Sussex P&Z says no to restaurant, yes to marina

A proposed 3,259-square-foot restaurant and marina along Arnell Creek in the Osprey Point residential planned community at the end of Old Landing Road near Rehoboth Beach received mixed action during a June 22 Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission meeting.

The commission approved the plan for the marina, but denied the plan for a restaurant. The original site plan for the project, approved in November 2016, included 217 single-family home lots on 127 acres but not a restaurant or marina. The community, the site of the former Old Landing Golf Course, is under construction.

“When this was approved, it did not include commercial,” said Commissioner Kim Hoey Stevenson, who made the motion. “There was substantial opposition concerning the commercial impact in a residential area.”

She said the code allows for limited commercial in a residential planned community, but not the waterfront restaurant, which would attract traffic from outside the community. “This would be a more intensive use than anything on Old Landing Road. There is no legitimate reason to permit intensive commercial use. This is not what the code has in mind,” she said.

The vote was 4-1 to deny the restaurant, with Commissioner Keller Hopkins voting in favor. Hopkins said Osprey Point and Old Landing Road residents wanting to eat at a restaurant are forced to use Route 1, which adds to the traffic congestion. “There has be more balance to all of this,” he said.

However, the commission voted in favor of the proposed marina for use by Osprey Point residents only.

Hoey Stevenson said the marina will be limited to a maximum of 25 slips for the use of property owners only. No refueling, pump out or repairs are permitted. Final plans for the marina must be approved by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and a revised final site plan must be reviewed and approved by the commission.

The marina plan includes a launching area for motorized watercraft including pontoon and small runaround boats less than 24 feet with shallow drafts, which is the type of boat used by most boaters on the tributaries of Rehoboth Bay.

DNREC will not issue a permit for dredging the marina basin.

The plan includes two sections of docks, and a floating dock to be used for a kayak and paddleboard launch.

Buffers of 50 feet along tidal wetlands and buffers of 25 feet along nontidal wetlands are planned.

During public hearing testimony, environmental consultant Ed Launay said the site was chosen because only one crossing of wetlands would be needed, and it provides the best navigable water. The site is not far from the mouth of Rehoboth Bay. He said Arnell Creek is 3 feet deep at the most, adding DNREC requires water to be at least 1.5 feet for a marina for small boats.

He said plans for the marina would meet all state requirements.

Launay said the current county wetlands buffers ordinance allows for water-related recreation amenities within buffers.