Governor finalizes Strategies for State Policies and Spending
A plan for Sussex County to coordinate growth along Routes 9 and 113 with state road improvements and a streamlined state review of development projects are among key elements of a new state planning document.
Gov. Matt Meyer signed an executive order Jan. 30, enacting the 2025 Delaware Strategies for State Policies and Spending. Local comprehensive plans are among the many factors taken into account in drafting the five-year plan.
A significant change from past state strategies plans is that the governor is incorporating it in his smart growth agenda, said David Edgell, director of the Office of State Planning Coordination. Edgell’s agency drafted the strategies plan after public hearings, consulting with local governments, and soliciting and reviewing public comments.
Meyer stated in his executive order that his administration “prioritizes smart growth to optimize affordability, natural and working lands, economic prosperity, and environmental health, and recognizes the importance of effective coordination between the state and local governments to plan and invest in functional and sustainable land-use practices.”
The 55-page strategies plan was backed Jan. 12, by a panel of state agency leaders, known as the Cabinet Committee on State Planning Issues.
Among its key points, the plan creates an expedited and streamlined Preliminary Land Use Service process in which state agencies review large developments, especially housing projects.
The governor set a goal of reaching decisions within 45 days of a project proposal being introduced. Edgell said his agency has begun accelerating the process, which now takes about 50 days, down from the previous 60.
Projects reviewed by the state agencies are forward for final decisions by local governments.
For the first time, the state will allow annual updates to the State Strategies plan, based on new data, newly certified comprehensive plans, corridor plans or master plans provided by local governments.
That will allow changes that take into account the Routes 9 and 113 corridors planning and a shift in direction of growth in Sussex County. Changes are expected to be included in the county’s next comprehensive plan, due by the end of 2028, and new rules being drafted based on recommendations of the Sussex County Land Use Reform Working Group.
Planning is needed along Route 9 between Georgetown and Lewes and Route 113 between Georgetown and Millsboro to address growth there, said Delaware Department of Transportation Secretary Shanté Hastings at a Dec. 9 council meeting
The state plans to coordinate infrastructure to support that development, according to Meyer’s executive order.
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.
