Sussex council votes down RV City, approves Long Neck campground

 It’s being called a major victory by hundreds of Sussex County residents.

“We feel that we’ve been heard so it’s a great feeling,” says Greg Kordal, a resident of Retreat at Love Creek in Lewes, Delaware.

After two years of fighting, petitions, phone calls, letters, and e-mails, Love Creek RV Resort and Campground, also known as “RV City,” will not come to Lewes, for now. Sussex County Council voted down an ordinance to rezone the land to an AR-1 Agricultural Residential District, and a conditional use ordinance for an RV resort and campground, to have more than 600 campsites on 162 acres of land. Most of the campsites would reportedly be used for recreational vehicles.

Advocates for the plan, including council members Vance Phillips and Sam Wilson, argued it would attract tourists for season-long stays, which is something that RV owners cannot do in the area currently. However, residents say, among their concerns, traffic and the environmental impact on Love Creek.

“On the west side of Route One we have a very elderly population in our development,” says Betty Deacon, a Lewes resident. “If someone has a heart attack at 1:00 on a Saturday they’re going to have to helicopter them out of there to get to Beebe, it was outrageous, totally outrageous.”

The remaining three council members sided with them. Among the issues they addressed, the impact of the zoning change. Council members argued it would take away the ability to build affordable housing, which is something the county needs more of.

“This land is already zoned G-R 1 so it wouldn’t in fact accommodate manufactured housing on small lots,” says Michael Vincent, president of Sussex County Council.

“This was one issue that they voted and used but I think in their hearts and minds there were a lot if other issues,” says Kordal.

However, Tuesday’s council meeting did present a shortfall for some Long Neck residents, who did not have as much of a presence as those fighting RV city. Council approved zoning and conditional land use Castaway’s at Massey’s Landing, which would include 51 acres of campsites.

“That traffic and the introduction of that many people new to the area is going to impact crime, it’s going to impact first responders, our natural environment and setting will be tampered with,” says Paulette Rappa, a Long Neck resident. “I’m disappointed.”

While residents got their way on one of two land-use issues, residents hope they can be more involved in this process moving forward. The RV city developer, Jack Lingo Asset Management, can also change their plans and apply again.

“It’s bad here it truly is,” says Deacon. “There are a lot of us that are going to get something done fairly soon.”