State agencies review two area subdivisions
State agencies reviewed two housing projects in the Milton-Georgetown area during the Feb. 26 Office of State Planning Coordination Preliminary Land Use Service meeting.
Canopy Creek is a proposed cluster subdivision with 125 single-family home lots on a 78-acre parcel along Forest Road west of Cool Spring Road near Milton.
It’s adjacent to the proposed 4 Corner mixed-use project reviewed by PLUS in January.
Included in the preliminary plans are 45 to 55 acres of open space and the removal of 38 acres of 69 acres of woods on the parcel. Plans also include a bridge over Burdock Branch, which splits the property.
State officials expressed concern with eight lots proposed in 7 to 10 acres of wetlands, including a section in a 100-year floodplain.
Officials said the state strongly discourages development in or near floodplains. If they are included in the final plan, mitigation, such as elevated homes and extra drainage, would be required.
The planning office also objects to the project because of its location in the state’s Level 4 State Strategies for Spending area, which is not supported by state infrastructure but instead reserved as rural areas for protected and agricultural uses.
Dorothy Morris, planning office circuit rider for Sussex County, said her office does not make decisions on proposed projects but will provide recommendations to the developer and Sussex County officials.
Access would be from Forest Road. The developer would have to contribute funds to a Delaware Department of Transportation area-wide study fee for off-site improvements. At buildout, the project would generate 1,239 average vehicle trips per day.
Sussex County planner Mike Lowrey said the low-density project on AR-1 land is permitted by right with central water and sewer, open space, buffers and compliance with the county’s superior design standards. Also required are forest and drainage assessments.
Lowrey said if wooded sections are used in perimeter buffers, a new ordinance requires a 20-foot protection zone as well as a 30-foot forested buffer.
Planning office and other state agencies will have comments for the developer and the county on or before Wednesday, March 26. Following that, the county can schedule a Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission public hearing.
Stockley Acres
Stockley Acres is a cluster subdivision including 83 single-family home lots on a 42-acre parcel on the south side of Stockley Road west of Beaver Dam Road near Georgetown.
Included in the preliminary plans are 20 acres of open space and removal of 12.7 acres of the 19.7 acres of woodlands. It’s an updated subdivision previously approved by the county, with an additional 5 acres and 10 lots.
Proposed amenities include a walking trail, sidewalks, a pool and a clubhouse.
As with the previous project, state planners oppose the project, which is also in a Level 4 area.
In addition, the plan includes 23 lots in a 100-year floodplain, which the state also opposes. There are 4.3 acres of nontidal wetlands on the property, including Chapel Branch and a pond.
The county is recommending interconnectivity to adjacent parcels as well as compliance with forested and resource buffers and a drainage plan.
