Woods at Burton Pond: Neighbors oppose subdivision

Almost three years in the state and county planning pipeline, Woods at Burton Pond is third of five applications on the Thursday, April 30 agenda. Hearings get under way at 6 p.m., in the county administration building in Georgetown.

Henry Glowiak, who lives across from the proposed development in Beaver Dam Acres, said at least two petitions are circulating with more than 130 signatures in opposition to the project.

“Everybody is up in arms about this,” he said. “If there was ever any place not to put a development, this is it.”

He said several area residents as well as the Citizens Coalition will speak in opposition to the project. He said residents are concerned about environmental degradation because of the loss of trees from the wooded tract and the residual effect on nearby Chapel Branch and Burton Pond.

In addition, the density of the cluster development, with lots of 7,500 to 9,500 square feet, is out of character with the area, Glowiak said. He said existing homes are on larger lots.

Woods at Burton Pond, comprising 167 single-family lots on 114 acres, is in a Level 4 area according to strategies for state policies and spending. The project was not looked on favorably by state agencies during the Preliminary Land Use Service (PLUS) planning process. Level 4 areas are lands where the state does not support growth.

The Office of State Planning Coordination, Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Delaware Department of Transportation, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Department of Agriculture all issued objections to the project.

“Because the development is inconsistent with the strategies for state polices and spending, the state is opposed to this proposed subdivision,” the PLUS report concluded.

Ring Lardner, an engineer with Davis, Bowen & Friedel representing developer Spring Breeze Association, said the state spending strategies are only a guide; the county has the ultimate approval on land-use decisions. He said according to the county’s comprehensive land-use plan, Level 4 areas are considered rural areas designed for residential subdivisions with two units to one acre density.

Transportation officials said the state would not provide funding for road improvements, and environmental officials said they would not provide any financial, technical or other support because the proposed project is in a Level 4 area.

The site to be developed is wooded. “We strongly encourage the landowner to consider preservation rather than development,” the report stated.

Lardner said the preliminary plans show that 60 percent, or 70 acres, of trees would be preserved.

“The Department of Agriculture opposes this project because it negatively impacts those land uses that are the backbone of Delaware’s resource industries – agriculture, forestry, horticulture – and the related industries they support,” wrote Scott Blaier, representing the Department of Agriculture.

The tract is adjacent to an old Sussex County landfill, which would require a maximum 300-foot extension along the county property line with a fenced buffer. Water on the tract would have to be provided by a centralized system because it lies in a no-well zone.

Lardner said the developer would comply and provide a 350-foot buffer.

Thursday’s hearing is the only public hearing on the project because county council does not act on regular subdivisions.