Sussex County Council approves more homes on Gills Neck Road near Lewes

Sussex County Council members unanimously approved Tuesday a developer's application to rezone a 7-acre parcel of land to a medium residential district for 12 duplexes on Gills Neck Road in Lewes.

The developer, Evergreene Companies LLC, had initially requested approval for 13 duplexes on a 7.33 acre lot but decided to remove one from their plan, citing design and density reasons. 

That decreased the housing density from 3.5 to 3.27 units per acre. 

Gills Neck Road is a well-developed, at-times congested area with a range of single-family and multifamily homes.

Arguing that 12 duplexes keeps with the character of Gills Neck Road, a spokesperson for Evergreene Companies mentioned The Moorings of Lewes, a development not far from the parcel that has a range of single and duplex condominium units, apartments and a health care facility. The spokesperson also brought up Showfield, which is close to the Evergreene site and has mixed residential use. 

Background:Developer a step closer for more homes on Gills Neck Road near Lewes

The development does not warrant the need for a traffic impact study, and DelDOT calculated it will generate 28 vehicle trips per day at its peak evening hour, according to Evergreene. 

Evergreene Companies has partially based its case for this complex around building for the population of people over 65 who live in Lewes. Over half of the population in Lewes is over 65, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Allowing Lewes residents to downsize from single-family homes to duplexes while remaining close to family, doctors, restaurants and friends — what is sometimes called "aging in place" — would make the development a good addition to the community, according to Evergreene. 

Two residents had come to Tuesday's meeting to speak in opposition of the original plan, which was 26 units in 13 duplexes, but the unit reduction altered their comments. 

Ronald Smith, who owns a farm next to the parcel along with his wife, said he was not against the development and had previously advised that the developer remove one duplex because of issues with the agricultural setback, which was done. 

After hearing the company decided to go down to 24 units, Lewes resident Wayne Smith said he had "mixed feelings," and encouraged the council to look at the hundreds of multifamily units that have been approved along Gills Neck Road.

"You have to reconcile when is enough enough," Smith said. "If you are comfortable with that, go ahead and approve it. If you think we've got enough multifamily units here, then I encourage you to reject it."

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