DOVER — The city’s planning commission unanimously approved a development plan to expand the Village at Blue Hen Apartments during Monday night’s meeting.
The plan is the second phase of the existing Blue Hen Apartment complex in Dover.
It will bring the total number to 354 dwelling units for the complex, said Andrea Finerosky, land development manager of Pettinaro Construction Co. Inc.
The Village at Blue Hen Apartments has been up since 2012.
The new multifamily residential development will consist of 13 apartment buildings with 192 units and accessory garage structures at 605 and 655 Bay Road and 400 Haslet Street.
The Zoning Ordinance requires a 16-foot alley or an 18-foot secondary fire lane and an 18-foot subgrade emergency access lane for two- and three-story apartment buildings.
Ms. Fineroksy submitted a waiver request to eliminate an emergency rear access.
The planning commission voted 8-0 on the developmental plan; the waiver will be discussed at the next Safety Advisory and Transportation Committee on Oct. 26.
The planning commission also recommended Pettinaro Construction to provide a perimeter sidewalk fronting the parking spaces adjacent to the northwest side of one of the buildings to complete the perimeter access to the opposite side of the buildings where the entrances are located.
It also recommended that the existing central walkway bisect the existing buildings to be continued in the form of striping to cross the north segment of Long Island Court leading to the sidewalk frontage to be constructed in front of future buildings.
“We reviewed all the comments and feel confident that we will be able to continue to move forward,” Ms. Finerosky said.
Fred Tolbert, chairman of the city’s planning commission, asked if a traffic study was done for the area.
“It’s going to be a pretty large development,” Mr. Tolbert said. “What do you think it will do to the traffic and have you spoke to the Delaware Department of Transportation about it?”
Ms. Finerosky said a traffic analysis will be done in the future.
“We’ve had talks with them,” Ms. Finerosky said. “We plan to sit down and talk to them to make sure we do everything we need to do for the area.”
The expansion is expected to be complete in few years, but Mr. Tolbert believes it will be an asset to the city.
“This is great for us,” Mr. Tolbert said. “It will be great for the residents of this city.”