A Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of a conditional use and rezoning change for the controversial Arbors of Cottagedale apartment complex.
In the final tally after a long debate Thursday, Nov. 12, the commission voted 4-1 to recommend approval of the project with reduced density. But the reduction is not enough, according to one commissioner.
Commissioners suggested a reduced density, from the proposed 216 units to no more than 160 units; moving the recreation/amenities from the front of the project to the center; a 6-foot fence to buffer the Eagle Point development; and an increased setback from 20 to 30 feet as a further buffer to the residential areas around the proposed complex off Plantation Road and MacKenzie Way.
In addition, 40-foot buffers would be required to protect any delineated Native American burial grounds and the cemetery at Israel United Methodist Church.
But that was not the original motion put into place. Commissioner Mike Johnson, who said the density was too extreme and cast the no vote, pushed for no more than 96 units, which included the 20 percent bonus for participation in the county’s affordable rental program.
That motion died for lack of a second, and Commissioner Marty Ross offered the second motion.
Johnson said with 216 units the complex would have a density of 11.87 units per acre. “I’m not aware of any project of that density,” Johnson said. “Our decision is based on land use and not economics. If the applicant paid too much for the land, then that is the luck of the draw.”
He said even with 160 units, the density would be just fewer than nine units per acre. “I still have heartburn over that,” he said.
He said he was not aware of the magic number of units that would make the project profitable enough to pursue, so he fell back to 80 units, the original number of units approved for the parcel under a conditional use more than five years ago. Then he added 16 more units for the bonus density.
His fellow commissioners said they agreed the density was too high, but none agreed with Johnson’s motion for no more than 96 units.
Sussex County Council will take the recommendation under consideration and make a final decision during a future meeting.
The commission weighed its decision on the remediation of the brownfield where the proposed project would be built. Johnson said cleanup of the former landfill, known as Jackson Pit, is the highest priority.
Commissioner Rodney Smith said the commission would like to see the site cleaned up.
“But the irony of this is that the descendents of the people who may have continued to dump on the property voiced opposition to the cleanup of the site,” he said.
To Commission Chairman Robert Wheatley, who suggested the number of 160 units, cleanup is critical. “The land doesn’t get developed if it’s not cleaned up and affordable housing is not involved,” he said.
He said if the developer fails to comply with those conditions, the plan would revert to the minimum number of units allowed under the zoning, which would be four units per acre.
Mary Cox, spokeswoman for the Eagle Point coalition in opposition to the applications, said her group would not comment on the planning and zoning decision.
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