Gary Vorsheim is a resident of Lewes.
On Sept. 17, the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission is scheduled to hold a hearing on Atlantic Fields, a proposed 663,000-square-foot shopping district on Del. 24 and Mulberry Knoll Road in Lewes. As I understand, this is a complex larger than all three Tanger Rehoboth Beach outlet malls combined. There has been no coverage of this major development by the local press, which is amazing. The developer is seeking a zoning change from agricultural residential to planned commercial district (planned large-scale commercial, retail and mixed-use projects) in an area that has major traffic issues that are not predicted to be solved until the 2030s, if then. With the recent pushback by residents related to the Cape Henlopen School District buying 102 acres and constructing a pool complex, a bus depot and an office building in the same block on Mulberry Knoll Road, near the proposed site for Atlantic Fields, the press had a substantial amount of coverage. But now, it is silent on this megaproject. Why is this not news?
The shopping center is proposed to have 663,213 square feet of retail space, 3,406 parking spaces and a 12-pump box store/gas station, with only 19.71% of the 73.5 acres being open space. The maximum amount of space has been extracted for the retailers, pushing the majority of the stormwater management equipment underground, with a soakaway-type system that we have seen no data on. There also has been no information about where the overflow would go in the event of a major storm or a system failure. It’s a big story, with no coverage in the media. Why is this not being reported?
With 15,461 vehicles per day on Del. 24 and 2,148 on Mulberry Knoll Road — during nonpeak shopping periods — the roads will be chaos, with significant traffic disruptions for residents who travel Del. 24 and Mulberry Knoll Road — not to mention the added time needed for emergency services to get to those in need. And, yes, let’s not forget about the safety of hundreds of children at the elementary and middle schools on the block next to the proposed site. What will the impact be on small businesses in the area and where will the army of hourly-wage workers live? The list goes on. There are lots of issues that will affect most of us on a daily basis, and there’s been nothing in the news to inform the public. Citizens need to understand the negative ramifications of this project, based on the lagging infrastructure in Sussex County. Development should follow completed infrastructure buildouts, and communities that will be impacted by such large initiatives should be given a chance to know about them, so they can voice their opinions and concern to the officials tasked with caring for our county.
To that end, a group of worried Belle Terre residents is mobilizing to understand the details of the unprecedented development and documenting safety issues with the project, as well as potential problems.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
