Seibert: Belle Mead rezoning should be voted down

Belle Mead does not comply with two of the minimum district requirements for C-4 planned commercial districts.”

Judy-Rose Seibert of Lewes is a member of the Route 24 Alliance.

Belle Mead’s rezoning application, for a change from AR-1 to C-4 commercial district, is on Sussex County Council’s agenda for Dec. 16. It will be the first request for C-4 zoning status in the county, so members will be setting precedent for future requests.

Belle Mead does not comply with two of the minimum district requirements for C-4 planned commercial districts:

• “The land area shall be served by adequate existing or planned infrastructure.” Del. 24 and the Love Creek Bridge have no set date to begin construction for dualization, according to the Delaware Department of Transportation. Project development is slated to begin in fiscal 2029, with federal funds. The two-lane portions of Del. 24 and Love Creek Bridge are at or near road capacity. Belle Mead’s application estimates its completion date as 2032. Infrastructure capacity projects that do not yet even have an estimated start date cannot be counted as planned infrastructure.
• “Interconnectivity with adjacent parcels shall be required.” This parcel is next to Beacon Middle School in Lewes, as well as residential communities, where interconnectivity is not possible; therefore, it is not an appropriate site for a C-4 district, according to the zoning code.

The Cape Henlopen School District has requested that no residential developments be approved until a school impact fee is approved and has begun collecting funds. And it has questioned whether this commercial area would impact safe school operations.

The traffic impact study for Belle Mead has revealed that several subdivisions will have extraordinarily long wait times to turn onto Del. 24. (Harts Landing will have an over-nine-minute wait to turn right onto Del. 24 on summer Saturdays, and it will take over eight minutes to turn right during rush hours on weekday evenings.)

Belle Mead proposes to remove 5 acres of mature forest, which the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control identified as a “key wildlife habitat in the Delaware Wildlife Action Plan.” The agency also noted that removing any forested areas “should be avoided to the greatest extent possible.” This forest is at the headwaters of Dorman Branch of Love Creek and serves as “green infrastructure” to absorb rainwater and reduce flooding.

How will Sussex County Council members vote on Belle Mead’s rezoning application? Can they vote to approve it when it does not meet Sussex zoning code?

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