LEWES, Del. - The controversial annexation of the Brittingham Property on New Road was officially approved at Lewes' City Council meeting on Tuesday night.
Annexing and rezoning the 34-acre property was widely-opposed by neighbors due to the future development expected. Some like Marta Nammack say the proposed 90 townhomes there is too dense and would cause problems for the area.
"We are afraid that it will set a precedent for the other thousand acres of farmland on New Road and we will be townhouse row before you know it," Nammack said. "If you get high density townhouses on the property, that means you get a higher population density. It means more traffic as a result and more drainage issues. And we have a lot of traffic and drainage issues already."
City Manager Ann Marie Townshend says the property will not only add to Lewes' tax base, but will also give city officials more control over plans there.
"In this case I think we would really like to be able to work with the developer to preserve the flood plain, especially given that flooding has been such a challenge in this area," Townshend said.
Townshend says density is a concern for neighbors, but city limitations do provide restrictions on what can be done there.
"It's very clear over the past decade or two that the growth in the area that property is going to develop and for many years it's being developed on the city's borders so what we're looking to do is work with developers to develop the area to better reflect the values of Lewes," Townshend said.
Tuesday night's decision only affects accepting the property into city limits and rezoning the parcel to a residential area. Townshend says there will be a public meeting with the developer looking to build on the property on Monday, Nov. 26 at 6 p.m. at the Lewes Public Library.
