Belle Terre opponents cite density, traffic

The developer of a proposed housing project along Mulberry Knoll Road near Lewes submitted a revised preliminary site plan at Sussex County Council's June 28 public hearing.

Among the changes, developer Sussex Real Estate Partners LLC has removed 45 lots, leaving a new total of 333 lots at Belle Terre, a 124-acre community of single-family and duplex homes.

The developer is seeking to upzone the parcel on Dorman Farm Lane from AR-1, agricultural-residential, to MR-RPC, medium-density-residential-planned community. The parcel, southwest of Mullberry Knoll Road, is adjacent to the new Love Creek Elementary School along Route 24 and the site of the new Troop 7 along Mulberry Knoll Road.

The preliminary site plan for the proposed Belle Terre now shows 157 single-family homes and 176 duplex units, or a total of 333 units, about 2.7 units per acre: 1.89 units per acre in the single-family home section and 4.3 units per acre in the part of the community that has duplexes.

Proposed amenities include a pool, clubhouse, walking paths, nature trail, sidewalks on both sides of the streets, a canoe and kayak pier, courts and a playground. Water would be provided by Tidewater Environmental, and the parcel would need to be annexed into the West Rehoboth expansion of the Dewey Beach district for county sewer service.

Jim Fuqua, the developer's attorney, said new plans increase the size of some lots to be more in line with larger lots in the adjacent Briarwood Estates development. He said 35 lots would be reconfigured into 16 lots averaging 18,000 square feet. The average size of lots throughout the development will be 8,000 to 10,000 square feet.

In addition, he said, a proposed wetlands crossing in a portion of the parcel known as Hetty Fisher Glade has been removed. Fuqua said changes were made based on comments during an April 28 planning and zoning commission public hearing.

Density debate at public hearing

The proposed changes did nothing to change the minds of area residents opposed to the application during the planning and zoning commission hearing and again during the county council hearing. Several said the proposed density of 2.7 units per acre is not compatible with neighboring communities with larger lots.

In a survey of the area, Greg Kordal, a Retreat at Love Creek resident, said Belle Terre's proposed density is more than twice the average of the five nearest communities. He noted that under the current AR-1, agricultural-residential, zoning for the parcel, 121 fewer housing units would be permitted. “There is a risk of the domino effect if the county approves this rezoning request and allows this level of density,” he said. “A change of rezoning to allow high density for Belle Terre is a treacherous step in the wrong direction.”

During the nearly 4-hour hearing, Fuqua said the parcel is in a growth zone under county and state standards and is more urban in character as defined by the county's land-use plan. He said the school district selected the area for a new school because it's where the largest population growth is expected. In addition, he said, the county's engineering department has assigned four units to an acre as maximum sewer capacity.

Fuqua also said that half of the 162 acres of an adjacent parcel is zoned GR, general residential, which allows for up to 4 units per acre.

“The county's land-use plan directs density to growth areas with central sewer,” Fuqua said. “That's the basis of the Sussex County plan to prevent sprawl.”

Councilman George Cole, R-Ocean View, questioned Fuqua's comments. “Nothing says we have to increase the density,” he said. “It doesn't have to be upzoned because a new subdivision is already growth.”

Fuqua acknowledged that there is nothing in county code that dictates that upzoning is mandatory. “But, the owner of the land does have property rights in accordance with land-use standards,” Fuqua said. “This application does that, and the traffic and environmental impacts are addressed.”

“There is nothing requiring county council to upzone this parcel,” said William Zak, a Briarwood Estates resident. “We are suffering death by 1,000 cuts in eastern Sussex County.”

The planning and zoning commission has not yet made a recommendation. Council voted to leave the public record open to gather input from Cape Henlopen School District officials and Delaware State Police officials on a proposed connection walkway from Belle Terre to the new elementary school and to receive a conceptual site plan from the developer based on AR-1 zoning.

Intersection would get new traffic signal

Fuqua said the developer was required by state transportation officials to conduct a traffic impact study that included 10 area intersections and the impact of existing and planned developments in the area, including the new elementary school, Troop 7, Saddle Ridge, and the proposed Osprey Point on Old Landing Road and Arbor-Lyn on Warrington Road.

He said if the project is approved, the developer would be required to fund construction of a traffic signal at the Route 24-Mulberry Knoll Road intersection and also provide left- and right-turn and through lanes at the intersection. In addition, the developer would be required to improve the entrance to the development at Dorman Farm Lane with turn and through lanes.

Fuqua said DelDOT has two projects planned over the next two to four years to improve traffic flow on Route 24 from the Love Creek bridge to Route 1.

Even with the proposed road improvements, several residents testified major traffic issues exist in the area.

Nancy Feichtl, who lives off Old Landing Road, said no upzoning applications should be approved until traffic problems are fixed. She said developments don't have through roads or connecting roads but all empty onto a few main roads that are overtaxed.

She said Belle Terre's estimated average daily traffic count at about 2,800 vehicles would exacerbate existing conditions.

“Over the past 30 years – even with comprehensive plans – upzoning has allowed development to come to the beach area, and now it's almost unlivable. There are even consequences for these lovely developments,” Feichtl said.

Zak said traffic counts at all area intersections have increased dramatically over the past 14 years: double at Five Points; 100 percent at Route 24 and Route 1; 300 percent at the entrance to Rehoboth Beach; and 30 percent at Old Landing Road and Route 1.

He said he did a survey of subdivisions under construction along Route 9 and Route 24 between Route 1 and Route 5. “In that small pocket of eastern Sussex, my count stopped at 32,” he said, adding that as many as 30,000 more new vehicle trips per day would be added in the future to the main east-west routes feeding the Lewes and Rehoboth area.

Kordal said Sussex County officials do have an impact on transportation issues even though DelDOT builds and maintains all roads in the county. “The county can influence the level of future traffic by not increasing density and only allowing less than or equal to levels of what is currently zoned and incorporated in the comprehensive plan,” he said.

Next week: The development’s environmental impact