On Monday, March 24, Milford City Council approved a final major subdivision plan for Riverwalk Villas, a project planned by Milford Housing Development Corporation. The project will be located along the north side of Mispillion Street and the west side of Marshall Street.
“The proposed subdivision is 27 townhouses and we’ve been working on the plans for a while now,” David Moore, President and CEO of Milford Housing Development Corporation said. “They are going to be completely energy star and solar ready. They all will have garages and there will be no street parking. There will be fenced backyards which I thought was important after seeing some other townhome developments in the area where the front looks beautiful, but the back does not. Some have patios, some don’t but they all have a balcony outside the master bedroom so owners will have a good view of the river.”
Moore pointed out that all townhouses were for homeownership and not for rental. All of the townhouses have three bedrooms, two bathrooms. Councilman Dan Marabello asked if someone could purchase the townhouse and later lease it.“I have a deed restriction on that because we have some subsidies going in so we are restricting resale for the first ten years unless it is due to hardship,” Moore said. “If it is sold, the deed restriction goes with the sale.”
During the public comment period, Tom Chlton expressed concerns about the parking situation in the development.
“I walk through there every day, and I know you mentioned the driveway will hold two cars, I look at the Meadows at Shawnee and our driveways fit six cars, but still people park on the street,” Chilton said. “It worries me not when it first opens but down the road when there is a husband, wife and two kids, all with cars. If the streets are too narrow, it can be difficult for emergency apparatus to get by if cars are on the road.”
Chilton was also concerned about the type of fence that would be placed behind the units.
“I’m not sure if this is a see-through fence or a privacy fence, but when you have privacy fences, you kind of block neighbors off from each other,” Chilton said. “People don’t get to know their neighbors. I’m not against this project. I hate to see it because I do love walking through the fields, but we do need affordable housing.”
Rob Pierce, City Planner, stated that Mispillion Street would be 24 feet wide which is the minimum road width required by Milford code. Chilton was also concerned about rolled curbs in the development to which Pierce replied that code required regular curbs between units.
The request passed unanimously.
“We need affordable housing and it sounds like a nicely designed project,” Marabello said.”
Councilwomen Madula Kalesis and Nadia Zychal also voted yes, stating affordable housing was needed in the city. Councilwoman Lori Connor and Councilman Michael Stewart also voted yes on the condition the Sussex Conservation District recommendations were filed in a timely manner.
“It does meet the conditions per city code and the city has expressed for a while the need for additional affordable housing,” Councilman Jason James said. “It sounds like the developer has made great efforts to make this affordable for people to enter homeownership.”
Councilwoman Katrina Wilson called this a “wonderful project” that would provide additional affordable housing to the city.
