Proposal for apartments, townhouses, headed to city Planning Commission

Delaware State News

DOVER — Ninety homes for people ages 55 and older would be built at Maple Dale Country Club under a plan City Council has deemed worthy of further review.

Council voted Monday night to forward the project to Dover Planning Commission, which will decide whether to issue the permit needed to develop 54 apartments and 36 townhouses along the Maple Dale golf course and next to the Maple Dale clubhouse.

Unlike a tentative plan discussed several months ago, the proposal would not sacrifice Maple Dale’s driving range. It would modify the course, shortening the ninth hole but without changing the overall course length, Gregg Moore of the Becker Morgan Group architectural and engineering firm told council.

The project has arisen as the private club off Kenton Road attempts to shore up its finances in the face of competition from other golf courses, including the state-subsidized Garrisons Lake Golf Club near Smyrna, which reopened in September. A possible merger of Maple Dale and the Wyoming-area Wild Quail Golf & Country Club was discussed, but talks halted early this year after no agreement on terms was reached.

Maple Dale has not decided whether to act as developer of its proposed homes or bring in an outside firm to handle that, Mr. Moore said.

He said the project has garnered positive reviews in presentations to club members and neighbors, with a number of area residents expressing interest in moving from large houses to the planned units.

The new housing probably will be created as a condominium, ensuring that landscaping will be consistent throughout the 10.6-acre project site, Mr. Moore said. The entire club encompasses 152 acres.

Dover permits age-restricted housing for people 55 and older in much of the city. "Preference shall be given to those projects which are within close proximity to public transit services and which are situated within one-quarter mile of a grocery store, pharmacy, restaurant, physician office, senior center or similar convenience service establishment," city law states.

The Maple Dale homes would be within 1.3 miles of the kinds of commercial establishments cited and within 1.8 miles of a senior center, Michael J. Henry, a Becker Morgan associate, said in a letter to the city.

"Most importantly," he said, "the proposed development is located on the lands of Maple Dale Country Club, which offers a wide variety of recreational activities."

A cart path used by golfers, Mr. Henry said, will serve as "a continuous walking path for the residents of the community, providing 5 miles of safe pedestrian paths on site."

The project is likely to be considered by Dover Planning Commission in August, said city planning director Ann Marie Townshend.

In addition, Dover Parks, Recreation and Community Enhancement Committee will rule on a plan for a common area within the project site that will be devoted to "active recreation." More than a half-acre must be dedicated to that purpose, based on a formula that requires 275 square feet of recreation area for each home planned in a senior housing development.