UPDATED: Sussex County Council Votes to Deny Atlantic Fields
UPDATED – 01/13/26 – The Sussex County Council met Tuesday afternoon with a light agenda – but a big vote in Old Business that packed the chamber. The Council revisited Change of Zone No. 2037 on behalf of Mulberry Knoll Associates, LLC – for a project called Atlantic Fields, that would be located on over 73 acres at the intersection of Route 24 and Mulberry Knoll Road west of Lewes. The application was to rezone the property from AR-1 to C-4 – a planned commercial district. While added several years ago, this is just the second C-4 rezoning to come before the Council. According to the County Code C-4 Zone encourages “carefully planned large-scale commercial, retail, and mixed-use developments as a means of creating a superior shopping, working and living environment through unified developments, and to provide for the application of design ingenuity while protecting existing and future developments and achieving the goals of the Comprehensive Plan.”
In her reasons for her vote, Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum said that a primary reason for her vote to deny was that Atlantic Fields lacked the housing option for people to live where they work. She also stated that the infrastructure improvements planned by DelDOT for the Henlopen TID (Transportation Improvement District) would not be completed until years after the development project was to open in 2028. Gruenebaum and the other four council members all voted to deny Atlantic Fields.
Another proposed C-4 project, BelMead Farms – which is just down Route 24 west of Atlantic Fields – was approved by the Council on December 16th with a 3 to 2 vote. Council President Doug Hudson said of that project that it “fits the needs of the area and will allow people to work where they live.” The BelMead Farms project does include housing in the development mix.
The Council has amended the Rules of Procedure for County Council Zoning Hearings and pertains to the rules that the County Attorney reads before the start of public hearings on Conditional Use and Change of Zone applications. The amended rules strikes the sentence “there will be no rebuttal by the applicant.” This gives the applicant the chance to make their presentation and the opposition to state their reasons of why they oppose and then gives the Council the authority to ask anyone to come forward for clarification, statements or to answer questions if needed.
Five members of the Board of Adjustment and Planning and Zoning Commission have retired and were honored by the County Council with plaques during this week’s meeting. The five retirees are:
BOA – Kevin Carson – July 2019 to July 2025
BOA – Jeff Chorman – June 2019 to July 2025
BOA – John Travis Hastings – January 2021 to June 2025
P&Z – Brian Butler – July 2023 to August 2025
P&Z – Bob Wheatley – January 1995 to July 2025
A public hearing was held Tuesday afternoon for a Conditional Use No. 2586 for Preston & Mason Dyer. This application was for an expansion of the existing Deep Branch Campground north of Route 16 off Route 1. A couple of residents spoke in favor of this application which was approved by a 5 to 0 vote.
The Sussex County Council does not meet next week and the County offices will be closed on Monday, January 19th for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The Council will next meet on Tuesday, January 27th.
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ORIGINAL STORY – 01/12/26 – The Sussex County Council will meet in Tuesday – the meeting will begin at 1pm. The Council will revisit an amendment to the Rules of Procedure for County Council Zoning Hearings that was deferred last week. In Old Business the Council will revisit Change of Zone No. 2037 on behalf of Mulberry Knoll Associates, LLC – for a 73.5 acre property at Route 24 and Mulberry Knoll Road to be changed from AR-1 to a C-4 planned commercial district – Atlantic Fields – a 665,000 square foot commercial shopping center that would be anchored by 3 national retail stores.
The Council will also hold a public hearing beginning at 1:30pm on a conditional use application No. 2586 on behalf of Preston & Mason Dyer for an expansion of an existing campground near Milton.
The Council will meet Tuesday afternoon beginning at 1pm in the County Administration Building on The Circle in Georgetown.
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