Village Center Cottages plan gets nod from Sussex P&Z

At its Nov. 13 meeting, the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission recommended preliminary and final approval for Village Center Cottages along Gills Neck Road outside Lewes.

Sussex County Council will have to vote on a rezoning request and conditional-use applications for multifamily housing.

The 25-acre parcel is designated as a coastal area, one of seven growth areas on the county’s comprehensive plan future land-use map. It’s also designated as Level 1 by state planners, which is where growth is anticipated to occur.

Plans for the project include one-, two- and three-bedroom, coastal-style cottages in pocket neighborhoods, with rear parking areas, linked by sidewalks and paths to a pool and clubhouse, and the commercial Village Center. The cottages would range in size from 1,000 to 1,500 square feet. Other open-space amenities would include courtyards, green areas and pocket parks. Two parking spaces would be available for each cottage, with 240 total spaces.

Density of the proposed community would be 3.99 units per acre.

While a typical buffer is not planned for a common area between Village Center and Governors, some landscaping would be provided in the area of two stormwater ponds between the two projects.

“These are not duplexes, townhouses or apartments, but a new, fresh approach to the multifamily option,” said attorney David Hutt. “They will be individual units that will be very unique to this area of Sussex County.”

The project is part of a master plan by the same developer and property owner, J.G. Townsend Jr. and Co.

Residents of the neighboring Governors housing complex are opposed to a proposed through-way (without a gate) along Stockley Boulevard connecting Kings Highway and Clay Avenue with Village Center shopping center, and the Governors and Senators residential communities.