The Dover City Planning Commission approved a 2,300-square-foot addition to W. Reilly Brown Elementary School at its monthly meeting Nov. 17, only after assuring a half-dozen residents of neighboring Rodney Village that the improvements would not exacerbate an already serious runoff and drainage problem.

    During the public hearing section of the meeting Robert Hotte, whose house sits downhill from the school property, said that the planned addition and bus turn-around would add considerable runoff to an overloaded and ineffective drainage system on the school grounds.

    Hotte and the other residents in the audience said that during heavy rains, a four- to six-inch-deep pond forms on the southeast corner of the school lot and expands to flood their backyards.

    “The water either drains through two open-ended culverts to the south, or off the parking lot to the field behind the school,” Hotte said, adding that, in the past, the drainage water has merged with a fishpond in his backyard, allowing his fish to escape.

    His wife Carol Hotte said neighbors have complained about the drainage for decades and suffered wet basements, cracked foundations and mosquito swarms because of it.

    Dover Public Services Manager Scott Koenig told the residents that the issue will likely be resolved when the Caesar Rodney School District submits its site plan to DNREC for review.

    The state agency, he said, will require the school system construct adequate stormwater controls, such as a retention pond.

    “[The school] was developed prior to what would be considered modern stormwater controls,” Koenig said. “Those situations tend to not get better ever over time by themselves. I think 25 or 30 years ago when the school was built it may not have been a problem, but as time has gone on it has probably gotten much worse.”

    Koenig also said that because the residents spoke out at the meeting, their comments became part of the official record and will have to be included in the final report on the site plan.

    With Hotte and his neighbors assured that the drainage situation would improve, the commission voted unanimously to permit construction.

In other business …

    • The commission unanimously approved a request to rezone a lot adjacent to the Bennie Smith Funeral Home on West Division Street in Dover so the owners of the funeral home can establish a flower shop on the site.
    The lot was zoned for manufacturing, but was being used as a residential house under what are known as “legal non-conforming use” rules. Planning department staff said the new commercial zoning is in keeping with the character of the neighboring properties.

    • Commissioners voted unanimously to table a review of the conditional use status of several New Street properties owned by the House of Pride counseling and rehabilitation group.
    No one from House of Pride attended the meeting and planning staff members were concerned there had been some misunderstanding about the meeting date. It was their opinion that House of Pride should be present for the discussion.
    The review was originally brought before the commission in August, but was tabled to allow planning staff time to address concerns with the fire marshal and other offices.

    • The commission allowed a one-year extension of the site plan approved for a proposed CVS pharmacy on the site of the Dover Post Company offices at the corner of East Division Street and Route 13.
    Planning staff said the project is moving forward, but plans still need to be approved by several agencies.