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Thanks to a seed planted by Lewes City Council, Sussex County now has a memorandum of understanding for land planning coordination.
The resolution, aimed at better synchronization and communication between the county and towns, was passed Sept. 23, by county council.
Hal Godwin, deputy county administrator, said Lewes officials requested and drafted a memorandum of understanding when concerns surfaced over several large projects just outside Lewes city limits.
The original Lewes memorandum was modified to be used as a generic template for all Sussex County towns. He said the Lewes City Council endorsed the memorandum.
“We understand that one size does not fit all. We are expecting each town to be a little different – to probably add one more line,” Godwin said.
Councilman Lynn Rogers said Lewes officials brought the memorandum idea to the surface because they were concerned about the future of the historic city. “They want to be notified about developments affecting them,” he said. “They want to keep communication lines open. There is limited open space left around Lewes, so there is a concern.”
Godwin, who comes from a municipal background as former mayor of Newark and the first town manager of Milton, said there are overlapping areas, referred to as intergovernmental coordination zones, around the borders of towns that are of concern to both government agencies. Although technically in unincorporated areas of the county, the intergovernmental coordination zones are important to the county as well as towns.
He said land-use and zoning decisions made by the county could impact the towns, and those same kinds of decisions made by towns could impact the county. Godwin will make presentations to the more than 20 Sussex towns. “This is taking us in the right direction – we are willing to do better,” he said.
The measure passed 3-1, with councilmen Rogers and George Cole and President Finley Jones casting affirmative votes and Councilman Vance Phillips voting against it. Councilman Dale Dukes was on vacation.
Phillips said he wanted another week to take the memorandum back to town officials in Laurel and Delmar to get their reactions. “I would prefer to take it back to the towns and talk to them personally,” he said.
“It’s already been brought up to the Sussex Association of Towns,” Cole said. “We can move on.”
Godwin said the memorandum is aimed at working cooperatively and improving communication. “The bottom line is that this documents things we’ve been doing for years,” Godwin said.
Memorandum provides better path for communication
Key points in the nonbinding memorandum of understanding for land planning coordination:
• Working cooperatively through the planning process to include land-use policies and adequate public facility plans in the city and the intergovernmental coordination zone.
• Regular information sharing between the parties.
• Sharing information from any Delaware Department of Transportation Traffic Impact Study for a major subdivision within a city or the intergovernmental coordination zone to determine city and county traffic impact.
• Cooperating to ensure that public services – wastewater, water, stormwater and electricity – are in place or provided for throughout the city and the intergovernmental coordination zone where available so there are no excluded or underserved areas.
• Each entity will notify the other in writing when applications for annexation, development or change in land use are requested.
• Neither entity will have authority or jurisdiction over the other’s land use, planning or zoning powers.
“This means if the MOU is not working for them, there is a way out,” said Hal Godwin, deputy county administrator.
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