Hercules Road residents are suing New Castle County over what they say was the improper approval of a 162-unit subdivision on the old Hercules golf course.

The suit, filed by the Milltown Limestone Civic Alliance and six individual plaintiffs, is likely the first of a two-front legal challenge residents are set to wage over the controversial Toll Brothers project many say is unsafe because of soil contamination from pesticides during its decades as a golf course.

The initial suit, filed April 30 in Superior Court, charges that the county council was wrong in approving plans for Greenville Overlook in February because the developer’s strategy for managing the subdivision’s traffic was inadequate and presented safety concerns for those living along Hercules Road.

The council voted 11-2 to approve the plan.

The group’s attorney David Finger said council members were improperly instructed by the county’s legal department that they were required to vote in favor of the plan simply because it conformed to the county’s development code. Finger said the council did not adequately consider the public safety issues associated with the plan.

“The council was instructed that they had no option but to approve, but that’s not so in this case,” Finger said. “There was no consideration of the public safety concerns this plan presents. Their legal advice was incomplete.”

County attorney Gregg Wilson said the council acted properly.

“The county reviewed the plan in accordance to state and county law and we believe the lawsuit has no merit,” he said.

Traffic improvements associated with the subdivision plan center on a proposal to widen Newport-Gap Pike to four thru lanes at the north end of Hercules Road, which engineers say will allow more traffic to pass through the intersection during each green cycle, thereby reducing backups on Hercules Road. A hearing on the proposal was hosted by the Delaware Department of Transportation on Monday.

William Franey, president of the Milltown Limestone Civic Alliance (MLCA), said he was hopeful the suit would be upheld by the courts.

“Many council members said that their decisions were made based on the advice of their legal advisors,” he said. “We don’t think it was the proper advice.”

Franey, along with MLCA Vice-President William Dunn, declined to discuss the potential for a second suit over a soil remediation plan at the site, which many nearby residents believe is deficient in preventing contaminated dust from blowing off the property and into their yards.

But Christine Whitehead, a retired attorney that has been assisting residents with legal research, confirmed that a second suit over the cleanup plans could also be filed in the coming weeks.

The Community News has previously reported comments by Dunn that residents were considering a suit over the cleanup plan and last year, the MLCA began soliciting donations from residents for a legal defense fund.