Sussex County Council is expected to vote at its Tuesday, Feb. 23 meeting on rezoning and conditional-use applications for the Arbors at Cottagedale apartment complex off Plantation Road – the site of a former dump and now a designated brownfield.
Developer Rick Banning is seeking a change to the zoning map to build 216 units in nine buildings on an 18-acre parcel. The planning and zoning commission recommended approval of the applications, but also recommended decreasing the number of units from 216 to 160 units.
The commission’s approval was partially based on its finding that the only practical way to clean up the brownfield would be a private-public partnership between the developer and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
If approved, the project would become the first in the county’s affordable rental housing program, with about 30 units designated for moderate-income residents.
For participation in the program, the developer received an expedited review and 20 percent more density, or about 40 more units.
The proposed project has created a groundswell of opposition from nearby residents, Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, and the Nanticoke Indians, who fear a gravesite would be disturbed.
Among residents’ concerns are increased traffic in a congested area and the environmental effects of disturbing a brownfield.
Council meetings get under way at 10 a.m. in the county administration building on The Circle in Georgetown.
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