New housing developments could triple Milton-area population 

Why Should Delaware Care?
Sussex County residents continue to debate how and where to allow new development, particularly near Delaware’s popular beaches, where both traffic and housing affordability have become major concerns. Milton’s growth — and the concerns surrounding it — is a prime example of that trend. 

The Milton area is booming, with housing developments currently under construction set to double the town’s population in the coming years.

And now, a new proposal to build nearly 1,400 homes on a 230-acre parcel along the northwest corner of Milton — just outside town limits — could lead to the local population tripling.

Representatives from state agencies discussed the new proposal, named Coastal Passage, on Wednesday at the state’s Preliminary Land Use Service meeting. 

During the PLUS meeting, in which developers can get feedback from many different state agencies at once, nearby residents raised larger concerns about whether the local schools, roads and medical facilities could handle the amount of new residents to come. 

“You [are] putting the cart before the horse and building this mega development without increasing the infrastructure first,” Milton resident Patricia Tuggle said.

Milton Mayor John Collier said there are three housing developments under construction that are being annexed into the town. The largest project is The Granary at Draper Farms, a master-planned community surrounding the Dogfish Head brewery.

Those approved projects will likely double the town’s current population, which was 3,300 people at the time of the 2020 census.

And while Coastal Passage will not be annexed into the town, it would bring nearly the same amount of residents as The Granary. Together, the housing developments could triple the area’s population. 

Collier pointed out that construction for the approved housing developments will happen in phases over the next two decades, meaning the population increase won’t happen all at once. Coastal Passage, if approved, would also be built in phases, the developer’s attorney said at the PLUS meeting. 

Collier attended the PLUS meeting, and said the residents who spoke had “valid concerns,” but there is not much he can do to address them since the project is outside town limits. 

He said he thinks the town may have to provide emergency services to the area, though, and worries the town will not receive additional funding to do so. 

What’s planned for Coastal Passage?

The plan for Coastal Passage includes a mix of 253 single-family homes, 524 apartments and 610 duplexes or townhouses. It also includes a clubhouse, a pool and a dog park, but does not have any shops.

The development does not appear to have any income-restricted homes, meaning they will be rented or sold at market rate. 

Still, Cole Shultz with Delaware’s housing agency said he supports the plan because it gives people in Sussex County more housing options beyond the single-family home.

“The scale of the current housing crisis necessitates a solution of massive ambition, and this proposal provides precisely that,” Shultz said.  

The land is zoned for high-density residential, and located in an area where the Delaware State Strategies map anticipates development.

Lawyer David Hutt, representing project developer Lennar, said the project is allowed “by-right,” which would mean it would not have a formal public hearing in front of Sussex County Council. The county’s zoning codes appear to corroborate his assertion.

County spokesman Chip Guy said the county has not yet received the application for the development, so he could not confirm whether it is a by-right proposal.

Residents at the PLUS meeting were primarily concerned about the 9,000 additional vehicle trips the housing development would bring. Milton resident Robert Moore called Route 16, the main road next to the land, a “disaster.” 

Route 16 is part of the Delaware transportation department’s ongoing Coastal Corridors study. All of the recent proposals included building a bypass around a section of the route that Milton officials plan to turn into a pedestrian- and bike-friendly “Main Street.”

About 3% of the existing 3 acres of forest on the site would be removed to make room for a stormwater management pond, project engineer Zachary Crouch said at the PLUS meeting. 

The nontidal wetlands on the property would not be disturbed.