The 32-acre property is located along Robinson Road near the Chase Oaks neighborhood, featuring around 25 acres of mature hardwood and 7 acres of cleared land along the frontage.
It will now be permanently protected and managed as open space and natural habitat.
Both Chase Oaks LLC and DRB Homes were involved in the donation of the property, something DRB Homes Area President John Civarra said “just made sense” when they considered their options.
We understand building homes is our number one priority, but when there was a preserved piece of land that we wanted to give over to the Sussex County Land Trust, we thought it was the best thing to do for us as a community.” he told DPM.
This collaboration with the SCLT also includes a $500 pledge on each home sold in the Chase Oaks neighborhood after July 1st, 2025, which DRB says is meant to represent a join commitment to the area not only from the company, but also the home buyer.
Chairman of the Sussex County Land Trust Ring Lardner says this donation was the first in recent memory, and it’s important for the health of the ecosystem.
“As the population grows, sometimes you need to take some animals in order to help with the population of deer and everything else because if it gets over populated, they look for other areas to go to. That’s how you end up with deer on the road and everywhere else." he said.
There’s not an official population control effort for the land yet, but Lardner did offer up the idea of potentially opening that land up to hunters, especially the neighboring hunting club.
Lardner says that the Land Trust typically goes for low impact active spaces, like walking trails and bicycle trails, which was another idea for future use of the land, but as of now, there are no official plans for its use.
He adds that there are ongoing talks about future land donations of similar size.
