Hudson Pond Conditional Use Approved

Sussex County Council approved a conditional use request from Hudson Pond LLC to construct a mini storage with outdoor boat and RV storage. The request was for property located on West Hudson Pond Road just west of DuPont Boulevard.

“This request was approved by unanimous decision of the Planning Commission,” Tim Willard of Willard & Sharp, representing the applicant, said. “This property is located right off 113, obviously a major corridor. Next to this property is land owned by Dave Wilson. Within one mile of the property are working conditional uses, including a carriage sale, retail sales, fence construction and catering business.”

Willard pointed out that Wilson was issued a conditional use about five years ago so that DelDOT could use the land as a staging area. When asked about the size of the building, Willard stated that there would not be warehouses and that they had no intention of building larger structures as it was more difficult to meet building requirements.

“These are more many doors on the outside, some may be 15 feet, some may be 10 feet,” Willard said. “The Planning Commission said 50×50 because they wanted flexibility.”

Tree buffers would remain around the property, Willard explained. The applicant also planned to add native plants for pollinators as part of the landscaping.

“It is not that I don’t thoroughly trust the applicant, but let’s just say the property was sold,” Councilman Matt Lloyd said. “This is described as mini storage, so there is no way that somebody down the road can turn this into a commercial park?”

Willard explained that a condition could be added to make sure the buildings remain small storage units into the future. All lighting is to be screened and pointed downward, so they do not impact neighboring properties.

There was a public hearing for the request with no one speaking for or against the conditional use. Council approved the request with amendments recommended by Planning and Zoning unanimously.