The following letter was sent to Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commissioners with a copy provided to the Cape Gazette for publication.
I am writing to express my strong opposition to the construction of Royal Farms at Angola Road and Route 24. The facts that were previously represented that resulted in the denial of the 7-Eleven application to construct a gas station in 2018 and 2020 have not changed. And now, with even further evidence as to the unfitting use that is proposed, the end result has to be denial of Royal Farms’ application given the high level of potential risk and danger that would befall our communities.
I will not belabor you with a rehash of all the fact-based information that has already been presented but will make two points. If all that has been written and said is somehow not sufficient to dismiss this project, simply view the real potential dangers and impacts from a commonsense standpoint. There are numerous scenarios that one could give to illustrate the potential dangers this project would bring, but I will give you just one. Put yourself at the corner of Route 24 and Angola Road during the morning or evening rush and view the lines of cars in all directions. Now fast-forward to the summer with vacationers traveling in when those lines of traffic are now multiplied by three or four and the hundreds of homes that are planned nearby are now occupied. Now envision the gas station built up on that knoll with all that standing traffic around it. Drivers, having gassed up, are now challenged with exiting. Do they use the Angola Road exit, which will be a near impossible task if they want to travel west back to Route 24? Or exit onto Route 24 which will either be a total standstill or unable to navigate due to anxious drivers on Route 24 who will nail their gas pedal after sitting in traffic so long? These are all ingredients to potential accidents and full-fledged gridlock.
An endless number of eye-opening scenarios could be offered to illustrate why Royal Farms needs to be denied from any number of standpoints – traffic, road safety, water pollution. What are we doing to ourselves if we allow this project to go forward? The commonsense answer as to whether it should be approved is: absolutely not!
If Royal Farms is so confident in the viability of its project and had the support of the community as it is now saying, it would not have created a website that paints a picture of responsible development and a supportive community. That is nothing but untrue, unethical and insulting to our intelligence beyond description.
The application should not be approved. It is contrary to code, does not benefit the public, will lead to further deterioration of our environment and will cause significant increase in traffic congestion and accidents.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.
