I urge the Sussex County Council not to approve the developer’s requests for Village Center Cottages without the addition of safeguards of the type requested and communicated to council by the Governors executive board.
1. I do not oppose J.G. Townsend & Co.’s proposed densities. Rather, my objection is to Townsend’s proposals to configure roads in a way that will assure Governors is used as a cut-through to and from not just the new development but also from traffic headed elsewhere on Kings Highway and Gills Neck Road. Doing so needlessly threatens the safety of residents and visitors to Governors.
2. Nor do I object to the idea of interconnectivity, if interconnectivity is implemented properly. Again, safety is paramount. Emergency vehicles should have a secondary way to access the new development, which may reduce response time. And a secondary route in and out of the new development could be valuable in non-emergency situations if the principal access road temporarily is blocked.
3. The county recognizes that implementing interconnectivity properly is essential. Otherwise, detriments of interconnectivity will outweigh any advantages. The county’s own comprehensive plan recognizes this risk. The plan acknowledges that interconnectivity can increase through traffic on residential streets. To avoid the safety hazards resulting from such through traffic, the comprehensive plan goes on to say that there are ways to plan and design connector roads better to avoid or minimize through traffic impacts on residential streets.
4. The materials provided by the planning & zoning commission to the public and to council indicate the commission gave no thought to how to accomplish what the comprehensive plan requires – avoiding or minimizing safety and other adverse effects of through traffic. The only material regarding traffic provided by the commission was a letter from the Delaware Department of Transportation to the commission. But that letter only addressed the impact of Townsend’s proposals on traffic on Kings Highway and Gills Neck Road. It is silent about the effect of the proposals on traffic in Governors and other communities despite the plan’s requirements to consider safety.
5. Townsend’s proposals would only create through traffic. They provide no ways to reduce the safety hazards and other detriments of that traffic.
6. I urge council to reject Townsend’s proposals until they are modified to comply with the spirit and letter of the comprehensive plan, i.e., until the connector roads are planned and designed to avoid or minimize through traffic impacts on residential streets. As proposed, Townsend’s plans create a large problem, but do nothing to minimize it. By contrast, the submission of the Governors executive board suggests various ways to reduce the dangers of unrestricted through traffic.
7. In conclusion, the risks of through traffic resulting from Townsend’s proposals are clear. Townsend has expressed no reason that justifies imposing those risks on Governors, likely because there is no such reason. Proper modifications to Townsend’s proposals can minimize the risks. Council should reject Townsend’s proposals unless they are modified to minimize safety concerns.
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