Arbor Lyn -
Tree Removal

Reported 1/18/2021 by a Neighbor of Arbor Lyn:

Attached is a jpg file I made showing the Arbor Lyn property (Warrington Rd, west of Old Landing Rd) where 162 single homes are being built on a 35 acre site that formerly held about 192,000 mature trees. I live in the Estates of Sea Chase condos and my house is next to Arbor Lyn, so I can't help but notice what's going on. Fortunately, in 2014, by a narrow 3-2 vote County Council reduced the number of units 20% from 202 to 162 or the situation would be worse. As I mentioned last year in my emails, one major condition of approval was the retention of a 25 foot wooded buffer around the property. This was complied with until last March, when the developer removed almost the entire buffer area, approximately 19,000 mature trees. Sussex County Council told me that there is a "loophole" that allows replacement of a mature forested buffer with new plantings. I'm sure this is not the only development in Sussex County where large scale destruction of mature trees is occurring in the name of "property rights". Last week, the air quality (PM2.5 particulate emissions) was so poor, I purchased three air purifiers for inside my house to ease my headaches and lung and eye irritation.

According to treesintrust.com, an acre of mature trees removes 2.6 tons of CO2 from the air every year. The 35 acres that were clear cut would have removed 91 tons of CO2 this year.

About 10% of the lots in Arbor Lyn have been sold so far. The construction crews appear to be working 7 days a week. Schell Brothers, the realtor, should hope that when Warrington and other area roads become gridlocked this summer, potential buyers aren't turned off by not being able to safely access the property. I cannot fathom why DelDOT's traffic solution for the Old Landing/Warrington area is not to add desperately needed traffic lights at the Breezewood/Sea Chase and Arbor Lyn/Wellington entrances, but to replace the 4-way stop sign at Warrington and Old Landing with a roundabout. This makes no sense at all. Perhaps the new infrastructure agreement between DelDOT and the county will produce worthwhile results. 

Gazette articles about Arbor Lyn Approval 

Arbor-Lyn draws density, traffic concerns

• Residents call on council to maintain AR-1 zoning

Ron MacArthur - June 17, 2016

Arbor-Lyn approved but density is cut

•  'Gross said the developer understands residents' concerns about the loss of trees during development. The parcel is 85 percent wooded with old-growth trees as tall as 70 to 80 feet. Gross said a minimum 20-foot tree buffer would be retained around the perimeter of the property and internal tree masses would be preserved to improve stormwater management. "The developer has a history of over-landscaping his projects," he said.'

Ron MacArthur - December 16, 2016

ORDINANCE NO. 1984 - Forested Buffer Amendment

• July 2008

Sussex County, DE / Part II, General Legislation / Subdivision of Land

Article I  General Provisions

§ 99-5  Definitions.

FORESTED AND/OR LANDSCAPED BUFFER STRIP

A strip of land, not less than 20 feet in width, exclusive of any residential lots, stormwater management areas or facilities, open space (except that the land area within the buffer strip may be included in the overall calculation of open space), recreational amenities, wastewater treatment and/or disposal facilities, water treatment facilities, streets, buildings or other surface improvements and located along the entire outer perimeter of any portion of a major subdivision of lands into four or more lots adjacent to land of other ownership. A landscape plan for the buffer shall be designed and certified to by a licensed landscape architect, licensed forester or forester designated by the Society of American Foresters as a "certified forester." The landscape plan shall be reviewed and commented on by the State Forester and shall be subject to the final review and approval of the Commission. The following conditions shall apply to the forested buffer:

[Amended 7-29-2008 by Ord. No. 1984]

A.  All trees that are to be planted shall include a mix of 70% deciduous shade trees and 30% evergreen trees, a majority of which shall be suitable trees of common local species, which may include existing as well as planted trees. Every one-hundred-foot length of buffer shall include a minimum total of 15 trees.

B.  All deciduous trees that are planted to establish the buffer plantings shall have a minimum caliper of 1.5 inches and a minimum height of six feet above ground when planted in order to insure that the trees will be capable of obtaining a minimum height of 10 feet above ground within five years of being planted.

C.  All evergreen trees that are planted to establish the buffer plantings shall have a minimum height of five feet above ground when planted in order to insure that they are reasonably capable of attaining a minimum height of 10 feet above ground within five years of being planted.

D.  The landscape plan may include suitable existing deciduous and evergreen trees of common local species, provided they will achieve the overall goal of the plan as described in Subsection E hereof and provided that said existing trees survive the site work construction activity and any changes in the water table and exposure which may result from the construction activity occurring prior to the date the buffer plantings are required to be installed as provided in Subsection F hereof.

E.  The goal of the landscape plan for the forested buffer area shall be to include trees of the type indicated herein that will be planted in a staggered natural manner, as opposed to being planted in row fashion, which will filter views from and into the subdivision in such a manner that the areas on the agricultural side of the buffer area appear more green and less visible and the structures or uses on the subdivision side appear less obvious and less dense than if no landscaping had been required. The procedures and details for planting new trees shall be specified by the landscape architect on the plan submitted to and approved by the Commission and shall include the requirement that the buffer area shall have a final grade that contains a minimum of four inches of topsoil and a suitable grass mix planted as sacrificial cover between the buffer trees for soil stabilization until the newly planted trees become larger. The plan may substitute woodchips for planted grass between the buffer trees in respect to both newly planted and existing trees, as determined by the landscape architect.

F.  The forested and/or landscape buffer shall be installed within 18 months from the date site work is authorized to commence, as documented by a notice to proceed letter from the Commission. For subdivisions that are approved to be constructed in phases, the buffer for each phase must be completed before County approvals or permits will be granted to construct the next phase.

G.  The land developer shall be held responsible for the health and survival of the trees, including regular necessary watering for a minimum of two years or until such later date as the maintenance responsibilities are transferred to a homeowners' association; provided, however, that the developer shall replace any trees that die during the minimum two-year developer maintenance prior to transferring maintenance responsibilities to a homeowners' association.

H.  The perpetual maintenance of the buffer plantings by a homeowners' association shall be assured through the restrictive covenants and/or homeowners' association documents. The perpetual maintenance plan shall include the requirement that any trees that die must be replanted with trees of the same type and species and in accordance with the original landscape plan approved by the County. The perpetual maintenance plan shall also include a requirement that the forested buffer area be planted and maintained according to best management practices in the forestry industry. The responsibility for the perpetual maintenance of the buffer strip and its plantings shall be assured through restrictive covenants which are obligatory upon the purchasers through assessments by the homeowners' association. The applicant and/or land developer must provide the Commission with satisfactory proof that the covenants include a perpetual maintenance plan which shall be binding upon the applicant and/or developer during the minimum two-year period described in Subsection G above and thereafter by the homeowners' association. The Commission and its attorney shall review and approve the perpetual maintenance plan prior to the restrictive covenants being recorded and prior to granting final site plan approval.

I.  The twenty-foot forested and/or landscape buffer strip is not required to be installed in those portions of the subdivision perimeter which represent the width of a right-of-way connector road or street that DelDOT or the Commission required the applicant to install pursuant to § 99-17D and the width of a stormwater outfall shown on the final site plan to drain surface or stormwater outside the perimeter of the subdivision.

J.  The landscape plan shall avoid placing planted trees or allowing existing trees to remain in the areas adjacent to entrances into and exits from the development in such a manner as to restrict the view of motorists entering or exiting from the development or restricting site lines for motorists in such a manner as to create a potential safety hazard.

K.  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall be authorized, as part of the site plan review process, to grant final approval of a plan for the roadway frontage of a major subdivision which may include landscape and design features, such as fences, walls, berms, landscape plantings of shrubs, ornamental grasses and/or trees, multimodal paths required by DelDOT, open areas, or a combination of such features which is designed and certified to by a licensed landscape architect, licensed forester or forester designated by the Society of American Foresters as a "certified forester" and reviewed and commented upon by the State Forester, for the purpose of making the subdivision more attractive, more in keeping with the surrounding area and less visible from the roadway, provided said plan will not cause the landscape features contained in the plan to be placed in an area adjacent to the entrance in such a manner as to restrict the view of motorists entering or exiting from the subdivision or restricting the sight lines of motorists in such a manner as to create a potential safety or traffic hazard.