By Craig Anderson

Representatives of state agencies presented a Preliminary Land Use Service review of a 77-acre parcel near Ellendale on Wednesday, offering suggestions for the planner and developer during a virtual gathering.

The 20-minute presentation will be valuable if it leads to annexation of the land for 119 single-family homes, 90 town homes and 264 apartments. Lawton Myrick of the architectural-engineering firm GNB and developer Mike Horsey of Common Sense Solutions now await written comments from the PLUS panelists.

PLUS is designed to assist developers through reviews and advice provided by state offices as their development process begins.

The property in question Wednesday, known as the Garey Farm, is on North Old State Road, north of Del. 16.

About halfway through the session, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Clare Quinlan noted that “the project may be impacted by mosquitoes, due to its location near large expanses of wetlands, and mosquito issues are increasing as developments infringe on wetland areas, which can lead to increased demands for mosquito-control services beyond (ones state-supplied).”

She advised that enlisting a private company for that service could be a benefit if the state can’t provide it.

Also, she said, DNREC recommends installing electric vehicle-charging stations in parking areas, as well as building garages for single-family homes that are electric vehicle-ready. Placing a couple 240-volt outlets in the garages would suffice, she said.

“It’s typically much easier and cheaper to do these things at the outset rather than trying to retrofit them later,” she said. “We also recommend that you offer the option to install solar or geothermal systems on (each) of the single-family homes, which can often be more affordable, as the homeowners can then incorporate the costs into their mortgage.

“And finally, just include space for recycling dumpsters in your preliminary site design stage.”

John Rudd of the Delaware State Fire Marshal’s office urged that the homes be equipped with fire-suppression sprinklers.

Additionally, DART representative Jared Kaufman asked that crosswalks be part of the plan, to enhance an opportunity for a bus stop. He said DART would also like to see covered bicycle parking without an extra fee, so residents could park their bikes overnight.