Final draft of Henlopen TID in Sussex council's hands
The final draft of the proposed Henlopen Transportation District is under review by Sussex County Council.
It's now up to council members when it will be placed on a future agenda for a vote. The idea for the district surfaced more than five years ago.
At the Sept. 22 council meeting, Delaware Department of Transportation principal planner Sarah Coakley reviewed the proposed district.
The district covers 24 square miles, and includes 66 miles of roads and 62 intersections. A key factor in defining the area for the district is proposed growth, which includes almost 13,000 new housing units and 1.5 million square feet of commercial space expected by 2045.
Major roads in the district include sections of Route 24 and Route 9, and sections or all of Robinsonville, Plantation, Mulberry Knoll, Cedar Grove, Angola, Dorman, Jolyns Way, Webb's Landing, Jimtown, Beaver Dam, Kendale, Wil King, Conley’s Chapel, Hollymount and Camp Arrowhead roads.
DelDOT officials have proposed $284 million in road improvements in the district. About 23 percent of the cost would be covered by developers. DelDOT would provide the remaining funds for projects through its six-year capital transportation program.
Level of service D
Coakley said the goal of all road improvements is to maintain at least a level of service D at intersections. She said level D is a maximum delay of 55 seconds at signalized intersections and 35 seconds at unsignalized intersections such as four-way stops. The level of service is based on vehicle trips during peak weekday hours.
National level-of-service standards are ranked from A, free-flowing traffic, to F, gridlock and breakdown of the transportation system. D is considered borderline.
Under the proposed plan, most roads in the district would be widened to 11-foot travel lanes with shoulders on both sides. A network of sidewalks and shared-use paths would also be developed.
Recommended road improvements include widening of 7 miles of roads, 12 traffic signals, 13 roundabouts, 4 miles of new connector roads and turn lanes at 15 intersections.
Fee schedule for development
Councilman John Rieley wanted to make sure he understood why a developer would choose to build in the district. “Developers are going to do what is in their financial interest. What are the incentives?” he asked.
Coakley said among other catalysts, developers would not have to provide a costly traffic-impact study because DelDOT would already have all needed traffic data in the district.
“It saves time and money, and developers are for this,” said DelDOT Secretary Jennifer Cohan. “Developers will know where growth is planned, and the public will know where development will happen.”
In addition, the cost of road improvements is shared equitably by all developers under a fee schedule approved by county and DelDOT officials.
For example, a developer would pay $4,900 per single-family unit by phase or $5,145 per unit if paid for one lot at a time to fund planned road improvements in the district. A developer of 100 single-family homes would be charged around $500,000 for road improvements
Multifamily project developers would be charged from $2,984 to $3,822 per unit depending on how many stories a project would have. For nonresidential projects, developers would be charged from $2.88 per square foot to $4.88 per square foot based on the size of the project.
A developer of a 10,000-square-foot commercial project would be charged around $30,000.
The fee is based on nearly 13,000 residential units and 1.5 million square feet of commercial space at buildout over the next 25 years.
Developers would still be required to fund any roadwork – such as the entrance and interior streets – on a project's property.
Notification of a developer's contributions would be required to be recorded on the final site plan.
An infrastructure recoupment agreement outlining a developer's financial commitment to the Henlopen TID fund would have to be signed by DelDOT and county officials, and each property owner or developer.
Excluded from the agreement would be garage studio apartments and small developments, typically those with fewer than 50 single-family homes.
Proposed road projects
DelDOT officials said $95 million is in the fiscal year 2021 capital transportation program for the following projects: Minos Conway Road/Route 9 intersection improvements; Route 9 widening; Beaver Dam Road widening and intersection improvements; Plantation Road widening and intersection improvements; Warrington Road-Old Landing Road intersection roundabout; Old Landing Road widening; and Airport Road connector.
In addition, as each project is planned, improvements to the public transportation system would be explored.
An additional 4 miles of new connector roads are proposed, including: Airport Road to Old Landing Road; Mulberry Knoll Road to Cedar Grove Road and on to Route 9; Plantation Road to Mulberry Knoll Road; and upgrading Nassau Commons Boulevard to DelDOT standards.
Approval of the district does not mean approval of the proposed road work. If the proposal is approved by council, DelDOT will schedule public hearings for individual projects, and county planning and zoning and in the case of conditional-use and rezoning applications, county council, will have public hearings.
Roundabouts
A two-lane roundabout is proposed at a realigned Beaver Dam Road-Fisher Road-Dairy Farm Road intersection.
One-lane roundabouts are proposed at: Warrington Road and Old Landing Road; Cedar Grove Road and a new connector road to Route 9; Cedar Grove Road and Mulberry Knoll Road; Cedar Grove Road and Robinsonville Road; Robinsonville Road and Mulberry Knoll extension; Robinsonville Road and Jolyns Way extension; Robinsonville Road and Conley's Chapel Road; and five intersections along Beaver Dam Road, including Indian Mission Road, Hollymount Road, Conley's Chapel Road, Stockley Road and Hopkins Road.
Traffic signals
New traffic signals are proposed at the following intersections: Airport Road and Miller Road; Airport Road and Old Landing Road; Old Landing Road and Rehoboth Mall entrance; Airport Road extension and Route 24; Route 24 and Mullberry Knoll Road; Route 24 and Jolyns Way; Plantation Road and Craig Boulevard, a new connector road; Plantation Road and Robinsonville Road; Mulberry Knoll Road extension and Beaver Dam Road; Mulberry Knoll extension and Route 9; Kendale Road and Robinsonville Road; and Kendale Road and Beaver Dam Road.
Widening
Two to four lanes with turn lanes, sidewalks and crossings: Route 9 from Nassau Vineyards area to Five Points; Beaver Dam Road; Plantation Road; and Route 24 beyond current widening project.
Connector roads
Proposed new connector roads: Airport Road from Old Landing Road to Route 24; Mulberry Knoll Road from Cedar Grove Road to Route 9; Postal Lane to Route 24; Plantation Road to Mulberry Knoll Road; and upgrading of Nassau Commons Boulevard to DelDOT standards.
Transportation improvement district benefits
• Cost of road improvements shared equally by developers
• DelDOT contributes a percentage of funds to road improvements
• DelDOT collects more data – such as traffic counts – specific to the district
• Sussex officials have a say in recommending and approving road work.
