Belle Mead Farm, Belmead CZ2001
Hearing Record is now closed.
The County Council could begin deliberation/decision-making regarding this rezoning on Nov. 18.
Still Time To Take Action! See below:
General Info:
Rt 24, across from Saddle Ridge Community
Rezone from AR-1 to C4 Planned Commercial District
39 Acres/334 Rental Units + 71,825 sq ft Commercial
6,800 Additional Vehicle Trips/Day
5 acres of mature forest at the headwaters of Dorman Branch would be cut down
On this page:
Send email comments to the Council members. If you can, send separate letters to each Council Member. The most important members to contact at this time are Doug Hudson & John Rieley.
Our County Council members will make the final decision on both the Belmead and the Atlantic Fields rezoning application. The need to focus on issues that relate to the requirements of the C-4 Code and issues of public safety are of especially important.
Issues for Belmead:
Belmead does not comply with these 2 parts of the Sussex County Zoning Code for C-4 Commercial Districts:
"adequate existing or planned infrastructure" is required for C-4 Route 24 and the Love Creek Bridge have no set date to begin construction for dualization according to DelDOT; the 2-lane portion of Rt 24 & Love Creek Bridge are at or near road capacity; other approved developments will soon have it over capacity; Belmead's application estimates their development completion date as 2032. Infrastructure capacity projects that do not yet even have an estimated start date cannot be counted as planned infrastructure.
Lacks interconnectivity with adjacent parcels (a C4 Requirement)
Additional Concerns:
Safety, especially for school children/busses due to location near the Love Creek Elementary School and adjacent to Beacon Middle School; we do not want school children crossing Rt 24 to go to a fast food place!!!
Traffic: Several subdivisions will have extraordinarily long wait times to turn onto Rt 24. (Hart's Landing will have over a 9 minute wait time to turn right onto 24 on a Summer Saturday & over 8 minutes Monday-Friday pm rush hour.
Rt. 24 as a primary evacuation route for Southern Sussex County, EMS & Fire response times will increase due to traffic,
Pollution/Quality of Life: light pollution, noise pollution, pollution of Dorman Banch of Love Creek
Significant increase of Impervious surface.
Removal of 5 acres of mature forest, reducing stormwater absorption and increasing risk of flooding. & removing wildlife habitat.
Belmead will be the first C-4 Commercial District to come to a vote in the Council. The Council will be setting a precedent for other C-4 applications that will be coming in the future.
Steve McCarron - Dist. 2 SMcCarron@sussexcountyde.gov
President - Douglas B. Hudson Dist. 4 Doug.hudson@sussexcountyde.gov
Vice President - John L. Rieley Dist. 5 jlrieley@sussexcountyde.gov
Matthew Lloyd - Dist. 1 matt.lloyd@sussexcountyde.gov
Steve McCarron - Dist. 2 SMcCarron@sussexcountyde.gov
Jane Gruenebaum - Dist. 3 jane.gruenebaum@sussexcountyde.gov
Write Letters to the Editor. Write slightly different versions to each outlet, changing the title. If you send a letter to an official at the local or State level, they could publish it not as a letter to the editor, but as a letter that was sent to (name the official(s)). Some outlets are more likely to publish letters to those who subscribe.
Bay to Bay News/Delaware State News: https://baytobaynews.com/forms/letters/
Cape Gazette: https://www.capegazette.com/column/lett ... e_vignette
Delaware Online/The News Journal: https://static.delawareonline.com/submitletter/ or by
emailing wil-letters@delawareonline.com with "letters" in the subject line
DelmarvaNow.com: https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/opini ... 396922002/
Delaware Business Times: https://delawarebusinesstimes.com/submit/editorial/
Coastal Point: https://www.coastalpoint.com/site/forms ... er_editor/
Seaford Star and Laurel Star: Email mmcclure@mspublications.com
If you know people who do not live in district 3 (Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, etc), share with them information with them on both Belmead & Atlantic Fields and the problems that will impact all of Sussex County if either of the change in zones are approved. Information can be found on the Route 24 Alliance web site. www.route24alliance.com
Speak up during the Public Comment period before a Council meeting on Nov 18th. At the beginning of every Sussex County Council meeting (usually 10am but best to check online), any resident of Sussex County can speak to the Council members about concerns about County issues, for a maximum of 3 minutes. Please note that you must not mention Belmead or Atlantic Fields specifically (or they will cut you off) but can talk about issues. You can come to the meeting in person or call in with your Public Comment.
After the public hearing, the Council deferred action and left the record open for these periods:
2 weeks for the Council to send questions to DelDOT & DNREC;
2 weeks for DelDOT & DNREC to submit replies to the Council's questions, which will be published on the Land Use Application Docket & 2 weeks for the public to submit comments ONLY on these agencies' replies (no other comments or testimony permitted.)
(*Please note that DNREC did not respond to the Council's question; instead Dept of Ag submitted partial answers.)
DelDOT response - https://connect.sussexcountyde.gov/PublicAccess-NextGen/api/document/152070
Dept of Ag response - https://connect.sussexcountyde.gov/PublicAccess-NextGen/api/document/152069
(* Jamie Whitehouse sent 4 questions to Dept of Ag, but Kyle Hoyd from Dept of Ag responded to 2 questions and said the other 2 fall under DNREC's jurisdiction. We are not sure whether those 2 questions have been forwarded to DNREC since no response from DNREC has been posted. It could be that the questions sent to Dept of Ag may have been intended for DNREC.)
Go to the Docket & add your comments under "Comments" at https://connect.sussexcountyde.gov/PublicDocket/#/details/CZ%25202001
The minutes re Belmead start on p 9: https://sussexcountyde.gov/sites/default/files/minutes/09%2016%2025.pdf
Petition Results, which were presented to County Council at the 9/16/25 Hearing:
District 1: Zip Code Town change.org Signatures on paper
19956 Laurel 3 0
19973 Seaford 5 0
TOTAL District 1= 8
District 2: Zip Code Town change.org Signatures on paper
19933 Bridgeville 2 0
19941 Ellendale 2 0
19952 Milford 1 0
19960 Lincoln 2 0
TOTAL District 2= 7
District 3: Zip Code Town change.org Signatures on paper
19958 Lewes 657 82
19971 Rehoboth Beach 77 4
19971 Dewey Beach 3 0
TOTAL District 3= 823
District 4: Zip Code Town change.org Signatures on paper
19939 Dagsboro 3 0
19945 Frankford 5 0
19966 LongNeck/Oak Orchard 9 0
19967 Millville 4 0
19970 Ocean View 2 0
TOTAL District 4= 23
District 5: Zip Code Town change.org Signatures on paper
19947 Georgetown 18 2
19951 Harbeson 8 0
19966 Millsboro 306 12
19968 Milton 43 2
TOTAL District 5= 391
TOTAL SUSSEX COUNTY= 1,252
Signatures from outside Sussex County DE were not tabulated in the results.
WRDE 6pm coverage of today's hearing on the Belmead Change of Zone: https://www.coasttv.com/news/sussex-county-council-holds-public-hearing-on-belmead-farm-rezoning/video_6bf4e1d7-4978-5de1-af71-73ed9a42511e.html
Share info about this pending decision with friends & neighbors, post on social media. Print out the flyer below, pass it out & post it in public places. Get more people involved to post comments & to come to the hearing. You can always take a screen shot(Mac) or PrintScreen or other snipping tool on a PC. If you want to receive an e-mail with the .pdf file, email Mizjudyrose@msn.com.
Post a comment on the County's Land Use Application Docket by 9/15/25! The number of comments on the Land Use Docket is significant, so please take the time to write a Comment!!! Please note that is if you post a Comment on the Docket after business hours, you will not see your Comment on the Docket until perhaps mid-day the next business day. Planning & Zoning staff read the Comments before posting them on the Docket. Once you get onto the Docket, select the word "Comments" and then the blue box "Add a Comment". It is easiest to write your Comment out on another document, then copy it & paste it into the Docket. https://connect.sussexcountyde.gov/PublicDocket/#/details/CZ%202001 .
The County Council will read the Comments before they make their decision.
If you have trouble posting your Comment on the Land Use Docket, send an e-mail to Planning & Zoning. In your e-mail, state how many times you got an error message when trying to post to the Docket in addition to your Comment. This way the County has a record of how frequently the Docket is not taking Comments.
Sign the petition to Oppose Belmead Change of Zone: https://chng.it/mVXLd8TW9Q
Share the Coast TV coverage, video: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1994576544682318 ,
Write a letter to the Editor. For links to Cape Gazette, Bay to Bay News, The News Journal, go to:https://sites.google.com/view/sussex2030/important-contacts/media-contact
Prepare your testimony for the County Council Hearing. If you can't come in person, you can call in. We won't know the agenda until a week before the meeting. If you want to get a text alert about when the Belmead hearing is starting, contact Judy Rose Seibert 240-688-2223. Just standing up & saying that you agree with another testimony is important!
Come to the hearing & testify! The County Council will make the decision to approve or deny, and if approved what Conditions to put on the Approval. Let's fill the council Chambers for this Hearing! It helps to prepare written notes before the hearing, but you can also jot down notes to prepare what you want to contribute as you listen to what is presented during the Hearing. Hearings usually start at 1:30; the Council has 3 Hearings scheduled on 9/16. If you can't come to Georgetown for the Hearing, you can call in to add your comments to the Hearing, see below.
Please note this is taken from the Council's agenda for Sept 9; the Council's agenda for 9/16 will be posted by 9/10 & can be found by going to: https://sussexcountyde.gov/agendas-minutes/county-council. Please check the agenda prior to heading to Georgetown for the Hearing, as this Hearing has been postponed twice!
The DelDOT Vehicle Volume Summary lists the 2024 Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) on Route 24 from Plantations Rd to south of Love Creek Bridge as 15,747. The last date traffic was counted on that section was 2020 (during Covid!); DelDOT adds a certain percentage for each year after the actual data was taken. The current Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) 7th Edition, Exhibit 16-16 gives a range of 11,900 to 15,900 AADT with LOS D along two-way, two-lane streets with signals. Route 24 Alliance obtained this data by hiring DJ Hughes, P.E. as a traffic consultant. Mr. Hughes worked for DelDOT as a project manager for 3 years; prior to that he worked for Davis, Bowen & Friedel for 21 years. He now has his own traffic engineering LLC.
No wonder most of the comments on the Land Use Docket for CZ2001 are about traffic! The two-lane section of Route 24 from the proposed site entrance to south of Love Creek bridge is already at or over road capacity!
Dualization of Love Creek Bridge & the portion of SR 24 from Lexington Ave to Love Creek Bridge are in the draft FY 29-FY32 for Project Development. The road infrastructure will not be in place until many years after the build date for Belmead. See line 1029 of https://deldot.gov/Publications/reports/CTP/pdfs/FY27-FY32/Draft%20FY27-FY32%20CTP%20Development%20Plan.pdf. You will need to magnify it!
CZ2001 does not comply with the following Codes and therefore cannot be approved:
•County Code 115-83.25 f.(4)(b) Minimum District Requirements, “Interconnectivity with adjacent parcels shall be required.”
•County Code Section 115-83.25 B Minimum District Requirements : “The land shall be served by adequate existing or planned infrastructure”:
•Roads: Dualization of Love Creek Bridge & the portion of SR 24 from Lexington Ave to Love Creek Bridge are in the FY 29-FY32 for Project Development. The road infrastructure will not be in place until many years after the build date for Belmead. The C4 will result in excessive wait times (more than 9 minutes at 1 intersection) of LOS F to turn onto SR24.
•Schools: Jason Hale of the Cape Henlopen School District has requested that no new residential developments be approved until a school impact fee is implemented and being collected, and has filed a letter of concern for the safety of school operations.
•Fire/EMS: The closest Fire/EMS station is the Lewes/Rehoboth fire station #3. In March of 2025, Lewes Fire Department notified you, the County Council, that without additional funding it might have to dissolve its EMS service.
•County Code Section 115-83.24 C4 Purpose- “….while protecting existing and future developments and achieving the goals of the Comprehensive Plan.” Jason Hale of the Cape Henlopen School District has raised concerns “that increased traffic could adversely affect school operations and student safety…”
•County Code Section 115-3 Purpose-Zoning regulations: “…the lessening of congestion in the streets or roads.”…” The regulation are made with reasonable consideration..of the character of a particular district…,the conservation of property values and natural resources…”
Use the link below to leave a comment on the County's Land Use Application Docket. There are 4 columns on the page. Select "Comments", then hit the blue box "Add a Comment." A statement will appear that you have to agree to in order to be able you add your comment.
https://connect.sussexcountyde.gov/PublicDocket/#/details/CZ%25202001
If you get an error message when trying to post to the Docket, e-mail your comment directly to Planning & Zoning, whose job it is to post it on the docket (yes, even though the P&Z hearing is over) . Include in your e-mail how many times you tried to post to the Docket, so this is also part of the public record. P&Z e-mail address: pandz@sussexcountyde.gov.
Send an e-mail to garyvorsheim@gmail.com requesting to be added to the list.
Coast TV report on Belmead CZ2001, including coverage of our meeting! https://www.facebook.com/reel/1994576544682318
video: https://youtu.be/9zyiHKy2CBg
Online Minutes, Belmead starts on p4: https://sussexcountyde.gov/sites/default/files/minutes/PZ%20-%205.21.25%20-%20FINAL.pdf
https://connect.sussexcountyde.gov/PublicAccess-NextGen/api/document/100721
https://connect.sussexcountyde.gov/PublicAccess-NextGen/api/document/98021
Application - https://stateplanning.delaware.gov/plus/projects/2025/2025-01-06.pdf
State Review: https://stateplanning.delaware.gov/plus/comments/2025-01-06-response.pdf
