Sussex P&Z hears revised Twin Masts subdivision plan

In an effort to quell some of the opposition to the proposed Twin Masts cluster subdivision, Twin Masts LLC attorney Mackenzie Peet laid out detailed reasons, based on county code and ordinances, why the 133-acre development should be approved during a recent Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission meeting. 

Her team included a transportation engineer, an airport expert and an environmental consultant.

Twin Masts LLC has plans for a 249-unit single-family home cluster subdivision on the west side of Route 1 and the north side of Round Pole Bridge Road near Milton. The original application was withdrawn to make changes based on public comments.

Peet said the parcel is in a low-density area on the county's future land-use map and meets the criteria for a by-right AR-1, agricultural-residential, subdivision with a density of just under two units per acre.

Following the four-and-a-half-hour Sept. 28 public hearing, the commission deferred a vote to a future meeting.

About Twin Masts

Access to the community would be from Round Pole Bridge Road. Delaware Department of Transportation officials will not allow an access road from Route 1.

Plans include a pool, pool house and pickleball courts, a 30-foot forested/vegetated perimeter buffer, central water and sewer service, a trail system, 53% open space, sidewalks on both sides of interior streets with a connection to a multi-modal path on Round Pole Bridge Road.

Peet said tree preservation, no lots in wetlands and a 40-foot setback between lots and wetlands areas minimizes impact on environmentally sensitive areas.

Answering concerns

Peet said the application has attracted a lot of public interest by people who say that the subdivision cannot be built on the property.

She said it is a permitted use of the property as long as county ordinances are followed and code is complied with. She said it's up to the commission to place reasonable conditions on the project.

“This is a preliminary plan. More work will be needed to get the final plan,” the attorney said.

Peet said the developer has planned buffers that exceed county regulations of 100 feet along tidal wetlands and 30 feet along nontidal wetlands.

Peet said county code does not prohibit tree removal. However, she said, the developer has modified the site plan to save nearly 63%, or 28 acres, of the existing forest on the site. A reforestation project would reestablish another 4 acres of trees.

Peet said while the subdivision would not be in the Eagle Crest Aerodrome safety fly zone, which is across the road from the proposed subdivision. The developer has proposed restricted development areas with no housing construction on the land closest to the airport runway.

“The developer was not required to offer any conditions,” the attorney said.

“Generalized concerns are never a basis to reject a plan outright. If it complies with the code, it is a permitted development,” Peet said. “The public is demanding rather than compromising.”

Environmental elements

The parcel contains 71 acres of farmland, 36 acres of upland forest, 8 acres of state- and federally regulated tidal wetlands, 5 acres of nontidal wetlands and 5 acres of borrow pits used during the construction of the Route 1 project (the presented numbers do not add up to 133 acres).

Environmental consultant Ed Launay said the mature forest on the site is being retained and protected. He said no docks or piers would be permitted and there would be no impacts to wetlands. The parcel is bordered by Beaver Dam Creek, a tributary of the Broadkill River.

Engineer Jim Eriksen of Solutions IPEM said the site’s six borrow pits were dug in the 1960s and over time developed deep, steep edges.

“This is an unsafe condition on the site that will be cleared and filled, with some trees removed as well,” he said.

In addition, he said, in an excellent groundwater recharge area on the parcel, impervious cover would be 26%, which is compliant with a county ordinance. He said the proposed stormwater management system would exceed state standards.

About 54 acres of the 70 acres of open space would be contiguous, he said. 

No impact to airport

Charles Lamb, Delta Airport consultant, said the privately owned Eagle Crest Aerodrome does not meet any national criteria.

“There are no requirements for the landowner to protect a non-public airport. It’s up to the airport owner to protect its own complex,” he said. “The entire proposed subdivision is outside of the runaway object-free zone and the runway protection zone.”

He said concerns were expressed by nearby residents that homes would be located on the runway center line. He said the nearest proposed homes would be 1,700 to 4,000 feet off the end of the runway. In addition, he said, engine sounds would be well outside the noise limit.

Traffic patterns will change

Betty Tutsin, a traffic consultant, said traffic patterns in the vicinity of the proposed subdivision will change due to planned transportation projects over the next three to five years, including the Route 16-Route 1 grade-separated interchange (scheduled to be completed in 2025), improvements at the Eagle Crest-Oyster Rocks roads intersection, elimination of the Route 1 crossover at the Route 1-Hudson Road-Steamboat Landing Road intersection, improvements at the Hudson-Cave Neck-Sweetbriar roads intersection (starting in 2024), and the Route 1-Cave Neck Road interchange projected scheduled to begin in 2025.

The projected average daily traffic count generated by the subdivision is 1,185 vehicle trips with a nighttime count of 240 vehicles.

In addition, she said, levels of service at intersections will be upgraded.

The developer would be required to improve the property frontage along Round Pole Bridge Road with 11-foot travel lanes and 5-foot shoulders.

She said models and traffic counts show that Milton would be the main destination for residents of the subdivision.

She said over the past five years, there have been nine crashes on Round Pole Bridge Road, including four deer collisions. She said the average speed on the road is less than 30 mph.

DelDOT officials said the the development’s traffic impact study was approved in March. They said traffic counts have been verified from other studies.

Next week: The opposition states its case. The public record contains 84 comments in opposition and seven neutral comments.