The Dover City Planning Commission approved plans Nov. 16 for an 84-unit senior citizen housing complex at Maple Dale Country Club — a project club leaders say is necessary to save the struggling institution.
“Not one of us wants to be here asking you to do this, but we have to,” said Maple Dale board member John Still.
The project, which includes 30 townhouses and three 18-unit condominium buildings, first came before the commission in September, when the panel authorized the zoning variances necessary to move the project forward.
At that meeting, Still and other board members said falling membership and competition from other area clubs has left Maple Dale short on cash and in danger of closing.
The housing project, known as the Villages of Maple Dale, will be located on the southwest corner of the property, with the condominiums to be built near the existing club house on Maple Dale Road. The townhouse portion will be built along Kenton Road and cause part of the ninth fairway to be relocated.
Like the September meeting, city council chambers were packed with Maple Dale members and neighbors. Most were there in support of the project, but some showed up to urge the commission to vote no on the plan.
Maple Dale member Frank Donnelly, who lives adjacent to the site of the proposed four-story condominium buildings, said he and other members want to see the club survive, but not at the expense of their neighborhood.
“We, as most members, are not against the project, but we are opposed to the current plan,” he said. “The members would be very open to a change in the design of those buildings.”
Donnelly also argued the commission was acting in violation of city code and state law by approving a project that isn’t specifically called for in the comprehensive plan.
City Solicitor Nick Rodriguez said he saw no legal problem with the commission’s decision to approve the project.
Before voting, commission member Michael Hemmig attempted to ease the minds of those who said the commission was not taking a hard look at the plan for all angles.
“We have given due consideration to this plan,” he said.
In other business…
- The commission approved plans for a new Wawa convenience store with eight gas pumps to be built on the site of an existing Wawa at the corner of Court Street and Route 13. The old store will be demolished and the new store will be constructed on the same spot. The project is part of a full-scale renovation of the adjacent Dover Mart shopping center, which includes the addition of a drive-through lane for the WSFS bank at the site.
- Members voted to allow PrimeCare Medical Transport, the city’s ambulance provider, to utilize a building at 601 Fulton Street for its vehicle service and dispatch center. The site will provide space for four ambulances and a staff of four to seven employees.
Email Doug Denison at doug.denison@doverpost.com.
