LEWES, DE -- In a unanimous vote on Thursday, the Lewes City Council voted to approve the preliminary site plan for a proposed 90-townhome neighborhood off Savannah Road. That approval comes with a list of additional conditions for the site's developers from city leaders.
Some neighbors WBOC spoke with on Thursday had mixed reactions to the decision. For neighbor Mark Carr, increased traffic on Savannah Road is a big concern.
"We're overloading Savannah Road," Carr said. "What happens when the kids get out of school? What happens when there's an emergency at Beebe Hospital?"
The preliminary site plan for the development depicts the Overfall Preserve sharing an exit onto Savannah Road with the adjacent Dutchman's Harvest neighborhood.
"We're looking at two to three cars per house there, and adding that into the flow of Dutchman's Harvest makes no sense," Carr said. "It's quite disappointing, and it's changing the culture and feeling of what Lewes has always been."
John Feliciani said he's optimistic the developers will handle any traffic concerns associated with the project.
"Traffic here is really not that bad compared to other places," Feliciani said.
Feliciani said, thatas a part-time employee at a local produce stand, the extra traffic could be beneficial.
"Growth is inevitable," Feliciani said. "New neighbors are good for the economy, good for the restaurants, all the businesses in town and surrounding areas, and the tax base as well."
Multiple councilmembers at the meeting stated they and the developers have and will continue to address community concerns as the project moves forward.
In a letter to Lewes' City Council, the site's developers stated they are willing to perform a Traffic Operational Analysis (TOA) through DelDOT to evaluate traffic flow and safety in the area. Consideration of traffic was one of the requests listed in the city's planning commission's additional condition recommendations.
That letter also cited an initial traffic engineer's report, stating that "... as a worst-case scenario, there would be an additional 4% traffic heading westbound and 1% heading eastbound on Savannah Road".
Those interested in reading the entirety of that letter, as well as seeing the list of conditions approved with the preliminary site plan, can find those on the city's website.