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As Sussex County’s comprehensive plan update reaches the homestretch, the importance of 23 ordinances listed in the plan became crystal clear during a Tuesday, March 18 workshop.
Almost every issue discussed by members of the county council and planning and zoning commission - in the rare joint meeting - is tied to one of 23 ordinances, from preserving farmland to computing density.
Consultant Paul Driscoll said as soon as the plan is adopted, bundles of ordinances with the highest priority would surface on officials’ desks.
Driscoll’s firm has been hired by the county to draft the ordinances and follow up on their passage.
The deadline to adopt the plan is Wednesday, April 30. The original plan came under fire during the Preliminary Land Use Service (PLUS) review. A 202-page compromise plan was presented Feb. 29, to the Governor’s Council on Planning Coordination, known as the Livable Delaware Advisory Council.
County Administrator David Baker said county officials are awaiting comments from that review.
“It appears we are going to get those ordinances in a timely fashion,” said planning commission President Robert Wheatley. “Until we get them done, there’s nothing we can do.”
Councilman George Cole said he hopes the new process would prevent what has happened in the past: lack of action to implement the plan.
“Yes, two-thirds of them sit and die a slow death,” added Council President Finley Jones.
The ordinances cover a wide array of issues including a transfer of development rights program; a refined definition of open space; formation of special tax districts to fund infrastructure; incentives to developers for use of green architecture and design; and a moderately priced rental housing program to name a few.
For the most part, the 10 members of the two elected bodies have been quiet about the proposed plan. This was one of the first occasions they have had to voice opinions and ask questions in public.
Cole cut right to the heart of the land-use issue raised by state officials. “If we are really concerned about protecting agriculture-residential districts, how can we continue to protect two units to one acre?” he asked.
Two units to one acre is the base density in the county’s AR-1 zoning district, which covers most of the rural area in the county. State officials have been critical of the county’s base zoning.
“We can’t touch that – it’s like a right. Is there an alternative to that?” Cole asked.
Councilman Vance Phillips asked Driscoll if there was a move in the plan to downsize.
He gave a one-word answer: “No.”
Driscoll pointed to other options in the plan to preserve open space, such as the proposed transfer of development rights ordinance.
Cole called that a “pie in the sky” program that looks and feels good but probably would not work.
He said, as he has said many times, there is nothing in the plan to address overgrowth in the critical environmentally sensitive developing areas, which encompass most of the Cape Region.
“Anything goes there; there is nothing that is prohibited,” he said. “I’d like to see it actually sensitive to the environment.”
Jones said the developing districts are about 30 percent smaller than they were 10 years ago.
“They are still too big,” Cole said. “We need to make some other rules and really do some things that are different – to get value other than from density,” he said. “We are reaching the critical stage in the environmentally sensitive developing areas. We can make rules there that don’t apply elsewhere.”
Councilman Lynn Rogers said that growth around towns is a concern in his district – the Lewes-Milton area.
“The plan does a good job of maintaining equity in property - protecting rural equity,” Phillips said. “To a large extent we have accomplished that.”
But, he said the public is sure to comment on other aspects of the plan.
Phillips said he is opposed to the ordinance that would exclude wetlands from density calculations. “We are already taking away the use of their land. I think we are really stretching it. I have a feeling these are the kind of issues we are going to hear,” he said.
The fate of the State Resource Areas (SRA) map in the final plan may also be in question. The map was added after the state review. The state does not want development in the state resources areas, which are considered the most environmentally important areas in the state.
“The county will not institute any new regulations because of the SRA map in the plan,” Driscoll said.
Under the proposed plan, the areas must be included as part of the data submitted by developers for “information purposes.”
“Will staff be able to modify plans based on the information?” asked Cole.
The answer he received was no, but Baker said it was unclear where the county stood as far as the SRA map was concerned.
Phillips tried to drive home the issue that many people do not agree with the SRA map. He said by acknowledging the SRA map, the county opens the door to more regulations.
“This can be used as a way to determine land use and we are laying a foundation for future regulations,” he said. “There is a great debate out there and a tremendous amount of controversy over the map.”
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Time for public comment on comprehensive plan
It’s time to get informed and comment on the 2007 Sussex County comprehensive plan update. The plan must be updated every five years.
The following are upcoming meetings:
• Planning and zoning public hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 3, at the CHEER Center on Sand Hill Road and Route 9, Georgetown.
• County council public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, at the CHEER Center on Sand Hill Road and Route 9, Georgetown.
Comments will be accepted during the two public workshops. In addition, comments can be made electronically on the county’s website at www.sussexcountyde.gov/compplan by filling out a form.
Comments can be mailed to: Sussex County 2007 Comprehensive Plan Comments, Att: Hal Godwin, PO Box 589, Georgetown, DE 19947.
Copies of the plan can be downloaded at the county’s website. A few copies are available at the county administrative building on The Circle in Georgetown.
Contact Ron MacArthur at ronm@capegazette.com
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