable housing program.
Councilmen Steve McCarron and Matt Lloyd both cited the affordable housing set aside as a primary reason for supporting the project.
“The east side of the county should not be shut down to working-class residents,” McCarron said, referencing the stark economic difference between eastern and western Sussex County.
Council Chair Doug Hudson said this project fits recent recommendations from the Sussex County Land Use Reform Working Group, which stated that dense housing in designated growth areas was the best way to manage growth in the booming region.
The 40-acre property is adjacent to Beacon Middle School and across Route 24 from Love Creek Elementary School. It sits about 2 miles southwest of Route 1.
The approval of Belle Mead could test public perception of three council members — McCarron, Lloyd and Jane Gruenebaum — who were elected last year in a wave of anti-development fervor in Sussex County.
The vote on Belle Mead was just the first of three hotly watched development votes by the Sussex County Council, with decisions still to be made on the major retail center Atlantic Fields and a town-sized development Cool Spring Crossing.
Opponents express traffic concerns
Only about a dozen residents attended Tuesday’s meeting to hear the council’s decision – a far cry from a string of crowded public hearings in September when the council previously debated the project.
Immediately following the vote, members of the main group opposed to the project – called the Route 24 Alliance – said they were “too upset” to give comment.
Later, the group emailed a statement to Spotlight Delaware stating its members are “extremely disappointed” in the decision and that they will “explore all of our legal options.”
The group also said there had been more than 1,200 Sussex County residents who had signed a petition opposing the rezoning for the property.
Following the meeting, several other residents also said they were disappointed with the council’s decision, with many claiming that area roads cannot handle additional residents.
Lewes resident Johannes Sayre said he knows the developers will make safety improvements in the surrounding area, but he is worried about traffic congestion.
“It’s very nice that traffic is made safe around the intersections near the development, but just in terms of pure volume, the road only has so much space,” Sayre said.
The two dissenting council members, Gruenbaum and John Rieley, also cited traffic as a main reason for voting against the project.
“I can’t in good conscience support a project that is going to overburden even further roadways that are pushing the limits currently,” Rieley said.
In response to such criticisms, McCarron said the impact on traffic from the Belle Mead development may be less than others because it will contain retail and housing, so people can walk to meet some of their daily needs.
Read Belle Mead’s traffic improvement plan:
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/.