Small Town News

Sussex council mulls third Plantation Road complex

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Planners defer decision after hearing

A third office complex has been proposed for Plantation Road.

Developer Double R. Holdings LLC has applied for a conditional use to construct medical and professional offices on a 3-acre parcel of farmland on the west side of the road about one-quarter mile north of the Plantation Road-Route 24 intersection.

During the past year, county officials have approved two other conditional-use requests allowing the Ocean Park office complex at the Cedar Grove intersection and an office for Dr. Jose Pando at the Shady Road intersection along Plantation Road.

Following a public hearing Thursday, Sept. 9, members of the county planning and zoning commission deferred on a recommendation to council. The council's public hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 28.

The conditional-use application is almost a repeat of an application approved by county officials in November 2004. However, the county's five-year sunset regulation came into play because no work has begun on the project.

The developer had all the required permits, had an approved site plan and was moving forward with construction when the application was voided, said Jim Fuqua, attorney representing the applicant. "I want to stress this is basically the same conditional use and the same plan that has already been approved," Fuqua said.

The site would contain three, 8,100-square-foot buildings with 66 parking spaces. Because the parcel is outside the county's sewer service boundaries, an on-site septic system would be required.

"But the developer will tie into the county's system when it becomes available," Fuqua said.

Proposed hours for the office complex would be 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 am to 5 p.m Saturdays.

Fuqua said the growing residential communities in the area would benefit from the office complex. He also said the commission and council have a track record of approving professional office space along Plantation Road. "They have found that the location is appropriate due to the proximity to Beebe Medical Cen-ter's complex on Route 24," Fuqua said.

As with most land-use public hearings, some of the debate centered on traffic. Commissioner Mike Johnson asked what impact the proposed office complex would have on Plantation Road.

Fuqua said a traffic impact study was conducted in 2003, which focused on the proposed entranceway off Plantation Road. DelDOT approved the entrance plan using data forecast out to 2015.

Fuqua said, other than weekends, traffic flow is good on Plantation Road. He added most offices would have weekday hours.

Glendon Jackson, who has lived along Plantation Road for more than 50 years, did not agree with Fuqua's assessment of traffic on Plantation Road. "It's not a local's road anymore. The summer tourists have found it and use it extensively - it's been that way for years," he said.

He said traffic backs up at most intersections along Plantation Road throughout the year. He also said a new traffic impact study, to better reflect current conditions, is needed before county officials make a decision on the application. "A lot has happened over the past seven years," he said.

Jackson reminded the commission that council approved Arbors at Cottagedale, a 168-unit apartment complex, with an entrance on Plantation Road. In addition, a church has property with plans to build adjacent to the proposed office complex parcel.

"We have too much traffic now - infrastructure is not keeping up with development. As the old-timers would say, we've put the cart before the horse."





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