In reading the Jan. 15 edition of the Cape Gazette, I was concerned with Sussex County Council’s treatment and comments about solar farm applications. Currently, Sussex County has more houses going in than any other county in Delaware and our infrastructure cannot keep up. While council appears to have little issue in changing zoning categories for developers to be able to build more houses, they suddenly seem to have concern over changing zoning categories to allow solar farms. Per the Cape Gazette article, as to a solar farm application near the Ridings at Rehoboth, John Rieley is quoted as saying, “shoehorning solar farms between two subdivisions is an inappropriate place.” Mark Schaeffer agreed with Rieley. The fact that some Sussex County Council members feel agricultural lands should not have solar farms on them begs the question as to why council has no problem with allowing agricultural land to turn into massive housing developments.
As a resident of a community on Robinsonville Road, where in the last three years three large housing developments have been started surrounding ours, I can assure county council that we would much prefer to have low-rise solar farms on surrounding properties, that generate no traffic or needs for increased infrastructure, than more houses.
Even some of the conditions being placed upon approved solar farms (i.e. 30-foot buffers, tall trees, etc.) seem to be over and above what is enforced for current housing developments. Is council so out of touch with its constituents or are there financial incentives to county council members coming from developers that would not be coming from solar farm applicants?
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