Sussex County Council on a unanimous voice vote deferred for one week a request from Zion Church Ventures LLC to establish indoor storage and warehouse buildings, accessory office space, and a car wash on a 24.87‑acre parcel off Zion Church Road in Frankford.

Council deferred to allow staff and council members time to prepare and review amendments requested by the applicant to conditions recommended by the planning and zoning commission.

Attorney Mackenzie Pete, representing Zion Church Ventures LLC, told the council the current application pertains only to a portion of Parcel 23 — 24.866 acres identified as Track 1 on the submitted plan — and seeks permission for roughly 19 buildings totaling about 180,500 square feet of indoor storage/warehouse/workspace and an approximately 2,500‑square‑foot car wash. Pete said the applicant removed two other parcels from an earlier, related approval and eliminated a previously proposed clubhouse and pool. She said the current application also seeks to “expand the permitted uses to include accessory office as previously explained,” and described accessory offices as intended to “support the primary storage, workspace and warehousing functions.”

Pete asked the council to remove a management‑office requirement (planning condition n) and to remove a limitation on showers in units (condition o). She also proposed changes to condition d (use limitations for business tenants) and to condition l (signage), arguing the condominium association overseeing the property would enforce rules, including restrictions on overnight stays, and that a fob access system would enable enforcement. Pete told council the applicant had included a handout with proposed new language.

Director Whitehouse and county counsel George Moore explained procedure and existing record items. Whitehouse noted the parcel’s prior conditional use history: an earlier approval associated with conditional use number 2392 had been granted by county council (referenced in the record as ordinance 29‑99), but the present application is limited to Parcel 23. Whitehouse also answered a remote caller’s procedural question about conditional‑use duration, saying, “If a conditional use is approved, they are typically valid for a period of 3 years. That that can be extended by request from the applicant, but 3 years normally, at which point they have to either begin or or seek approval for an extension,” and that council may extend a conditional use by up to six months.

Neighbor Susan Harris, whose property abuts the site, spoke in favor and asked several site‑layout questions about perimeter fencing and the setback around a proposed retention pond. Harris said, “Our property backs right up to this. It's absolutely needed.” Whitehouse explained that standard setbacks in an AR‑1 district are 25 feet but that nonresidential projects and stormwater locations are addressed in site plan review, and he offered to meet with Harris after the hearing to go over dimensions.

Council members questioned how the requested accessory office language would be used, and whether business tenants would be compelled to rent climate‑controlled units under the planning commission’s recommended language. Council discussion included clarifying that the applicant is not seeking to require climate control for all business tenants and that the applicant is willing to allow accessory offices for administrative tasks such as inventory management.

After discussion councilman Riley moved to defer the matter for one week so staff could prepare the applicant’s proposed amendments and allow council members time to review them; councilman Lloyd seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

This deferral leaves the record closed for now and schedules the item for reconsideration at the council’s next meeting, allowing staff to draft revised condition language and for council members to raise additional questions. If approved later, the project will still require final site plan approval and any applicable state or county permits (for example stormwater, building permits and DelDOT reviews) before construction may begin.