LEWES, DE - Grass-roots non-profit Sussex Preservation Coalition (SPC) is asking the Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) to deny a developer’s application for a new subdivision near Lewes.
In a petition sent to WBOC Thursday, SPC argues the proposed 419.6 acre Northstar subdivision along Route 9 and Beaver Dam Road would have adverse consequences for the residents of Sussex County. The petition asks the P&Z to deny applications for the development of the subdivision on multiple grounds.
SPC says the developer filed four applications for the subdivision that were expedited due to the inclusion of an affordable housing aspect to the proposed mixed-use community. Because a section of the development would be set-aside for affordable housing, SPC argues the proposals were scheduled to be held 8 months after filing instead of the usual 17 months.
That proposed affordable housing section of the Northstar project, dubbed “Willows,” could never materialize because of lack of funding, SPC argues, making that fast-tracking of the applications improper.
“This scenario is not hypothetical,” SPC said in their petition. “The Willows project has already failed to obtain state funding in one round of competition with other projects statewide, and its prospects for ever obtaining funding and being built are uncertain at best. Sussex County could therefore end up with the expedited approval of a huge new subdivision and a new heavy commercial site, without the affordable housing units that were the basis for the accelerated consideration of the other components.”
SPC goes on to argue road improvements in the area are currently underway, and that approval of any applications should depend on when those improvements are completed.
“At a minimum, there should be a systematic phasing of progress on road construction with progress on residential and commercial construction. Anything less poses an unacceptable level of danger and inconvenience to the wider community.”
The full petition can be found below:
The Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission is slated to next meet on September 25th.
