Delaware City Council approved, but not unanimously, a plan for an RV campground to be placed near the banks of the C&D Canal and Fort DuPont State Park, according to WDEL.
Blue Water Development Group owns six campgrounds, including Cape Charles and Chincoteague on Delmarva, and 11 hotels, including the recently-completed Bethany Beach Ocean Suites and soon-to-be finished Aloft Rehoboth Beach.
Their proposed Fort DuPont Campground Resort would take over the Grass Dale Center west of Route 9, bordering both the C&D and Delaware City canals.
Developers plan 422 sites, split between RV and cottage sites along with a bathhouse, playgrounds, and pools, and sports areas.
Not everyone is pleased with the plans, however, including Delaware City resident Erica Lindsey, who started a campaign to try to shut down the campground plan.
“For the townsfolks in Delaware City, this is going to cause traffic nightmares, congestion nightmares. We’re going to have transient visitors and tourists, and I don’t mind tourism to a certain degree, but this is 422 RVs on fragile wetlands with loud music and pollutions in our town.”
Lindsey said giving up wetlands would hurt the local ecosystem.
The plan was approved by DelDOT, DNREC, and other government agencies, which meant as Delaware City Council tried to fight they were left without an option.
Interim City Solicitor Bill Rhodunda told council members before a 3-1 vote with one abstaining vote, that they had no choice in the matter.
“Here we have a by-right situation. If it meets the code, you’re obligated to approve the plan, that’s the nature of the process.”
Some terms were placed on the approval, including a March 15 to Nov. 15 season for being open, and that RVs would not be permitted to stay on the property for more than 180 days, or being on the flood plain.
Lindsey said they’re not ready to give up the fight over Blue Water’s move and also a proposed Marina Village on the east side of Route 9 south of the Delaware City Canal near the Delaware River, which is independent of the Blue Water fight.
