Sussex County Council this week approved a zoning change that doubles the number of townhouses that can be built on a 7-acre parcel along Shady Road near Lewes.
Only that wasn't enough. On a 4-1 vote, with George Cole dissenting, council then approved a conditional use that allows a total of 41 townhouses, three times the number that could otherwise be built.
Councilman I.G. Burton amended the original request for 52 units, and lamented increased density, asking, "How much more can this area take?"
He then voted for both the zoning change and the conditional use, tripling the units on a project in his own district – a project that will now dump three times the otherwise allowable traffic onto the already failing nearby intersection popularly known as Malfunction Junction.
This density giveaway serves no one but the developer, who could now make three times as much profit while burdening the roads we all travel.
Everyone can agree that moderately priced, high-density housing belongs near towns, where infrastructure is already in place.
In the Cape Region, however, the density near our towns is already high.
Sussex County's two-unit-per-acre zoning in most areas is the least restrictive zoning anywhere on the Delmarva Peninsula, an open invitation to developers to build here.
The last thing government should do is offer still more density in the coastal region while demanding absolutely nothing in return – not even a clubhouse or tot lot.
It's time for this council to do its job and represent the people who live here. No more giveaways.
If council insists on allowing increased density anywhere in Sussex, it should come at a significant cost. Every unit of extra density should generate funds to purchase open space that will protect our waterways and forests.
Sadly, this idea was proposed in the comprehensive plan adopted a decade ago, but never acted on.
It is more urgent than ever to end giveaways.
Council must use every increase in density to leverage funds to preserve open space.
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Editorials are considered and written by Cape Gazette Editorial Board members, including Publisher Chris Rausch, Editor Jen Ellingsworth, News Editor Nick Roth and reporters Ron MacArthur and Chris Flood.
