Sussex planners give preliminary approval to Chase Oaks

Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously gave preliminary approval for a 253-lot subdivision on a 145-acre plot on Robinsonville Road near Lewes.

The proposed Chase Oaks development is still subject to final site-plan approval by the commission pending conditions being met. 

Among the conditions set at the commission’s Sept. 26 meeting are: there must be a 50-foot buffer from the stream on the north side of the site and a buffer of 35 feet from all other wetlands on the site.

The final site plan will include a landscaping plan for all areas around water bodies on the property. The development must comply with all Delaware Department of Transportation entrance and roadway requirements, and there must be streetlights and sidewalks on both sides of all internal streets. The commission also required a covered school bus stop within the subdivision coordinated with the Cape Henlopen School District.

Chase Oaks will contain a swimming pool, clubhouse and multi-use court. The property has a cemetery nearby, so developer Jack Haese of Bethesda, Md., will be required to erect a fence around the perimeter of the cemetery, which is subject to a permanent preservation easement. The community homeowners’ association will be responsible for maintenance of the cemetery. 

Chase Oaks was first presented to planning and zoning July 11, and is planned for a plot of land along Robinsonville Road and on both sides of Webb’s Landing Road. The developer plans for 231 lots on the east side of Robinsonville Road and 22 lots on the west side of Robinsonville Road. 

This would be the third development on Robinsonville Road, following Tidewater Landing, which has 213 single-family lots on 163 acres, and Tanager Woods, which has 168 single-family lots on 103 acres.

Tidewater Landing is under construction, while Tanager Woods has been approved for development.