Developers could get last word in Sussex
Sussex County Council may soon allow zoning change applicants to correct or clarify community comments at the end of public hearings.
Current county rules of order conclude hearings after members of the public finishing making statements.
County Administrator Todd Lawson proposed at the Jan. 6 council meeting a change in the public hearing rules to allow an applicant or applicant’s team up to five minutes to address issues they believe to be inaccurate or requiring clarification.
The hearing would then conclude, but council could keep the record open for a specific reason and period of time, Lawson said. That process has been used in the past when council sought additional information before making a decision.
Lawson said staff prepared the proposal based on feedback it received. He did not elaborate.
Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum asked for a postponement of the decision on the rule change. Council members had received the recommendation the previous day.
“I personally would prefer a little more time to review it and discuss the implications before we vote on it,” she said.
That began a discussion among council members over whether applicants deserved a chance to respond during public hearings.
Councilman John Rieley said sometimes opponents make statements that are factually incorrect or need clarification. Rieley was re-elected Jan. 6 as council vice president, and Douglas Hudson was re-elected president, both for one-year terms.
“Quite often, applicants would like the opportunity to set the record straight,” Rieley said. “It also begs the question, does the person whose testimony is being corrected get an opportunity to rebut the rebuttal, so to speak? And how far down the road do we go with this sort of thing?”
“It could go on forever,” County Attorney J. Everett Moore Jr. said. “That is the reason for the very concise five-minute period, so that no one is allowed to then come back and have a long period of time and start rearguing their case again.”
The proposal was modeled after court procedures and processes used by some municipal boards, Moore said.
Granting the applicant the last word may make people think council is giving those points more weight in its decisions than comments made by the public, Gruenebaum said.
“It doesn’t leave the room with the impression that we have accepted that as the final say,” she said.
Councilman Steve McCarron said he would prefer the applicant have a chance to reply at a public hearing.
“I think it’s important, and I would like to see some of these things on the record,” McCarron said. “Being here for the last year, I have been kind of surprised that there are questions that arise during public comment that you really don’t get the opportunity to get clarified at that hearing.”
Some council members asked whether other means could be used to allow a developer to respond.
Gruenebaum said council could leave the record open more frequently to allow an applicant to only correct or clarify comments made at the hearing.
Council delayed its decision until its Tuesday, Jan. 13 meeting to give the proposal more thought.
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
