Gruenebaum pushes for pause on development
For the second time this year, a Sussex County Council member has proposed a building moratorium, this time on yet-to-be-determined developments to give council time to consider suggested rules to control growth.
Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum proposed a “pause” at the Sept. 16 council meeting, and a proposal to accomplish that will be drafted by county staff, she said afterward.
“The attorneys will get back to us with some ideas,” Gruenebaum said. “We'll discuss what we can do. Assuming there is support for moving it forward, then we hold hearings and get approval. Like everything else, it's not a quick process. My comments kickstart it.”
The first step is determining the legality of such a move, she said.
“We want to be careful that anything we do is legal,” Gruenebaum said.
There is no estimate for how long it will take to draft and approve a moratorium or details of what it would cover.
Council is under pressure to curb booming housing growth that has burdened roads, schools, emergency services, healthcare providers and the environment in recent years.
“This isn't something that we can kick down the road,” Greuenebaum said after the Sept. 16 meeting. “The idea is that if we did do some kind of pause on development, it needs to be based on the work we're doing for the recommendations made to us by the task force.”
On Sept. 11, the Sussex County Land-Use Reform Working Group voted in support of all 20 recommendations that were created during a five-month process. The group was created by council to propose changes to development rules.
A report on the group’s recommendations is being drafted by consultants and is expected to be submitted to the county next month.
It will then be up to council to prioritize the suggestions and begin the process of turning them into laws and incorporating them into an update of the county comprehensive land-use plan scheduled to be completed by the end of 2028, Greuenebaum said.
“While none of the recommendations received 100% support, all members supported moving the list of recommendations to this body,” she said during the Sept. 16 meeting. “The list of 20 possible actions presented to us are focused on protecting our most valuable resources while allowing for appropriate growth. The recommendations are complicated, and in many instances, they will require changes to our comprehensive plan, which must soon be reviewed and updated.”
A moratorium is needed to prevent a flood of applications from developers hoping to beat the new rules, thwarting the planned change in direction for development in the county, Greuenbaum said.
“We’re going to be formally reviewing the working group’s recommendations in the very near future,” she said. “As that occurs, I ask that we consider and develop options to protect the group’s work product and our consideration of it from becoming moot while we begin implementing those recommendations.
Gruenebaum asked County Administrator Todd Lawson and other county staff to draft a pause on development.
“Therefore, I ask that you work with the county attorneys to develop options for the council to consider that would allow a very targeted and time-limited pause while we begin to review the working group’s recommendations and enact necessary changes to the county code,” she said.
There was no discussion at the meeting, and council immediately moved on to other matters. The topic of a moratorium would have to be on a council agenda for a discussion to take place.
The backlash against the consequences of development carried Gruenebaum, Matt Lloyd and Steve McCarron – all candidates calling for change – to election victories over incumbent council members last fall.
Early in his term, Lloyd proposed a moratorium on considering new applications for large housing developments. The suggestion was met with a flood of opposition from developers, builders, contractors, bankers, business leaders and others.
Lloyd's plan failed to gather any support at the time, but council created the working group to recommend where housing development should occur, protect farmland and open space, and encourage development of different types of housing.
The group included representatives of state agencies, developers, engineers, environmentalists, real estate agents, builders, affordable housing advocates and farmers.
“I want to reinforce my commitment to stopping overdevelopment sprawl,” Lloyd said at the end of the Sept. 16 meeting. “My commitment to that has not wavered. I am more aware now than ever the complexity of these issues, and my gut says to lean straight into the recommendations by the working group, adopt changes and accept no delay.”
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.
