MILTON, Del. - Sussex County Council voted on Tuesday to defer a vote on a request made by Ocean One Holdings, LLC. to rezone about 65 acres at the intersection of Routes 1 and 16.
The property is located across Route 1 from the Rookery South golf course in an area the developer says is already growing. The request is to rezone from agricultural residential to a commerical district.
"The intended use, which I'm sure everyone has seen and heard in all the various publications that are out there, is in the nature of a business park," says Ocean One's attorney, David Hutt. "It's a retail and entertainment center for this area as you travel along the Route 1 corridor."
Ocean One Holdings, LLC. says there are few nearby homes and its proposal fits Sussex County's Comprehensive Plan. People against the project noted the number of communities just down Route 1 off Cave Neck Road.
The Executive Directors of Southern Delaware Tourism and the Milton Chamber of Commerce spoke in favor of the project on Tuesday, saying the rezoning would boost the local economy.
"With the hotel accommodation tax the portion that comes into Sussex County, Southern Delaware Tourism will receive 40 percent of whatever is collected there and our community will finally get 60 percent of that," says Karen Falk with the Milton Chamber of Commerce.
Others raised concerns about flooding and an increased risk for accidents.
"Thousands of residential properties are right below what everybody's been talking about or the applicant has been talking about today," says John Bucchioni of Milton.
There is no date set yet for when County Council will consider this rezoning request again. If it is eventually approved, development will not start until DelDOT's overpass construction and intersection improvements are completed.
