Townsend Village Centre case goes to trial in 2013

A trial date has been set in a federal lawsuit pitting Sussex County against a local developer.

Lingo-Townsend Associates LLC filed a lawsuit against Sussex County Council over its denial of a zoning change that would have paved the way for the 300,000-square-foot Townsend Village Centre shopping and office complex, planned on 46 acres off Kings Highway just outside Lewes limits.

U.S. District Court Judge Pat Thyne has set a timetable for the case to move forward with a three-day trial set to begin Aug. 13, 2013.

County council voted 3-2 to reject the plan in January 2010, and L.T. Associates appealed the decision to Chancery Court two months later. Last fall, the developer refiled the case in federal court, which their attorney said had jurisdiction.

L.T. Associates is asking the court to review and reverse council's decision on two counts. The vote was 3-2 with council members Joan Deaver, Mike Vincent and George Cole voting in opposition and Vance Phillips and Sam Wilson voting in favor.

According to court papers, the first count alleges council's decision was not supported by substantial evidence on the record of the public hearing, elements required by law were not considered and the decision was arbitrary and capricious, according to court papers.

All five members of council are named in the lawsuit, but Deaver is named separately in the second count. The suit alleges Deaver opposed and encouraged opposition to the application before the public hearing and decision-making process.

It also alleges she met with groups opposed to the application. Because of her actions preceding council's vote, the suit claims Deaver should have recused herself.

In court papers, the county has denied those charges, saying Deaver did nothing wrong. According to court documents, Deaver met with members of the Managing Growth Around Lewes group but left the room whenever the project was discussed and did not take part in any protest. Also, a county attorney said that even if Deaver had recused herself, the application would have been defeated by a 2-2 vote.

The rezoning application was met with opposition from residents, legislators and the City of Lewes. Opponents said the project created safety concerns by creating more traffic in a congested area across from Cape Henlopen High School, and they also questioned the scale of the complex and whether it fits in with Lewes' historical ambience and small-town character.

L.T. Associates had applied for a zoning change for a larger shopping complex of more than 570,000 square feet. The developer withdrew the application in December 2008 after the county planning commission voted unanimously to recommend denial. L.T. Associates then presented revised plans for the 300,000-square-foot project; it is council's denial of the rezoning for that application that is now in federal court.