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New Castle County land‑use committee to seek vote on ending long‑standing deed restrictions on Summit Bridge Road parcels
Summary
The Land Use Committee moved to clear two decades‑old deed restrictions on two parcels on the west side of Summit Bridge Road; Councilmember Carter said the covenants date to 1989 and the land has been annexed into Middletown since 2001. A formal vote is scheduled for next week.
The New Castle County Land Use Committee voted Tuesday to send to the council a resolution that would terminate a decades‑old declaration of register restrictions affecting two parcels on the west side of Summit Bridge Road (tax parcel numbers 2302800243 and 2302800244; application 20250659D, Council District 6).
Councilmember Carter told the committee the restrictions date to 1989 and were created when planners were considering limited‑access highway configurations. “It put some restrictions on height, setback, primarily entrance that said it had to enter from another highway to control the access points and no signs,” Carter said, adding that the land was annexed into the town of Middletown in 2001 and that the county no longer has jurisdiction.
Carter said county staff and the city attorney had discussed the matter and that a title search had turned up the old easement. “This is just to take an old deed easement from many years ago that I think is unenforceable,” he said, describing the action as a records cleanup rather than a change in land use on the ground.
Land‑use staff recommended the committee forward the resolution for a formal vote. The committee did not take a final vote at the meeting; the chair said the item is expected to be voted on next week.
There was no public comment in the chamber and no online comment registered during the meeting. The committee’s action would clear the county record; Carter said the change reflects subsequent comprehensive plans adopted by Middletown and prior practice on the parcels.
If the council approves the resolution next week, county staff said the change would remove the recorded restrictions from county records. The committee provided no indication that the change would affect immediate development approvals in Middletown, which annexed the properties more than two decades ago.
