Third times the charm? Another gas station proposed near Lewes after 2 denials

A small plot of land near Lewes has been emblematic of two opposing struggles for residents and lawmakers of Sussex County.

On one hand, Route 24 at Angola Road represents the birth of an ongoing community-led movement to protect the environment and residents of Sussex County. On the flip side, it could become a gas station.

In the past six years, three proposals have been submitted to the Sussex Planning and Zoning Committee to build a gas station on a corner of the busy intersection.

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The proposal already has been shot down twice, and now a third attempt at a Royal Farms gas station, car wash and convenience store has once again rallied residents in a fervent mission to protect their land.

Between traffic concerns, zoning law discrepancies, concerns with water quality and a perception of overdevelopment, activists and residents are forced to head back to ground zero.

Here’s how they got here.

How 7-Eleven got denied twice in 2 years

Back in 2018, a developer issued an application to open a 7-Eleven convenience store at Route 24 and Angola Road, and it was denied before the year ended for a variety of issues.

For starters, the plot of land is designated as agriculture residential (AR1). According to the Sussex County website, the purpose of these districts is to protect agricultural lands, water resources and allow for low-density residential development. AR1 zonings are not typically meant to lead to the approval of gas stations or car washes.

The site is also technically located in a Coastal Area. While it’s not prohibited to develop property in coastal areas, it requires that considerations of the nearby environmental impacts are made.

The intersection overlooks Sarah Run, which flows into the Inland Bays and contributes to the nearby Wellhead Protection Area, where many residents in the area get their drinking water. Many residents raised concerns about the likelihood of drinking water contamination from just a minor accident, let alone a major emergency.

Finally, the impact this development would have on the traffic in the area was deemed too substantial to be considered sustainable growth.

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The Delaware Department of Transportation published a report in 2018, grading this particular intersection with an “F” for morning traffic and “E” for night traffic. Only two other intersections in the 62 total locations had worse scores.

Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that the Sussex County Council approve the application, but it was eventually denied in December 2018.

The developer came back in 2019 with a nearly identical application, this time with a request to change the zoning category of the plot from agricultural residential to heavy commercial.

Over 100 letters of opposition were sent to the Sussex County Council and dozens held a protest against the site’s approval. In January 2020, the Sussex County Council denied the application.

About six months later, Sussex County purchased several acres of land near the proposed site for preservation, totaling around 17.5 acres in the Angola area, including areas around Sarah Run’s waterway.

Local activists band together

Eul Lee, a Selbyville resident, played a major role in organizing the nearby residents to rally against the gas station. She started the activist group Sussex 2030 after the second denial of the gas station as a way to continue the grassroots effort she and other community members had worked so hard on.

“We fought and won the case,” Lee said. “We all got together and said, ‘Let’s start another organization; let’s not let this effort that we put in die with it.’”

Sussex 2030 began formally meeting in February 2020 just before the pandemic hit. Lee and her neighbors would meet twice a week via Zoom to discuss their experiences as residents witnessing the surge in development and to share fears regarding the county’s natural resources.

Lee wanted to make it clear to other community members how the planning and zoning processes work and how it impacts their livelihoods. She began publishing her own research and sending out weekly and monthly newsletters explaining the current issues and what actions people can take.

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“Sussex County is, like I call it, the wild wild east,” Lee said. “We were learning from different people’s experience and we had to preserve that knowledge somewhere. We had a lot of information about contacting state officials, county planning or zoning, the council agendas, how to participate and how the government works.”

Sussex 2030 has continued the fight, but as it turns out, trying to overturn planning and zoning practices takes a toll after a while.

After four years of weekly meetings, countless independent research projects and organizing dozens of community members, Lee decided to take a step back from her active role in December.

“It was taking so much of my time that my personal life was neglected,” Lee said.

Her peace of mind seems to be restored when thinking about the younger, action-oriented community members who started their own movement, the Sussex Preservation Coalition, working toward the same goals that Lee has fought for. The new group is already nearly 2,000 individuals strong and has partnered with 18 similar organizations.

A new, but familiar, proposal reignites residents

After two denials, a third gas station has been proposed at the same intersection. This time KH Sussex LLC is proposing a near 5,000-square-foot Royal Farms convenience store, 12 gas pumps and a car wash.

The project is not even on the docket for discussion with the Sussex Planning and Zoning Board yet, but residents are already preparing to fight for that land for the third time.

A community meeting was held in August with nearly 200 residents in attendance, including House Rep. Jeff Hilovsky and Sussex Councilman Mark Schaefer.

Over 30 public comments are available on the Sussex County Planning and Zoning board’s website. As of Feb. 9, all of them are in opposition to the project.

Sussex County declined to comment on the proposal to preserve the integrity of the public comment process. A representative for Royal Farms did not respond to a request for comment.

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Patricia Pilkington, who lives around 2 miles from the proposed site, took her frustrations with the project to the online public record.

“OMG I can’t believe we are going through this all over again,” Pilkington said in a comment submitted online. “In 2019 we fought the plans to put a 7/11 at this same location. What has changed? This would still be a danger to our aquifers.”

Rep. Hilovsky also stated publicly that nearly, if not all, of the residents he has spoken to in his district are vehemently opposed to this project, and brought up his own concerns with the potential for traffic and environmental hazards. Since the last time an applicant proposed a gas station here, DelDOT has taken some steps to improve the intersection, set to begin construction this spring.

In a review of the Royal Farms proposal, DelDOT estimated that the project would generate an additional 500 vehicle trips per day, and more than 50 trips per over what was assumed in its planning process that it has already undergone.

Jill Hicks, a nearby resident and active member of the Sussex Preservation Coalition, spoke about the ongoing community strategy to plan standing up against this development again.

“I went to one meeting that was held in September, the room they held it in was packed,” Hicks said. “I will be attending meetings going forward, getting prepared for hearings and to do my part as a member of the community.”

Molly McVety covers community and environmental issues around Delaware. Contact her at mmcvety@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @mollymcvety.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Royal Farms proposal near Lewes has residents banding together