Atlantic Fields rezoning puts cart before the horse

As Sussex County continues to grow, the desperate need for infrastructure becomes even more urgent. A current project coming before the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission – Atlantic Fields – offers large chain stores in a project that is riddled with serious problems for our community.  

Sussex County Council, which saw three new members added in 2024, elected on a public outcry over development vastly outpacing infrastructure, created a land-use reform working group to provide recommendations to address these concerns. One of the stated goals of the working group is to create an inventory of affordable and workforce housing. This group has seen the need to address the lack of affordable housing and to update zoning specifically for this goal. They completed their work at the end of August. Making zoning changes now, without addressing the recommendations of the land-use reform working group, makes the work appear as a purely political ruse, with no real reform happening. 

There is consensus that affordable and workforce housing is desperately needed in Sussex County. The CEO of Beebe Healthcare has repeatedly spoken about the need for more affordable housing to bring more doctors to the area and the staff that support them and the medical facilities. 

Atlantic Fields would bring large stores to an area already with plenty of shops but without the staffing to support them. Additional retail jobs will mean more competition for the already-slim affordable housing options in the area, exacerbating the lack of housing for new healthcare workers, as well as increasing the problems faced by current businesses already struggling with staffing.

In addition, the Atlantic Fields project would be a major detriment to an already stressed transportation corridor along Route 24. With two schools and multiple developments within a mile of this project, the roads are already at capacity and are a detriment to emergency responses in these areas.

For the Atlantic Fields project, the land they are asking to be rezoned is currently zoned as AR-1, agricultural-residential, which the Sussex County code book states, “The AR regulations seek to prevent untimely scattering of more-dense urban uses.” They are asking to have this zoning changed to C-4, planned commercial, described as large-scale commercial, retail and mixed-use developments.

Planning and zoning has the authority and the responsibility to say no to this change of zoning request at this time.