The following letter was sent to Sussex County Council with a copy provided to the Cape Gazette for publication.
We represent nearly 1,500 members of Cape Henlopen Elks Lodge 2540, one of more than 1,800 lodges nationwide, with more than 800,000 members. In Sussex County, we operate as a 501(c)8 fraternal and charitable organization. In the past year, we donated more than $50,000 to charities, and assisted other nonprofits in aiding the local underserved population, such as Cancer Support Community Delaware, Stockley Center for Developmentally Disabled Adults, Home of the Brave, Epworth United Methodist Church Food Ministry, Rally for First Responders and many others.
We believe the proposed Northstar development will potentially cause damage to our fraternal and charitable organization. Our lodge building at 18544 Beaver Dam Road has been our home for 50 years. When completed, the main entrance to the Northstar development will be less than 50 feet from us on an already well-traveled road.
Presently, the nearest traffic control device is a three-way stop sign at Beaver Dam and Dairy Farm roads. Traffic waiting to pass that intersection backs up to our property, nearly a half-mile away; additional vehicle trips per day will only exacerbate the situation.
The bad traffic situation on Beaver Dam Road will worsen with 800 new units. In a worst-case scenario, additional Northstar units will provide impetus for DelDOT to widen that road. And while we have nearly 1,500 members, we have only about 75 parking places. Widening Beaver Dam Road would likely cost us one-third of those parking spaces, our electronic sign and flagpole.
If built, we ask the Northstar developer to provide a minimum 30-foot vegetated buffer between our properties and keep the existing natural buffer to our north. We ask for a physical barrier to separate Northstar from us. A privacy fence (minimum 6 feet in height) constructed and maintained by Northstar should screen our property. We would work with the developer and DelDOT to ensure that if Beaver Dam Road is widened, our parking, flagpole and electronic sign will be preserved or relocated at Northstar’s expense.
The Northstar development, if built, will present real problems for Cape Henlopen Elks Lodge. We will work hard to overcome those problems, because we have neither the assets nor inclination to move elsewhere. We thank you and ask you to give serious consideration to our thoughts on the issue of Northstar.
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