Jan. 7 was a big day for those of us involved in fighting CU 2176, a conditional-use permit which would have allowed a 7-Eleven to be built on the corner of Angola Road and Route 24. And it was a big day for everyone who lives in this area of Sussex County. Sussex County Council’s vote of 4-1 to deny CU 2176 gives us hope that constituent voices can and will be heard. I trust this is the end to an ill-conceived project that would have endangered our drinking water and further snarled our traffic.
As a result of CU 2176, a group of people who didn’t know each other, from communities that had no obvious ties other than locale, came together and made a difference. The power of well-reasoned arguments, research and fact checking, letter writing, brainstorming, even protesting, helped create a grassroots movement without our even knowing it. This was not planned; it just happened, started incredibly so by two people, Eul Lee and Jens Wegscheider. New friendships have been forged and the alliance of communities will continue to look at issues that affect all of us along the Route 24 corridor. Let me be clear, we are not going away. Other communities can learn from our experience; if you do your homework and present your findings in a responsible manner, you can make a difference.
As a group we are encouraged that the council listened to our comments and took them to heart. Councilman Hudson stated the case for denial point by undeniable point. I know other factors were taken into account, as they should be, but our outreach did have an impact. Elected representatives should listen to their constituents and we feel they did.
I sincerely hope the council will look closely at the conditional use permit process that can effectively change zoning designations already decided. The entire year spent challenging CU2176 has exposed the flaws in using a CU to do business. I may be naïve, but do we really need this process? We have a mechanism for zoning changes (C/Z), so why have another one that does much the same? A CU is a C/Z with a but attached to it! Can’t zoning changes be approved with conditions?
A CU property supposedly can be remediated to its original use; why not just use the C/Z process to go back to an original use? Seems simple to me, a CU permit encourages a do-over; when you don’t get what you want you just come back with a CU. Or in the case of CU2176, someone suggests you try again, a costly suggestion. A very dangerous precedent would have been set had CU 2176 been approved.
Thankfully, the council recognized that.
Is this a victory for those involved with CU2176? Yes and no; yes in that the proposed 7-Eleven will not be built. No, because the vote made in December 2018 should have ended the effort to place a gas station on the corner of Angola Road and Route 24. And no because what was planning and zoning thinking in the first place? Did they even look at the corner in question? Maps don’t tell all. Think of the money spent and lost, including taxpayer funds. And we endured an additional year of anxiety over what could happen to our corner. I hope lessons have been learned and more so, I hope this is the last time I write about a 7-Eleven, ever.
Judy Kane
Lewes
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