The Cape Gazette recently ran a story on Sussex County Council's decision to reject a proposal for a building moratorium. This decision was based on the recommendations of the state's builders' groups and the 10-member land-use reform working group. The promise that this group will plan and build intelligently has been proven suspect over the years. Builders assert the region is experiencing a housing shortage. This cannot be substantiated when we observe a large number of homes for sale in developments throughout the region. The moratorium was recommended by members of county council who were newly elected and who cited a series of issues that needed to be resolved before more development. Some of those issues are: infrastructure updates, traffic gridlock, emergency services, environmental concerns, farm preservation, and educational and healthcare needs.
I was disappointed but not surprised by the decision to reject the moratorium recommendation. Sussex County Council and the planning & zoning commission members have consistently rubber-stamped development requests and consistently placed the clearly vocalized objections of the county residents behind the interests of the local builders and developers.
Let's analyze this further. It was the state's builders' groups that spoke against the moratorium because they wished to continue building at an excessive rate as they have done up to now. The 10-member working group included builders, developers and representatives of the building industry. Their recommendations fell in line with the developers. Do you see a pattern here? We must, on county and local levels, support public service candidates who listen and respond to the needs and concerns of community residents. Only then will we see a change from the continued support of the profiteers in this region to a focus on the quality of life in this region.
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