Sussex County Council defers Atlantic Fields rezoning after hours of public opposition over traffic, safety and environment

Sussex County Council voted Thursday to defer action on a proposed rezoning that would convert about 73.5 acres at Route 24 and Mulberry Knoll Road from AR-1 agricultural/residential to C-4 planned commercial, giving DelDOT, DNREC and the conservation district two weeks to respond to council—s technical questions and setting a two-week public response window after the agencies reply.

The public hearing on map amendment CZ 2037, "Atlantic Fields," drew dozens of residents, a state representative and business representatives who spent nearly three hours describing traffic congestion, potential delays for emergency responders, risks to nearby elementary and middle schools, stormwater/runoff concerns and other issues the speakers said the TIS (traffic impact study) and project plan did not adequately address.

An attorney for a neighbor, Sean Maloney of Maloney Almond & Spence, said the plan identifies "Entrance 4" as running through his client—s Parcel 57 on Plantation Road and that the entrance had been approved and recorded when the property was zoned AR-1. He said the entrance "was approved by the county council and by ... DelDOT" and that the easement and the way the entrance was built were sized for lighter, lower-volume traffic. "Unless there's some changes to this plan, we strongly object and would protect our property rights," Maloney said.

State Rep. Claire Snyder Hall, speaking as a resident, told the council the project would bring a level of traffic that could permanently harm quality of life in the corridor and urged the council to vote against the zoning change. "You have the ability to vote no on their request for a zoning change," she said.

Other commenters stressed technical shortcomings in the TIS and urged the council to require Costco- and anchor-specific trip generation analyses. Joan Barrow (reading a submission attributed to William Burrows) cited Kittleson & Associates— work on prior Costco cases and said the generic ITE land-use code used for the applicant likely underestimates new net trips for a Costco-scale store. Several speakers urged the county to require traffic modeling that includes summer weekend peaks and the cumulative effects of nearby approved and proposed residential projects.

Speakers also raised site-specific concerns: parents and neighbors said Love Creek Elementary and Beacon Middle School lie within roughly a half-mile of parts of the proposed site, creating safety concerns for drop-off and bus operations; multiple residents warned that narrow stretches of Mulberry Knoll Road and Plantation Road lack shoulders or sidewalks and may not safely accommodate the expected traffic mix; and residents and environmental commenters asked for a phase-II soils/hydrogeologic assessment and questioned whether an underground infiltration stormwater system will hold up over time without clear maintenance responsibilities.

Several residents asked the council to view the rezoning as part of a corridor-wide carrying-capacity assessment rather than a standalone approval, noting thousands of approved or proposed housing units nearby that commenters said would compound east—west congestion on Route 24. One speaker summarized cumulative project trip additions and warned the corridor could face tens of thousands of additional daily vehicle trips if multiple developments build out.

Council and staff discussed a procedural path forward that would keep the record open for targeted agency questions. Councilmember motions set a two-week period for the agencies (DelDOT, DNREC and the conservation district) to respond and a two-week public/applicant reply period. The council then voted to defer action on the ordinance. On the roll call, Councilmember Quirnbaum voted yes; Councilmember McCarran voted yes; Councilmember Lloyd voted yes; Councilmember Riley voted yes. The motion carried and the hearing was closed pending the agency responses.

The application before council is titled in the ordinance short title as an amendment to the comprehensive zoning map from AR-1 to C-4 for approximately 73.5 acres with conditions recommended by the Planning & Zoning Commission. The council did not approve or deny the rezoning; it deferred the matter to permit follow-up technical evaluation by the named agencies.

Council staff said written questions to the agencies would be submitted by the end of business two weeks from the meeting; agencies would have two weeks to reply, and then the public and the applicant would have two weeks to submit responses to those agency answers before council resumes substantive deliberations.

Speakers and documents submitted to the record referenced the accepted TIS (DelDOT acceptance dated May 1, 2025), the Sussex County comprehensive plan and Delaware Code Title 9 provisions directing consideration of public health, safety and congestion when evaluating rezoning requests. Multiple commenters recommended postponing rezoning until road, stormwater and public-safety infrastructure are in place or until updated modeling using retail- and anchor-specific trip rates and seasonal peak conditions is completed.

The council—s deferral preserves procedural deadlines for targeted follow-up from DelDOT, DNREC and the conservation district; no land-use approvals or on-the-ground construction actions were authorized by the council at the meeting.