By Rachel Sawicki

MIDDLETOWN — Residents in and around Dove Run in Middletown voiced their disapproval of construction of garden apartments in Dove Run Centre on Del. 299, which would add nearly 200 living spaces, and twice as many cars, to the area. At least 20 people attended the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting Thursday night to express their vehement opposition to the apartments.

“We are destroying the fabric of this town and it is not acceptable,” said Dave Carey, a Middletown resident. “My wife and I moved to Middletown 15 years ago because it was a little bit slower paced, people knew each other, and it had a great small-town feel to it. But it’s no longer that. At what point do we say ‘enough is enough?’ We just keep adding and adding and adding.”

The developer was seeking both a conditional-use permit to build the garden apartments in a C-3 zoned area, as well as preliminary plan approval. The plan proposes eight three-story apartment buildings with a swimming pool. Each building would have 24 units for a total of 192 with off-street parking spaces.

The commission ultimately tabled both requests, saying they would be “detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to property or improvements in the neighborhood.”

The developer acknowledged they were aware of traffic concerns in the area, but a Delaware Department of Transportation representative said a traffic study showed no reason for apprehension. The study, however, was based on pre-approved plans for a shopping center, not apartments, raising suspicion from several commission members.

Many residents added that cars “blow through there like it’s a raceway” and adding the potential for almost 400 more vehicles in the area would make roadways that are already a “disaster” even worse. Multiple people shared their accounts, saying they have seen multiple cars run stop the stop sign on Dove Run Boulevard, and one resident said he had a car flipped upside down into his yard from a motor accident.

The commission ultimately requested the completion of a new traffic study before reconsidering the project.

“How are we taking 192 apartments and saying that DelDOT is going to be OK with it, when the town itself is not OK?” said commission member Joe Pontak.

Many residents who attended also have children who attend Middletown High School on Del. 299 and Brick Mill Elementary School on Brick Mill Road. One resident, who drives his daughter to the high school, said he often has to drop her off at the Friendly’s across the highway because the traffic is so backed up. He suggested the new study measure traffic during school drop-offs and pickups.

“Regardless of your traffic study, the practicality of the situation and the traffic in that area is horrendous,” said Dove Run resident Jean Collins. “I think another study would be useless, except to maybe prove a point. But the bottom line is you cannot possibly add over 300 cars to this small congested area and think it’s not going to negatively impact this area.”

Resident Rob Burris suggested leaving the property as commercial instead of rezoning it for apartments, which received applause from other residents.

The developer mentioned another DelDOT project to alleviate traffic is a rights-in and rights-out into the shopping center on Del. 299 between the Credit Union and the Hardee’s, but many residents raised suspicions on that solution as well. One woman said she sometimes will wait on the shoulder of Del. 1 for 30 minutes before reaching the turn onto 299. She said it is already dangerous to try and get to her home in Middletown, and adding more cars and residents is “ridiculous.”

Other recent developments have caused issues, including a land development plan for the Crossings at Silver Lake on the southeast corner of the intersection of Main Street and Library Drive. First introduced to the Planning and Zoning Commission in December 2020, the project was tabled in January and again in February by Mayor and Council, largely due to traffic concerns and opposition from residents. However, the revised plan reducing the 119-lot to a 100-lot townhome subdivision was approved with a 5-1 vote in March.

Another recent major land development is the BayBerry Town Center near Boyds Corner Road, which holds plans for 247,000 square feet of retail space, 31,000 square feet of office space and 145 townhomes. The project was approved by New Castle County Council in June 2020.

Mr. Carey said that if the apartments are approved at a later date, it would strengthen his considerations to move out of Middletown, to which several other residents agreed.