A private land deal that also involves New Castle County will resolve multiple lawsuits, preserve county land and allow for more development.
County officials are praising the deal between three farms south of the canal as a win.
The Carter Farm is purchasing Transferable Development Rights from the Gillespie Farm and Warren Farm which will allow the development of roughly 1,000 homes in the area.
The deal lessens the potential density of the development, which officials say will allow for the preservation of hundreds of acres, including room designated for a public park.
“We also believe the preservation of these two farms will enable additional farmland preservation across the area—an area that has been under threat of serious development for well over a decade,” said New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer.
The deal hinges on the county providing sewer services for the properties. Meyer says this will be done at no cost to taxpayers.
This resolves multiple lawsuits—some more than a decade old—over sewer services in the area. Officials say all told the litigation took up roughly 1,000 hours of attorney time at public expense.
County Public Works General Manager Tracy Surles notes providing the services will prevent the use of a private wastewater treatment system.
“I think it’s significant that we’re minimizing septics, that we’re getting people in a central sewer system, that we don’t have any stand-alone systems,” said Surles. “I think it’s important for water quality as well.”