Belmead Farm LLC is seeking to rezone about 40 acres from AR-1, agricultural/residential, to C-4, planned commercial district, for the purpose of constructing a mixed commercial and residential project along Route 24 and adjacent to Beacon Middle School. At a recent public hearing before the planning & zoning commission, local residents testified and raised many valid concerns, to include whether the project is compliant with the zoning code requirement that there be interconnectivity with adjacent parcels.
Sussex County zoning code requires that there be interconnectivity with adjacent parcels. This requirement is mandatory. While the term interconnectivity is not defined in county code, it is defined in the Delaware Administrative Code as “physical connections of roadways and sidewalks between two or more independent developments or residential subdivisions.” The Delaware Administrative Code further provides that there be “a street system that will allow access to and from the proposed development, as well as access to all existing and future development within the immediate area. Proposed residential and commercial development parcels shall be designed to connect to existing linkages on adjacent parcels.” This code requirement is applicable for all development projects having access to state roads.
In a poor attempt to meet the interconnectivity requirement, the applicant states the plans currently show an interconnectivity stub to the western adjacent parcel along the east-west access road. This statement is speculative at best and only addresses one potential area for interconnectivity when connectivity to at least two, if not all adjacent parcels, are required by the Delaware Administrative Code.
The public hearing in this matter was premature. Given the incomplete nature of the Belmead Farm LLC application, the public hearing should have been postponed until such time as the applicant is able to demonstrate that it has met the interconnectivity requirement. To cure this defect, the county should hold another public hearing if and when the applicant can submit a complete application that complies with the interconnectivity requirement.
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