This meeting is being transcribed and summarized.

That was all right in the three.

That's very cool.

I wish I didn't move out.

That's all I think I made some logic.

It's now six PM.

I'd like to call to order the Kent County Regional Planning Commission public hearing for this date, February the fifth on a Thursday.

And as we customarily do, we'll start with the pledge, and I ask Mr.

Garbury to lead us in the pledge.

Sarah, I'll now come to you for roll call and determination of quorum.

Mr.

Peterman.

Mr.

Sarvan.

Present.

Mrs.

Kircher.

Here.

Mr.

Golfrey.

Here.

Mr.

Mills.

Here.

Mr.

Davis.

Here on the phone.

Mr.

Jester.

Here.

So you have seven present.

You do have a quorum.

Thank you very much.

Now come back to you, Commissioners for the approval of the agenda.

Mr.

Gauvery.

Motion to approve.

And Ms.

Ms.

Mills.

Second.

Second.

Sarah called commission.

Mr.

Peterman.

Mr.

Servant.

Yes to approve.

Mrs.

Carcher.

Yes to yes to approve.

Mr.

Gaufrey.

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Mills.

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Davis.

Yes, to approve.

Mr.

Jester.

Yes, to approve.

So you have seven years in favor of approving tonight's agenda.

Thank you very much.

Thank you all for coming out tonight.

Now we'll go back to Sarah for the introduction and public hearing instructions.

Thank you.

This public hearing is being conducted for the purpose of giving the citizens of the county the opportunity to present testimony on the applications before the planning commission.

Everyone will have an opportunity to speak.

All statements are to be made from the podium at the front of the room.

All the given shall be sworn or affirmed.

For the record, please give your name and address.

Copies of any written statements or exhibits used during the hearing should be presented for identification and inclusion in the record.

The record will remain open for two business days following tonight's hearing.

For each application before the commission, the chairman will introduce the application.

Then the applicant or representative will be given 15 minutes to present the application.

Following that, those in favor of the application will be allotted five minutes each to speak.

Then those opposed to the application will be allotted five minutes each to speak.

When everyone has had an opportunity to give testimony, the hearing on the application will be closed.

No decision will be made by the planning commission tonight.

The commission will hold a public business meeting next Thursday, February 12th at 6 p.m., at which time it will make a decision on the applications heard tonight.

All information of record will be considered.

A common vote of four members of the commission is required to make a decision.

Anyone may attend to the business meeting, but no new testimony will be received.

The public notice of this hearing was published on January 14th, 2026 in the Delaware State News, and the levy court will hear public hearing applications on Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at 7 p.m.

Unless tabled by the Planning Commission or withdrawn prior to the levy court hearing.

The levy court also meets in this room.

Mr.

Chairman.

Thank you very much, Sarah.

We'll now enter our public hearing.

First application entitled night is CS 26 02.

Barian Community Church Inc.

Owner is Berean Community Church Inc.

PO box 187 Milford Delaware.

Engineer is Davis Bowen and Freedale.

One Park Avenue, Milford, Delaware.

Zoning District is AC.

Comprehensive plan is low district residential.

Relation to the gross zone is outside.

Proposed use is same with sports field and campground.

Proposed building sizes.

I'm not going to read them all.

There's numerous.

Now get down to Levy Court District is the fourth Mr.

Scott.

School district is Milford.

Fire district is Houston, Station 52.

Area and location is 11.777 minus acres off of Milford Harrington Highway.

Is there someone here to represent this application?

Please give us your name and your address.

And you'll either be sworn or affirmed by our attorney.

Chad Warren with Davis Bellingford, located at 1 Park Avenue, Melford Delaware, 10963.

Mr.

Warren, do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth?

I do.

Right ahead, sir.

Uh as stated, my name is Chad Warren, professional engineer with Davis Bell and Fordell.

I'm representing my client, Barean Community Church, who is requesting approval for a conditional use site plan for an expansion of the Borean Church located at 2709 Melford Harrington Highway.

Parcel 5-0-1720-01-4501.

The current zoning of the parcel is AC Agricultural Conservation.

The existing parcel is 10.045 acres in size.

However, we have submitted a lot line adjustment application to expand the church parcel into the adjacent parcel to the west, which the church also owns.

After the lot line adjustment is completed, the proposed area of the church parcel will be 11.77 acres.

The existing use of the parcel is residential and a church.

We're proposing to add on to the existing.

We're proposing to add on to the existing uses to also provide child care, campgrounds, and a sports field.

The existing site contains an approximately 6,174 square foot church and approximately 2,500 square foot pavilion and several storage sheds.

The existing church building is to remain, and we are proposing to remove the pavilion and sheds and construct a 6,000 square foot addition to the existing church, a 13,000 nine hundred and twenty square foot sanctuary building, a 9,0102 square foot family center building with playground, a 1,250 square foot pole barn, two 1,800 square foot ministry housing residences, a 490 square foot bathhouse, a full size athletic field, and a camping area.

For parking for the county code, the following parking spaces are required through the county's calculations for each use.

The proposed daycare requires 13 spaces.

The two ministry houses require four spaces.

The proposed church expansion requires 124 spaces.

And for the education, classroom, and gymnasium, the church is still going through the design process with the architecture.

Size is the number room, it's still not finalized.

But we've accounted for 88 spaces for these uses.

The total proposed parking spaces come to 229 spaces.

That combined with the existing parking spaces on the site comes to a total of 265 spaces on the parcel, including 13 handicap accessible spaces.

Water and sewer are both privately owned on-site well in septic systems.

The property is located outside the growth zone.

The property is not located within a flood zone.

The property does not contain wetlands.

The property is not located within a wellhead protection area.

However, the entire property is located within an excellent groundwater recharge area.

And since our proposed impervious coverage of approximately 35% is above the 20% allowed in excellent groundwater recharge areas, we'll be utilizing an infiltration basin to manage all stormwater runoff, therefore complying with the county code.

All landscape plannings required per code have been provided.

Although we did initially apply for a variance from the interior landscaping requirement, that variance has been withdrawn.

With that, Kent County planning has been provided with a preliminary set of construction plans showing the site layout, site details, grading, stormwater, and landscaping.

Prior to final site plan approval, we will receive approval from Del DOT, Kent Conservation District, State Fire Marshal, Denrec, and the Office of Drinking Water.

So in conclusion, the proposed site complies with the Kent County Code, and we request conditional use approval for our expansion of the Berean Church.

And with that, I'll take any questions.

I thank you, sir.

Well presented.

I assume this is going to be a long construction project.

It's pretty expansive.

Yes, it looks like it certainly does.

I appreciate what you're doing and thank you for addressing the area.

I'll now open it up to the commissioners.

Is there anyone here or Mr.

Davis online that have any questions for this gentleman?

Mr.

Gauvery.

Actually, it's just an affirmation more than a question, but well, I guess it's a question.

Um so um if I understand you correctly, uh, particularly the last part of your presentation where you re reiterated the different agencies that you'll have to work with to get them to sign off.

So uh item six on the on the report that you got said that the owner of the developer will be prepared to uh comply with all the comments that are in the report.

Um so I'm assuming that you're you're aware of that report and you're in accordance with it.

Yes, and like yeah, prior to final approval, we'll have addressed all the comments, and we've been going back and forth with Kent County a little bit, addressing comments as needed prior to this meeting.

So we'll continue that to make sure that everything is in compliance.

Great.

Thank you.

No further questions.

Anyone else and commissioners?

I do have one question.

Uh is Dell Dot requiring that you uh modify your entrance.

It can be a yes or no, you don't have to expand.

There'll be some kind of improvements we'll have to do for Dell Dot.

Well, I know with Milford Higher Harrington Highway being as busy as it is, and uh how they require maybe a left turn lane or something like that, or a butt on your side.

So having worked at Dell Dot for a number of years, I understand what they request.

Yeah, and we'll yeah, Dell Dot will let us know what our their intent is, and we'll I appreciate it.

Thank you for your answer.

Does Mr.

Davis have a question online?

No, but thank you.

Thank you very much.

I don't see any other hand raised.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else here that would like to support this project and would like to come up?

Second call.

Anyone else here support this project for the Barian church?

Third and final call.

Seeing no one, I'll go to anybody against.

Is there anyone here that opposes this project for the Buryan Church?

Anyone here that opposes this project or on the line?

If there's anyone joining us online that would like to speak in favor or in opposition to application CS 2602, please indicate by raising electronic hand or pressing star three if you join us by phone.

Mr.

Chair.

Thank you.

Third and final call if we're against.

If not, then we'll be taking this project up next week.

Thank you for your presentation and all that you've done.

The next application is plan number and title.

SL-26-01 Thompson Ridge, located on the south side of South State Street, 1,780 feet, plus or minus west of Banning Road, northwest of Magnolia.

Owner and applicant is Rick M and Ronald L.

Thompson.

658 Bar Landing Road.

Engineer is Morris and Richie Associates.

111 Ruther Drive, Newark, Delaware.

Levy Court District is the fourth.

School district is Caesar Rodney.

Fire district is Magnolia.

Site is 81.07 acres.

Proposed number of lots is 107.

Is there someone here to represent this project?

Please give us your name and address, and you can either be sworn or affirmed by our attorney.

If you have to point to anything, there's a screen down there.

If you put your finger on it, you can show us what you're talking about.

Thank you very much.

My name is Charlie Barnett.

I'm with Morris and Richie Associates at 111 Ruth R Drive, Newark, Delaware.

Mr.

Barnett, do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give us the truth?

I do.

Go right ahead with your with your presentation.

Thank you so much.

Good evening.

I'm here to present to you the Thompson Ridge subdivision as you have our rendering here in front of you.

I don't know where that came from.

Oh, did I hit that?

Yep.

Here we go.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

As I stated, it's a 107-lot subdivision on 81 acres.

It has an entrance off of touch the screen, thank you.

Entrance here off of uh South State Street.

There we go.

Thank you very much.

I have a vicinity map here of just the surrounding area.

Mr.

Jester, you've already touched on most of the neighboring streets and intersections.

The property is also bordered by Cypress Branch here to the northwest of the project.

It is surrounded along State Street by single family residential lots, and then also along Banning Road with additional single family lots.

They range from about an acre to two acres in size, roughly.

Couple um bits of data here, most of which you probably see on this on the plan yourself or in the staff recommendation report, but it's 81 acres.

We are proposing over twice the required active open space.

And a little over half of the subdivision itself is uh passive open space.

Um Kent County Public Sewer, Artesian Water, Deldot Streets and the School District as you as you noted.

Here's the overall layout of the subdivision.

Like I said, there'll be the entrance coming through here.

Um we plan to have a nice uh viewshed as you come into the subdivision.

Uh there's kind of a nice slope down here that goes to the old borough pit.

Uh it's a beautiful looking body of water.

Um we have several different uh active recreational areas we're proposing, and I have some more information about those coming up.

But first of which is this kind of centrally located area right here, um, right in front of you as you come into subdivision.

Um we have uh an area here to the side that has uh we're proposing um a a nice a little over a half an acre open space uh that can provide two different tot lots, maybe for uh different age children, younger and then older kids uh to play on.

Here in the middle, as we talked about before, we're proposing a nice uh gazebo that people can use, um, a walkway that kind of gets you out to the water, so you can um enjoy that view shed as well.

Um, also in the central located area here is a uh mail kiosk for everybody to use.

Um that's also been designated as our school bus stop location.

We've had communications with uh the school district, Cesar Rodney School District, and gotten confirmation back from their transportation director that they do like this area for a school district uh or for a school bus stop, and uh they intend to use it exactly where we put it on this kiosk.

And then you can also see here there's a walking trail that kind of spurs off this main access route, and then we'll go the wrong way.

Sidewalks are going to be provided on both sides of the streets.

All Dell Dot streets built to their standards and specifications.

There are a couple recommendations from the planning staff in your staff recommendation report.

We don't have any issue with either of those recommendations.

One of which is planting features in the passive open space areas, and we definitely have no issue with that.

And then we're looking for a good way to demarcate this open space in behind some of these lots so that those homeowners don't think it's theirs and start trying to take ownership of it.

And again, we'll work with planning staff in the final landscape plan to provide something that you pull the mic up so we can hear you a little better.

My apologies, is that better?

Yeah, that's much better.

Okay.

The second um recommendation from planning staff was to provide some kind of demarcation along the backs of these lots here.

We like to have open space as much as we can in the rear of lots that there's just some kind of common open space there.

Um we'll work with planning staff and the final landscape plans to make sure that we're able to demarcate that in a way that they find sufficient.

We are requesting two waivers for the plan.

Um waiver to be able to put that walking trail that I talked about inside of the wetland buffer areas.

Uh we are not planning to disturb any of the wetlands as part of this project.

We're not planning to take down any trees in either the wetland buffers or the stream buffer that exists along the western property line there for Cypress Branch.

Uh, however, uh to enable a walking trail to go all the way around the borrow pit.

Um, there are some areas where the wetlands are close enough together that their actual buffer kind of touches.

Uh, so we will be impeding in some small locations there, planning to proposing to.

And um planning staff has recommended approval of that waiver as well.

I think you'll see our um our letter requesting that waiver should be in your packet as well as their recommendation.

The other waiver we requested um is for interconnectivity to the neighboring Barrett Farm property to the south of the project.

So uh, as you can see here on the screen, uh, here's that sanitary sewer pump station that Department of Public Works owns.

Um, they constructed sewer there quite some time ago and provided um uh a sewer line that runs in this a little hard to see here, but there's a dashed area here where they have an easement that gets up to the road in that subdivision and provided sewer to them through there.

Um as you can tell, the uh the road has been built there for Silento Drive and planning staff, and as as stated in the code is requesting that uh our internal subdivision streets connect to that.

Unfortunately, there are some circumstances physically out there that make this um uh an opportune area to build a street.

There's a lot of wetlands in this area, uh, as you can see here on the plan, all of this hatched in area is delineated wetlands that have been um reviewed by the Army Corps of Engineers, and we we have a um uh jurisdictional determination for all those.

This area over here is also completely wetlands.

Um, some of it here in this hatch where I have is uh at certain times of year open water.

Uh but these are two very large wetlands on the property.

In order to construct a road through there, um we're going to be limited to Del dot standards and what we can do.

So I tried to show here in this graphic in red what the limits of that Deldot street would be.

Um I've tried to lay it out so it is between the two wetlands as much as possible to minimize the amount of impact to those wetlands, but as you can see here, this is the wetlands line on the one side, wetlands line on the other side, still goes right through it.

But as you can see here, this is the wetlands line on the one side, wetlands line on the other side, it still goes right through it.

The other problem with this area is, and uh it's not very easy to tell on a tax map, but once you get out there and look at it, you can tell that there is a fourteen-foot vertical drop from where this road is paved to the edge of the trees right there where the end of that cursor is very steep.

And you can't build a street straight down roller coaster right off the end of these two folks' houses right here.

So in order to get this road in and build it to Dell Dot standards, there would have to be significant amount of dirt brought in and grading in order to make that possible.

So try to illustrate here in blue what those possible potential limits of grading would be.

And if you look at this um plan here, you can see that in order to build a road and connect these two subdivisions together, unfortunately, we're looking at a little over two acres of additional disturbance that would otherwise not be required, and almost an acre of wetland impacts.

Um it it while unfortunate is very uh infeasible to connect these two subdivisions with a with an internal street.

Um so therefore we're still requesting the waiver be granted for that.

That's the rest of the presentation I have prepared for you.

Um be glad to answer any questions if you have any.

Okay, before I turn it over to the air commissioners, uh we had a very bad field fire on the Barrett farm last year.

We had to get fire trucks back there and all to fight the fire in that woods and that hedgerow for over 56 years.

Um I cannot support this project unless there is that's the way I look at it.

Um the all the traffic out on South State Street, how that would be involved too.

So I just want you to know be up front that uh uh I know Mr.

Davis is the same as me as a volunteer firefighter, but if you come off of uh South State Street and get ready to come in as development, and there's a major wreck on that roadway, there's no way to get a fire truck in there any other way.

So that's why I like the interconnectivity with two different developments.

So I just wanted to say that before I turn it over to the other commissioners.

And I don't expect you to address that, I know your position.

So uh I go ahead.

I can add one thing to that.

I didn't I didn't put my presentation, but um I I I understand that and I completely um respect your opinion uh as to the safety uh and and and fire apparatus uh getting back and forth there.

Um just want to point out that in that staff recommendation report, there was also um some comments provided by Denrec that they have uh a couple of state species of uh state rare listed species that they're known to populate the wetlands along Cypress branch, and um they asked for uh careful consideration in any impacts in that area.

So that would be unfortunately would be a tremendous impact to them.

Um the wetland impact of three quarters to an acre um would not qualify for a uh nationwide permit through Army Corps, that would have to be an individual permit, which is uh quite a consideration.

But I understand that is also or has been a bar.

There's actual material back there if you had to use free material from the area there that 14-foot drop.

But uh I I'm a conservationist, I have a large farm.

I take care of all the animals the best I can, but I weigh human life much much above those other impacts that you've been talking about.

I'm now gonna open up to the other commissioners.

Anybody have any questions?

Uh Mr.

Gauvery.

Yeah, actually, initially this is a question from staff.

Um going back to that slide that you showed of the uh of the connecting road, that one there.

Yeah.

Um what I'm would like to try to understand a little bit better um from our perspective from the staff's perspective is that do you concur with the amount of um uh disruption to the wetlands that that road would take and and how would that reconcile uh what I did read was the DENREC report, and I was concerned about that as uh as well.

So I'm trying to figure out how this needle gets threaded.

I'm not an engineer.

I can't speak as to whether that is the only option or not.

What I would offer me is all of these decisions involve trade-offs.

Um each commissioner is gonna have to weigh what those trade-offs are.

I would I would say that one of the one of the easiest ways to sort of take pressure off traffic congestion is connecting roads.

Um given we're coming off South State Street, that's certainly an area we hear about regularly as an issue.

Working to create connectivity gives people more options.

Just in general driving, in addition to the public safety benefits to it.

So no, I cannot confirm that much is going to be disturbed.

Um but I would suggest there are great benefits to connecting the two neighborhoods.

Or is it where I have that miscorrected?

I think NL is is not listed, and I think E stands for endangered.

Um when they give that there is three species there that they're concerned about.

State status, NL for the first one.

I'm assuming that stands for non-listed, and then E and E, I'm assuming that that stands for endangered.

So if that's correct, and it may not be.

But if it's correct, I'm would not or uh Denrec have to sign off on this road because we're now impacting an endangered species.

We can confirm with Denrak, because they give no guidance to what they put in their chart.

Okay.

We'll confirm that.

That's something that I would actually like to know because it it does weigh on my decision.

I I um if if we're impacting in a in a serious way two endangered species, two state endangered species, I'd like to know about that.

Thank you.

Any other commissioners have any questions?

Mr.

Mills?

I do.

I do.

Mr.

Davis, you'll be next.

I've already recognized Mr.

Mills.

Good ball.

Yeah, I've been I've been in the school business for a long time.

I do commend you guys for considering those stops for that school bus inside the development and getting those kids off of State Street, because that's a very dangerous place to load kids.

However, I am in support of some way or some fashion of connecting these roads so there is a more of an exit if it need to be, even before the school buses to get out if something should happen.

Um to that to that comment, we are providing uh street linkage here to the property to the northwest.

It is owned by the state.

But um, as you can tell, they have a lane.

Maybe something could be done in the future through the state or whatever, but um as far as the secondary entrance of this subdivision, that would be something um that has the potential.

It doesn't get back to Barrett Farm.

But I in my mind it seems as if Barrett Farm kind of created a problem that didn't have a solution without impacts and unfortunately that's the situation we're faced with.

Mr.

Mills.

Mr.

Davis.

Yeah, I must say that uh I I support the uh the staff's recommendation, what they mentioned about this report.

And also being in the forest service, I share the chairman's comments and I support that.

Um we're not the engineers, but I support the connectivity.

Also because of school bus issue.

Um we seem to be having a lot of issues to deal with about the connectivity and picking up children and stuff.

So I really would like to see this project get through, but I have reservations about the not knowing the connectivity.

I have issues about going into the wetlands.

I really think that uh I think the engineering firm needs to tell the staff to work those out because I probably couldn't support it at this time data based upon what I've heard tonight.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Davis.

Uh Denise.

I I guess my question is for staff.

You know, I mean I've been here for a while.

I I remember back when my first started, connectivity was not a gigantic issue, but it has gradually become important.

When I realized that I in my 30s when we moved to where we moved, it wasn't until there was like a hurricane or something was coming in.

I thought, oh my gosh, I've only got one way out of my development.

That's it.

Unless I drive through my, you know, whatever.

So when a when engineers come to you for a meeting, is it not made pretty crystal clear that you really need more than one entrance and exit?

Yes.

It's also it's been a code requirement since 2003.

So yes, that's what we did that early.

We did.

Okay.

Thank you, Denise.

Is any other commissioners have any questions?

Seeing none, thank you for your presentation.

I think you understand where we're at.

Thank you very much.

Is there anyone here that would like to support this project and would like to speak?

Anyone else project and would like to third one?

Oh, is there anyone else here that would like to support this project and would like to speak?

Seeing none, uh is there anybody on the phone that would like to support this project?

If there's anyone joining us online that would like to speak in support of this project, please indicate by raising an electronic hand.

Thank you.

So we'll go over to the negative side.

Is there anyone here that would like to speak?

You can either come up to either podium.

That one has the map on it if you want to point, give us your name and address.

You can be either sworn by our attorney.

Robert Ridgway, 33 Chase Street.

Mr.

Ridgeway, do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth?

Yes, sir.

Do you live close to this development proposal?

Right there.

This spot.

Oh, you used to be across over there from Mr.

Neiman, Mr.

Omen's.

Yes.

You're right ahead.

Mr.

Owens is there.

Ms.

Biser up there.

So my concern is if you can see this, is all wetlands, as we've already discussed.

This is wetlands as well.

But in the proposal, there's going to be houses here, even though that's also wetlands.

And this pit, which was dug out for Route 1 many, many years ago, as you guys all know, and gals, there's also a bulldozer bulldozer stuck in the middle here.

Not many people know that, but there is.

So there's a variety of different concerns I have.

This council approved not long ago, another development.

Remember how many houses were approved there?

A farm?

Gone.

Okay.

State streets not getting any bigger.

Neither is banning.

Guess what?

Come down here, neither's Briar Bush.

We have Robinson that's a little further down, which is a school.

So you got another development, you have an elementary school.

Now, as the gentleman was speaking as far as one way in, one way out.

Well, even we know included corridors, you gotta have somebody standing by to make sure that nobody has a catastrophe.

Okay, especially firefighters know this.

So the other thing is, even though we know Barrett Farm, one way in, one way out.

Shouldn't have been approved, but it was.

It happened.

So even if it is approved to have another entrance put here, and we destroy two acres of wetlands, and we are not replacing any acres of wetlands of endangered species, is what it stands for.

Not only does that take and eliminate the wetlands, but it increases the traffic going through Barrett Farms by 107 houses.

So we'll still split it.

One person goes one way, one goes another way.

So that's a lot of traffic going through Barrett Farm that doesn't even have 107 houses.

So now you're disrupting not only the wetlands, you're disrupting all the community that's in Barrett Farm.

You're increasing the traffic on Briarbush and State Street.

You're taking and adding, I mean the kids got to go somewhere.

Robinson elementary is only three years old.

They're already at max capacity.

Where are the kids gonna go?

The sewage, as you mentioned, is right there, which that's convenient.

Water, got it, paid for.

You have a variety of wildlife.

If you build a walking path around that man-made pond, you're gonna disrupt them.

So you're gonna have everything from bald eagles, deer, waterfowl, that they're not gonna be there because I don't know how many people want to go and walk right up to these animals and they'll just stand there.

Okay.

My other thing is it's zoned AC.

So I would assume, and even though I'm not in the zoning commission, that they would change from being zoned AC to being zoned something different.

That in which is going to change my property because that's what I care about.

Okay.

The other thing is this little piece right here.

This little patch of grass.

So that's the piece of grass that I've maintained for 10 years trying to, you know, cut it, maintain it okay.

When it snows, we try to push it, shovel it, whatever it can.

And unfortunately, in the state of Delaware, it's got to be 20 years because that's when you can claim it as your own.

Otherwise, it would have done that by now.

I got 10 more to go.

Here's another little entranceway, which is also proposed in the land sale.

This is right next to another neighbor's house.

And another neighbor that is also here.

So that would go right beside it.

So there's lots of things that need to be taken into consideration.

Apart from posing all of the little quarter-acre houses that are going to go in here.

That's going to disrupt lots of things as far as the community, the wildlife, the infrastructure.

And that's probably uh I think I've covered just about everything else that goes into it is in addition that it's one of these slides because there's a tree line currently right here that goes along this whole patch.

So there's a very heavy wind that comes off of that direction.

So that tree line that comes here and here helps block some of it from our houses.

Now, even though I seen that this part's gonna remain, but the way the houses are in your plans, that's gonna butt right up to someone else's property.

So all these trees are gonna be gone because there was nothing mentioned as far as any kind of a break barrier from the other houses to say that something is different.

Okay.

Not to mention, since previously, since this whole area was considered the Thompson's area, and Mr.

Thompson has been rent, he's been using that area as a hunting area for waterfowl, so we're all accustomed to gunshots for hunters, stuff like that.

Things might change and be different.

That all goes along with it all.

Sure, you're about to end of your time.

So uh consideration we take into regard everything you've talked about.

I appreciate it, Mr.

Jester.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Good presentation.

Anybody have any questions for this individual?

Anyone on the commission or on the phone?

Mr.

Davis?

Is there anyone else here that opposes this application and would like to speak?

One at a time, you can come up.

Long you're not saying the same thing.

We're yeah, we appreciate your presentation.

I think the young lady here is next.

Make sure the mic is in front of your face, give us your name and address.

You could be either confirmed.

Emily Galloway, 547 Banning Road, Camden, Delaware, 1993.

So I'm not sure.

Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth?

Yes.

Thank you, ma'am.

You can go ahead and remember you do have a time limit.

Okay.

So I do live um along banning.

I'm right on Banning Road.

So would you like to uh use that map down there and slide it around where you live?

Let's see.

Um State Street.

Where's Banning Road on this?

Is this banning road here?

Yes, that's Banning Road.

This is the Thompson House here, right?

So I'm this house right here.

Okay, go ahead with your presentation.

So I am here in opposition to the development of yet another small family farm.

As we all probably know, um, there are lots of developments currently going in all along South State Street.

And um yeah, I just think it's sad to see yet another small family farm disappearing and being put into more and more and more houses.

Um I think we need to put a moratorium on development in the state.

Uh I think it's a huge mistake for us to let all of our land go to development.

There needs to be a stop.

We need to permanently designate um land as agricultural conservation and not allow rezoning, we uh reclassification and rezoning of these areas.

Um we have plenty of houses, and we can we only have so much land, we're not going to get more land.

Um we do need to preserve small family farms, and this is um very sad that we will let another small family farm be developed.

I think it's a it's a it's great.

I mean, I understand that people want to make a lot of money.

Um it is a lot of money in developing houses, but at some point we do need to open our eyes and realize that um greed, wanting more money um will be the death of all of us if we have no farms, no food, no farms.

So I think it's incredibly disappointing to see yet another small family farm be rezoned and allowed to go to development.

So I am absolutely in opposition to this development.

Thank you.

Uh we understand your position.

And I also have a family farm and I put it in preservation back in the 90s.

Thank you.

Good for you.

Thank you.

Is any commissioners have any questions for this uh individual?

Seeing none, thank you for your presentation.

Anyone else here like to speak in favor in excuse me opposition?

The gentleman I'll get to the lady in the name and address, you could be either sworn or affirmed.

Hello, uh, my name's Tom Reynolds, and my address is three Chase Street, Camden Delaware.

Mr.

Reynolds, do you swear affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth?

Yes, sir.

Could you pull the mic up, make sure it's in front of you?

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Okay, so I live right here, right in this corner.

This uh western corner right here.

Um neighbors with Rob.

Um so I actually have a couple questions that weren't necessarily answered.

Um and you guys brought up a good point about the traffic.

Um are we looking at possibly putting a red light there?

I mean, because then all of a sudden you're you're gonna have a lot of congestion there if there's no other uh we don't get into that.

It'll be comments through Dell Dut.

Okay.

I think it's always up to the No, it's entirely up to the Department of Transportation whether to install a signal.

Okay.

So it looks like you was right there by that field fire.

Yeah, the the actual tree break actually saved our house.

So I was out there fighting a fire.

So we try.

If we can get to it, we try.

I I understand I was Dover firefighter for years, and then uh I was out there during the fire fighting that fire with you guys.

Very good.

Thank you for your thank you for your work.

So one of the the bigger concerns I have um is infrastructure.

So we're looking at 107 houses being put in there.

The average household is approximately 300 gallons a day of wastewater.

It goes back to the Kent County uh wastewater plant.

So out of a year, that's approximately I don't know, my math is horrible.

It's just under 12 million gallons.

And our I mean, our capacity for our wastewater plant, I think is 20 million a year currently.

Um with all the developments coming online, the ones across the street, the one that's just south going towards Magnolia.

I mean, that's gonna put a considerable amount of stress on on the plant as we have as as it is now, let alone any type of fire EMS.

You know, it's hard to get people to volunteer as it is.

Um there's always shortages.

So I mean that's one that's another concern that we have.

Um also something that wasn't uh somebody pointed out to me is and I forgot about it, the conservation district.

Uh Kent County Conservation District just spent a lot of money on his farm building a uh a ditch, a drainage ditch from here to this corner over here.

I mean, is that is that gonna stay intact?

I mean, because we have a lot of flooding with that pond, especially in heavy rains.

It's a matter of fact, Rob's uh house there floods quite a bit because of it.

All of our backyards do.

Uh as a matter of fact, uh the house in the corner, I for I forget what the address is.

There you go.

139.

So that that takes a brunt of that uh that flooding zone right there.

It floods a lot.

And you can go on the older uh Google map and you can see the flooding itself.

Um what else I have here?

Drain's dish access.

Do we have an idea of what these these houses are going to cost?

Uh what the starting price of these houses are.

I mean, do we know that?

We don't usually get into that either.

Uh it's always under the contract of the engineers.

Okay.

I mean, we a lot of us paid some good money for houses, you know.

We kind of worry about the value of our houses, especially nowadays with the way the economy is.

So that that is one of our concerns as well.

Um I believe that's all I have right now.

Thank you very much.

Um any other commissioners have any questions for this individual, Mr.

Peterman.

Oh, and that drainage as you say dug a ditch over to that property.

Where does that drain to after that?

Is it drain on the other people's backyards?

No, so it start they started, they came in here right at the easement, came up and followed the driveway around this this house right here, this property, comes back here and goes back here.

Now they also put a ditch in from I believe I don't know the exact starting point, but it's back in this wetlands here, and it comes all the way out to this corner.

Right, yeah, right here at the corner of State Street.

Does that drain on the other people's backyards?

Uh it's pretty deep there.

Yeah, it's deep there.

Excuse me, sir.

Anyone in the back he's at the mic, I can't take anybody else hollering out.

Yeah, so the the right there in the corner of the state street, it's very deep.

It it's there.

Yeah, it's there now.

They came in uh last last year or the year before and did it.

I can't remember exactly.

Yeah, I know they're gonna do a large storm water management pond up there.

They'll be addressing the drainage in the development through curb and gutter and catch basins.

So evidently they'll be managing much better than it was what it is now.

Yeah.

That's all I have.

I uh I think Denise has a question.

I don't know if it's you or you just answered that one thing that I was gonna ask Sarah to be short and sweet with.

The other one is could you just say something about the AC district?

About the zoning question?

Yeah.

Um to be perfectly clear, there is not a proposal to rezone the property.

The property is zoned agricultural conservation, and this development is permitted as a matter of right.

So the property is not being rezoned.

Ma'am, ma'am.

We're not rezoning.

We're just talking about the construction or the development.

Sir, is that uh you have all your questions answered now?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Okay, thank you very much.

Thank you for your presentation.

Anyone else here would like to speak in favor?

The lady in the back.

I must give name and address.

Good evening, everybody.

My name is Ruby Lane.

I live on 3650 South State Street.

Ms.

Lane, do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth?

I swear.

Okay.

So my major issue with this proposal is literally comes down to public safety.

It really does.

I live on State Street.

Every other month, we have people hitting our neighbors' mailboxes, our mailboxes, flying through our yards.

We have people walking up and down these roads, cutting across in front of cars.

This is a serious safety issue.

And you're talking about building a hundred and some houses, adding into the traffic with another development being built right across right next to the state police.

And that's not even including four or five other developments being built up around here.

Okay.

This is a serious safety issue.

And I'm not even talking about, you know, just the traffic.

I'm talking about the resources that have to go in to manage all these people coming in.

Okay.

Like we're talking about resources that we don't even have enough of.

We're talking about firefighters.

We're talking about first responders, like our police, our EMTs.

And we're not even talking again into depth about all the construction and all the headaches with the traffic and the schooling that has to be dealt with.

We're not even getting into this.

We're not even scratching the surface.

And this is the crazier part.

You're talking about adding more houses.

And we're already congested.

We're already at capacity.

And I'm not just talking about in this little area in Camden.

I'm talking about across the state.

Like our I see it every day.

I see it where people have to come in and they complain because they can't even get into a doctor.

Because our fuck our hospitals are actually overrunned because we have too many people here.

We don't have the room for more people here.

We don't have the room or the capacity to take more developments on the state.

And I'm sorry.

I understand that y'all are looking at the bottom line of the numbers, but you're also not looking at the people's lives that are being affected by this.

And this is really upsetting.

Because you're affecting wildlife.

You don't even know.

Like there's wildlife back there.

And then when you build it as houses, where's that wildlife gonna go?

That wildlife is gonna end up going into those houses or going to be affecting everybody else in the local area.

And we're not even going to be scratching any of the surface.

So I am highly upset with everything that's been going on.

Because why are we building more and more and more?

And yet we are not taking care of our police officers, we're not taking care of our EMS, we're not taking care of our firefighters and expanding them and growing them.

Those should be the first things that we need to focus on if we want to build up our communities.

So I'm sorry, but I am 100% against this because we have no room and there is no more.

Like we're at capacity, and it's gotta stop.

Because eventually, if everybody remembers 2020, what happened in 2020 when we went to the grocery stores?

You could hardly find anything.

You know why?

Because everybody from the cities were coming down here and getting everything off the shelves.

We are technically an island from the canal down.

And if you don't stop and think about the logistics of this, what happens if we come across another 2020 situation?

What happens if we have a hurricane come down and everybody has to evacuate?

Because a lot of people don't know is that Delaware is at sea level.

So a category three can cause massive damage around here.

And yeah, here we are.

We're building more and more and bringing more and more people in.

And how are we going to get everybody off below the canal off of Delaware?

You have to cross the bridge.

And that's the honest truth.

Like, look, and every year we see more and more traffic come in, going down to the beaches every year, every weekend.

There's always an accident on Route One.

How are we going to handle this?

When we are not having enough first responders to go and handle this.

And this is legitimate questions.

We do not have the capacity to handle more people coming in.

So I end my time right now.

I greatly appreciate that you have handled or listen to me.

But please understand that this is frustration on everybody's that lives in this area.

We've seen enough accidents, we've seen enough.

We just seen enough.

Thank you so much for your presentation.

I uh don't I'll open up any commissioner have anything.

I think Denise wants to say something, but I don't know if it's to you or no, it's to everyone else there, I guess.

I understand how everyone feels.

I truly do.

I was raised in an area that got built up as well.

Apparently that we are not immune to that.

We are not the one and only area that this happens to in 2000.

Well, I guess probably this year or next year, the department will start to have meetings and things for the comprehensive plan.

Am I correct?

The comprehensive plan is done every 10 years, and that is when recommendations and then the comp plan shows maybe changes to zoning and things of that nature.

We don't get as much community involvement in that as I think we need.

I'm known as a tree.

But you've got to realize that that is right down the center of what is called the growth zone.

If you go out towards Delaware Bay, which not too many people want to live there anyway because of the bugs, because I've experienced it.

Because I've experienced it.

But there's a growth zone that I don't want to say it goes right down the middle of the county because that's not really accurate.

But this is the growth zone.

If there's going to be building, I had to come and I had to get to the point where I accepted that.

I did.

I really did.

But there's going to be change, and that's the one thing is guaranteed besides taxes and death, change is the other thing that comes.

And unfortunately, that's what's happening.

And I feel for all of you.

I really, really do.

But we're following, we're following codes.

We're following we are following rules that have been made.

And but we have nothing to do with with Dell DOT.

We don't.

So that's that's where we are.

And I understand where you're coming from on that.

But every 10 years is 10 years too late because there's always going to be something that happens in between that.

And I do apologize, but unfortunately, this is more of a local community issue right now, even though overall throughout the state, yes, it's a huge issue.

But right now, with how much traffic is on this road, and it's not just affecting State Street, it's affecting banning, it's affecting Peach Tree, as affecting everybody around the area.

We understand that, ma'am.

But our hands are tied once they once they meet the obligations in the code and the ordinances.

And we certainly appreciate your but we need you all to keep an eye on the paper when this uh when we do the growth zone thing again and what we have to do because we try to make the development infrastructure.

It's not good for you, but this happens to be the area.

I believe you're up with your time anyway.

Okay.

Thank you.

Anyone else here would like to speak?

In opposition, ma'am, up front here.

Your name and address, you can be either sworn or affirmed.

And I want you all to know that we see this all the time and we hear this all the time.

Dell DOT is so far behind on improvement on roadways, and we've tried to get them on to do some things, but uh we don't have it.

So you have to make you have to do it through your senators for this stuff advertised.

Make sure you participate.

Uh my name is Rachel Knight.

I'm at 139 Chase Street, Camden, Delaware, 1993.

Yes.

So uh right ahead.

I don't know.

So this property is mine.

I'm on this corner.

Um I am happy that they are not trying to put in a road right here, because that's what I thought they were gonna do.

Um, however, it looks like they are putting a lake right here, and at least three houses behind me here.

Um right now, this is all woodlands, and there's uh I know somebody mentioned the the wooded trees and everything right there.

Um I am speaking from a personal nature.

I have an autistic child.

I moved to this house a few years ago.

Um I'm a widow, I have MS, I have an autistic child.

I came here because it was safe, and the school system was good.

Um we were at the corner of this private road where there's nobody around, I don't have to worry about you know, pedophiles, someone stealing my kid out of my backyard.

Now there's gonna be houses directly behind my house, and who knows who is gonna be at that lake.

There's no fencing in between my area and those areas to uh keep my child safe from a lake that wasn't there before.

Um and he's he's seven, he's a good kid, but he you know, he's autistic.

So uh if anyone knows anything about autism, that that's not like your typical child.

Um so from that standpoint, I am worried about my specific house.

Uh the other thing I did want to mention is that I am very worried about our school system.

On Monday, they're doing a referendum to try to get more money for the schools, and I am planning to go and vote yes, because the schools need money.

We already don't have enough teachers.

The school that he goes to is down this way.

Um, it's down the street here.

It's uh Robinson Elementary School, brand new school, couple years old, they're already at capacity.

My son's teachers have switched twice this year because we can't keep teachers in the schools.

There's going to be so many kids and not enough schools to take care of these kids.

Um, you know, I know that my son needs extra services.

Um last year they couldn't do his speech therapy because we lost the speech teacher.

What's gonna happen when there's even more children that need those services and nobody to teach them?

So that's my concern.

Um also I am a respiratory therapist, so I very much understand that people need the health care and the EMTs and the firefighters, and it's already spread so thin.

Um so that's really all I wanted to say.

We understand your position and thank you for your presentation.

Anybody have any questions of this young lady?

Seeing none, thank you again.

Thank you.

Anyone else here would like to speak against this project?

Would like to come up to the mic.

Seeing nobody else uh want to come up to the mic, and all we'll be taking this project up next week, and I certainly do appreciate you coming out cold winter night to express your position, but uh a lot of times maybe we don't agree with everything that goes on either, but our hands are tied through things that we already have recorded up and design plans.

Mr.

Davis, you'd like to say something?

I just want to make a general comment.

Um a gentleman testified about the ditch that uh Connor ran out to uh uh banning street.

Uh I know that's an accurate statement because I served on the levy court at 25 years ago when this issue was going on.

Uh as you know, Bill, uh rule on naming it everybody across the street.

So I hope those houses that one gentleman spoke about was continuously flooding.

And uh I think they temporarily fixed it.

So we only hope that they take this in consideration because there was a lot of issues going on there, and the people were rightfully upset about the backyards being flooded.

And at dawn is actually coming out to banning roads.

So um what I'm just basically saying this confirm what he said and the testimony is accurate.

Thank you.

Mr.

Chair, Mr.

Davis, we thank you very much.

Uh Mr.

Mr.

Chair.

We have somebody on the phone.

If you can just check it's Max, it's Max.

Um we just didn't check with to see if there was anybody online who wanted to speak.

Okay, we're gonna do that right now before we get off from the closing of the project.

Is there anybody online that would like to oppose this project and would like to speak?

Okay, I see no hands raised online at this time, Mr.

Chair.

I see no more hands in the in the gallery or online, so this project will be taking it up next week.

And once again, I certainly thank you for all your concerns and your speaking about what your what if how it affects you.

We'll see you next week on this project.

Is there any other public comment?

Anybody would like to say anything before we close out tonight?

So uh what it is.

Yes.

Contact your commissioner.

Thank you all very much.

Um before I now we go down to commission.

Oh, ma'am, you can't say anything unless you're up to the mic.

So my question is um it says present zoning district AC, agricultural conservation.

If that doesn't mean that the land cannot be developed, what does it mean then?

Is it Sarah?

Would you like to address that?

What AC means?

Sure.

It is it is AC agricultural conservation.

I can't speak to how Levy Court chose the names of the zoning districts when they created zoning.

It is within the growth zone, which is effectively overlaid on top of the primary zoning district and allows development of up to three and a half units per acre.

Ma'am, could you want to give and give us your name at the mic so we'll now be able to write up the report?

Emily Galloway.

Thank you very much.

Is that answer your question?

Essentially, the AC is meaningless.

Like it doesn't mean anything.

No, you can't.

Unfortunately, right after the last meeting, Tanner, who sat in for me, um he served, he's in the National Guard and had his two weeks of service.

So we didn't catch up before he left.

We're now down to other business.

Any other business, Sarah, before the commission?

Seeing none, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.

Motion to adjourn.

Mr.

Peterman makes a motion to adjourn.

Mr.

Mills seconds it.

Call the commission, Sarah.

Mr.

Peterman.

Yes to adjourn.

Mr.

Servan.

Yes to adjourn.

Mrs.

Carcher.

Yes to adjourn.

Mr.

Gaufrey.

Yes to adjourn.

Mr.

Mills.

Yes to adjourn.

Mr.

Davis.

Yes to adjourn.

Mr.

Jester.

Yes to adjourn.

And once again, I thank you all for coming out to express your opinions.

We are adjourned.