The Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Milford voted on Aug. 19, 2025, to recommend denial of a preliminary major subdivision application (MJSP0042024) from Carlisle Lane LLC that would consolidate five parcels on Truett Avenue into 39 townhouse lots and one single-family lot.

The commission’s recommendation followed public comment and a multi-part review of waiver requests. Planning Director Rob Pierce presented the application and staff report, which noted requests to reduce street pavement and right-of-way widths, to plat portions of rear yards into the 100-year floodplain and within 25 feet of delineated wetlands, and to provide cash in lieu of required on-site recreational open space.

The commission’s recommendation matters because the proposal raises multiple code and environmental issues and will now be considered by City Council. The staff packet and public comments flagged potential conflicts with Milford’s subdivision code and the city’s comprehensive plan, concerns that several commissioners cited when voting.

Carlisle Lane LLC’s design representative, Gary Smaglia, described the project layout and engineering approach during the hearing. Smaglia said the plan calls for a new 30-foot-wide internal street, four stormwater management ponds to meet DNREC sediment and stormwater requirements, water and sewer laterals to each unit and an 18-foot one-way alley. He told the commission that "the proposed subdivision meets the City Of Milford off street parking requirements through each unit having enough driveway space for 1 and a half vehicles and then the garage space with each vehicle is another 1 totaling 2 and a half parking spaces." The applicant requested five specific waivers summarized in the staff report.

Matt Fint, who identified himself as the owner/representative for the project, said the developer is targeting a roughly $300,000 price point for the new units: "generally speaking, right now, we're looking at about a $300,000 price range is where we're targeting at this point." He described the proposal as infill redevelopment within a district the city has identified for revitalization.

Opponents, including resident Julie Morris of 74 Cedar Beach Road, argued the plan conflicts with the comprehensive plan and public-safety standards. Morris told the commission the Milford Scribe Board’s data show local schools are already near capacity and that continued housing approvals without aligned infrastructure are problematic. In public comment she said approving more development before infrastructure is addressed would be "reckless." Morris and other speakers also urged denial because the applicant seeks to plat several lots that extend into the FEMA-mapped 100-year floodplain and into the 25-foot wetland setback, and because the Board of Adjustment had already approved 32 variances related to the same layout.

Staff materials and public letters in the packet quantified some site details: the proposal covers roughly 4.75 acres (appraised at $520,000), would create 40 dwelling units, proposes four on-site stormwater facilities, and requests a cash-in-lieu payment of $55,084.75 in place of the code-required half-acre of recreational open space. Staff noted that the property is mapped in the FEMA 100-year floodplain but that the applicant plans no structures or fill within the mapped floodplain and has said a Letter of Map Change (LOMC) from FEMA will be required before final approval.

Commission action on specific items:
- Waiver: pavement width for Lilac Lane from 36 feet to 30 feet — GRANTED (motion carried 3–2). Commissioners voting to grant cited site constraints and the applicant’s parking plan; those opposing cited code consistency and safety concerns.
- Waiver: right-of-way reduction from 60 feet to 43.34 feet — DENIED (majority). Commissioners who voted to deny said the reduction would impair utility, maintenance and emergency access.
- Waiver: platting lots 24, 37, 38 and 39 within the 100-year floodplain — DENIED (majority). Several commissioners stressed it would be premature to approve lots whose platting relies on a future FEMA map change.
- Waiver: platting lots 23, 24, 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39 within 25 feet of delineated wetlands (wetland buffer) — DENIED (majority). Commissioners cited the subdivision code’s wetland-buffer protections and the city’s ecological policies.
- Waiver: street tree spacing requirement (150 feet on center) — GRANTED. Commissioners accepted the applicant’s landscaping plan and tree-count approach, including clustering trees around stormwater ponds and matching the overall tree requirement rather than strict spacing between narrow townhouse lots.
- Cash in lieu of on-site recreational open space — DENIED (motion carried 3–2). Commissioners opposing cash-in-lieu said on-site active recreation is important for livability; those opposing denial argued the city could accept a cash donation if on-site recreation were impractical.

After votes on the waivers and related items, the commission voted to recommend denial of the preliminary major subdivision to City Council, citing the cumulative effect of floodplain and wetlands encroachments, the number of variances already granted by the Board of Adjustment (32), and concerns about parking and public safety.

Residents and developers offered differing views on the project’s community impacts. Jennifer McSorley, a Truett Avenue neighbor who said her backyard abuts the site, described mixed feelings but supported redevelopment if safety and environmental protections are prioritized: "I live at 208 Truett Avenue, which is my backyard, for the development." Developer and local builder Mike Maupin spoke in favor of the project’s potential to spur reinvestment, saying prior infill projects in the DDD have attracted private investment and neighborhood improvements. Other residents, including Trish Marvel and Mike Boyle, expressed concerns about rental conversion, long-term maintenance, parking adequacy and whether they would personally choose to live behind the proposed layout.

What happens next: the commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to Milford City Council for its independent hearing and decision. Staff and the applicant noted that a FEMA Letter of Map Change is required before final subdivision approval and that several state and county agency comments (Kent Conservation District, State Fire Marshal, DNREC) appear in the packet and must be resolved.

The record for the item includes the applicant’s preliminary plans, engineering and appraisal materials, the Board of Adjustment decision listing 32 variances, public comment letters (including a written submission dated Aug. 14, 2025), and the public notice published Aug. 3, 2025, in the Delaware Daily State News.

For the commission, the vote reflects a central planning question: whether the proposed density and associated waivers respect Milford’s floodplain, wetland buffers and subdivision standards or whether redesign is necessary to protect ecological integrity and public safety. City Council will review the full record and make the final decision on whether the applicant may proceed.