February 15, 2007 William Wichess W. T. & Sons Surveying, LLC 29 Flinthill Drive Newark, DE 19702 RE: PLUS review – PLUS 2007-01-09; Lakeside Business Park Dear Mr. Wichess: Thank you for meeting with State agency planners on January 31, 2007 to discuss the proposed plans for the Lakeside Business Park project to be located on the north side of Route 18 west of Harbeson. According to the information received, you are seeking site plan approval 15 storage/contractor offices and 3 pad sites for restaurants or small commercial establishments. Please note that changes to the plan, other than those suggested in this letter, could result in additional comments from the State. Additionally, these comments reflect only issues that are the responsibility of the agencies represented at the meeting. The developers will also need to comply with any Federal, State and local regulations regarding this property. We also note that as Sussex County is the governing authority over this land, the developers will need to comply with any and all regulations/restrictions set forth by the County. The following are a complete list of comments received by State agencies: PLUS 2007-01-09 Page 2 of 16 Office of State Planning Coordination – Contact: Bryan Hall 739-3090 The Office of State Planning and Coordination recognizes that this parcel is located with a Level 4 Spending Area as identified by the Strategies for State Policy and Spending which recommends that the proposed land use be directed to areas within Sussex County that have existing infrastructure and resources to support the proposed project. However, this office does recognize that the parcel is currently developed in a similar use as proposed on the materials provide through this process and is similar to existing land uses near the adjacent Delaware Route 404 / 9 and Delaware Route 30 intersection. Also, the proposed use is in accordance with existing Sussex County zoning for this area. Given these points, this office has no objection to this project; however, this office does encourage the developer to work with the various state county agencies such as; Del-Dot to meet there traffic and any maintenance facility concerns, Department of Agriculture to meet their buffer concerns for the site, and Sussex County Engineer Office to address concerns regarding sewer and water for the proposed project. Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs – Contact: Alice Guerrant 739-5685 The Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs is favor of this development in Level 4. While there is already commercial development on this parcel, any further development will just acerbate the pressure on this area and lead to further losses of historic agricultural and silvicultural landscapes and to the destruction of archaeological sites. The US Geological Survey topographical Millsboro map, 1917, shows a house in the middle of this parcel. This house appears to be still on the parcel. There is also an area of high potential for a prehistoric-period archaeological site here. If this development is approved, we would like the opportunity to examine the area prior to any ground-disturbing activities, to see if there are in fact any archaeological sites on the parcel and to learn something about their location, nature, and extent. The DHCA would also like the opportunity to document the existing house prior to any demolition activities. Department of Transportation – Contact: Bill Brockenbrough 760-2109 1) Because this development is proposed for a Level 4 Area, it is necessarily inconsistent with the Strategies for State Policies and Spending. While DelDOT support the Strategies and do not wish to encourage development in Level 4 areas, we recognize that the subject land has commercial zoning and that the existing furniture store has been part of the crossroads community at Gravel Hill for many years. Therefore we are not opposed to this development. PLUS 2007-01-09 Page 3 of 16 2) US Route 9 in this area is a principal arterial highway. DelDOT’s policy is to require dedication of sufficient land to provide a minimum right-of-way width of 50 feet from the centerline on principal arterial highways. Therefore we will require right-of-way dedication along the frontage to provide any additional width needed from this project. We will also require that a 15-foot wide permanent easement be provided across the frontage of the site for a future 10-foot wide shared use path. Both the right-of-way dedication and the easement may need to be adjusted in the area of the Besche Furniture property given the existing development there. 3) Preliminarily, we estimate that the trip generation from the proposed development would be large enough to warrant a traffic impact study. Therefore we will require one. DelDOT would ask that the County withhold plan approvals pending the results of the study and the developer’s agreement to provide any needed off- site improvements. Because traffic impact studies typically take about one year from the initial scoping meeting to the completion of DelDOT’s review of the completed study, they recommend that the developer have their traffic engineer contact Mr. Todd Sammons of my office to schedule a scoping meeting as soon as possible. Mr. Sammons may be reached at (302) 760-2134. 4) DelDOT is pleased to see that the Besche Furniture would have access to Road A. Shifting the businesses truck traffic to this road would improve parking lot conditions for patrons. For similar reasons, they recommend that the plan be modified to provide all three of the proposed pad sites with enough frontage on Road A to permit a secondary access there. 5) While DelDOT did not mention it at the meeting, they recommend that the narrow strip of Lot 15, separating Road A from the property line, be eliminated. While DelDOT sees no immediate need for the adjacent property to connect to Road A, they would prefer to see that possibility provided. 6) DelDOT recommends that the developer’s site engineer contact our Subdivision Manager for Sussex County, Mr. John Fiori, regarding specific requirements for access. Mr. Fiori may be reached at (302) 760-2260. 7) While Mr. Fiori will be coordinating our review of the entrance plans, we have a maintenance yard located directly across Route 9 from this property. For that reason, DelDOT asks that the developer contact the South District Engineer, Mr. Joseph Wright, and our South District Maintenance Engineer, Mr. Jeffrey Reed, directly and become familiar with any plans that the District has for the yard. Respectively, they may be at (302) 853-1302 and (302) 853-1306. Mr. Reed may PLUS 2007-01-09 Page 4 of 16 also be able to answer questions regarding the underground tanks that were previously located at the yard. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control – Contact: Kevin Coyle 739-9071 Air Quality The Department’s Division of Air and Waste Management had no specific comments. However, if the applicant has specific questions about air or waste issues, the applicant should contact Philip Wheeler at (302) 739-9402, E-mail: [email protected] Fish and Wildlife Rare Species The Department has never surveyed this site for rare species, therefore, it is unknown if there are state-rare or federally listed plants, animals or natural communities at or adjacent to this project site. Forest Loss The applicant indicates that 1 acre out of 18 acres of forest is going to be removed by this project, yet there are at least 5 lots, a roadway and stormwater management pond within the forested area on the western side of the parcel. The applicant is encouraged to recalculate forest loss as this seems to be underestimated. Also, removal of lots 1, 2, 13 & 14 and relocation of the wastewater disposal area (if feasible) will allow a greater area of forested open space and connections to adjacent forested areas. Forested connections are important as they serve as habitat and wildlife travel corridors. In addition, many species of wildlife depend on larger, connected areas of forest. DNREC requests that tree clearing not occur April 1st to July 1st to reduce impacts to nesting birds and other wildlife species that utilize forests for breeding. This clearing recommendation would only protect those species during the breeding season; because once trees are cleared the result is an overall loss of habitat. Nuisance Geese Stormwater management ponds may attract waterfowl like resident Canada geese and mute swans. High concentrations of waterfowl in ponds create water-quality problems, leave droppings on lawn and paved areas and can become aggressive during the nesting PLUS 2007-01-09 Page 5 of 16 season. Short manicured lawns around ponds provide an attractive habitat for these species. We recommend native plantings of tall grasses, wildflowers, shrubs, and trees at the edge and within a buffer area (50ft) around the perimeter. Waterfowl do not feel safe when they can not see the surrounding area for possible predators. These plantings should be completed as soon as possible as it is easier to deter geese when there are only a few than it is to remove them once they become plentiful. The Division of Fish and Wildlife does not provide goose control services, and if problems arise, residents or the home- owners association will have to accept the burden of dealing with these species (e.g., permit applications, costs, securing services of certified wildlife professionals). Solutions can be costly and labor intensive; however, with proper landscaping, monitoring, and other techniques, geese problems can be minimized. Sediment & Stormwater Drainage This project is located within the Koeppel-Robinson Tax Ditch that has existing tax ditch rights-of-way.