Lewes-area neighborhood in a pickle over courts

A proposal to add 91 more lots to a Beaver Dam Road development hit a snag Sept. 11, after several residents said they were never told pickleball courts would be placed near their homes.

“First time I think we’ve had a project depending on pickleball courts,” said Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commissioner Holly Wingate.

Anchors Run, a development off Beaver Dam Road and Conley’s Chapel Road, is seeking approval to add 91 more lots to bring the total to 356 single-family home lots; however, commissioners deferred a decision after a lengthy presentation, and comments from several homeowners over the placement of the pickleball courts.

Speaking against the project, residents said if they had known before signing their home contracts that pickleball courts would be near their homes, it would have made a difference.

Brad Nash said he moved into his home in June, and knew nothing about the pending pickleball courts when he signed a contract for his home.

“They said, ‘Let’s put it there because there’s no objections,’” he said, referring to a decision to move the courts near his home without giving him the chance to weigh in on it.

Resident Fred Bauer said he was an owner when the decision was made, but he was not included in the pickleball court placement decision.

“There was no mention of the expansion we’re talking about today,” he said, adding there have been other misrepresentations by the builder.

Project engineer Steven Fortunato said the courts were not squeezed in at the last minute, and there is ample room with a berm to work as a buffer.

Project attorney MacKenzie Peet said there was a demand for the courts by the community, which commissioners said they want to further review.

In addition to the pickleball courts, Peet said changes include increasing the size of the pool.

Another change includes removing a previously proposed second roundabout at the southern part of the property near Stockley Road. Roads, however, will be improved with paths along the roadways, about $500,000 for road improvements for the Anchors Run development.

Fortunato said the project is a superior design utilizing Tidewater for water and Artesian for sewer, with plantings to buffer views from homes and protection for environmentally sensitive areas.

“We’re preserving 89 acres when only 54 are required,” he said.

Northstar property

Commissioners said a letter from the Cape Henlopen School District was received Aug. 20, regarding the Northstar development off Route 9 near Lewes. In the letter, Jason Hale, director of operations, writes that the development will impact the school district, and he urged county council to enact the Voluntary School Assessment regulations.

“Doing so will ensure that developers contribute their fair share toward the educational infrastructure needed to support the families moving into these new developments,” he said.

A Senate bill creating the VSA was signed into law in 2023, but county council opted to not move forward with it because it was viewed as a tax on residents.

Northstar is mixed-used project on a 433-acre parcel between Route 9 and two sides of Beaver Dam Road west of Five Points. 

The project includes a subdivision of 758 single-family home lots on 379 acres, a commercial area of 96,000 square feet on 13 acres along Route 9 and an affordable apartment complex with 94 units on 8 acres also along Route 9.

There are four applications for the project, including rezoning applications from AR-1, agricultural-residential, to C-3, heavy commercial, and from AR-1 to MR, medium-density residential, and a conditional-use application for multifamily housing.

In July, P&Z commissioners voted to reopen the public record to request information from Cape Henlopen School District.