Delaware needs more housing. That's not a talking point – it's math. 

The state's own 2023 Housing Needs Assessment found that between 2010 and 2020, Delaware built nearly 7,000 fewer units than population growth required. Today, about 50,000 renters and 60,000 homeowners statewide are cost burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing.

Sussex County isn't a bystander in this. It's the epicenter. Of the roughly 30,000 new housing units Delaware needs by 2030, about 19,000 – nearly two-thirds of the entire state's need – are needed right here in Sussex County, split between year-round residents and seasonal demand. This isn't growth being imposed on us from Dover; it's growth that's already happening, driven by retirees and remote workers choosing to live here, whether we plan for it well or not.

I understand the instinct to push back. More houses can mean more cars, and nobody wants Route 1 and other roads and highways to get worse. But blocking housing doesn't stop the growth; it just pushes it to the next town over, usually with fewer safeguards, not more. The real fix is making sure roads, water and sewer capacity are checked before density increases are approved, and that residents get a real public hearing before big projects break ground. 

That's a solvable problem. Refusing to build isn't a solution; it's a delay with worse infrastructure at the end of it.

I've also heard the theory that once the Baby Boomer generation passes on, a wave of newly empty homes will flood the market and prices will fall. Delaware's own data points the other way: residents 65 and older are projected to grow from 19% to 25% of the state's population by 2050, the only age group expected to grow that much. Homes here aren't just handed down within families; they're bought by the next wave of retirees and second-home buyers moving in, which is exactly why Sussex County's seasonal housing need is so large.

Senate Bill 23 gets the goal right: Delaware needs more housing, including affordable housing. But it needs fixing: restoring public hearings, protecting local zoning standards and making sure the promise of affordability is actually enforced.