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Quality of life in Sussex County eroding

August 6, 2019

I read with interest your recent editorial titled “Improve our roads before new houses are built” in the July 30-Aug. 1 edition.

While I wholeheartedly agree that the public cannot effectively comment on a project if traffic information is incomplete, the ramifications of ongoing, unbridled development have far greater implications. Your editorial did not address the full scope of the quality of life impact that we face. In addition to congested roads being an almost daily inconvenience, they endanger our safety in the event of a medical emergency or the need for an evacuation due to nor’easters, increasing incidents of coastal flooding, and related natural disasters.

In addition to roads, existing services and the environment cannot support the density of proposed developments like Keastone Bay, as well as many others, some already under construction. We are witnessing deforestation of significant acreage at an alarming rate, leading to the displacement of local animal populations, as well as increasing runoff from paved surfaces that further endangers the health of the Inland Bays. Are we to further compromise the health and stability of local ecosystems with the current rate of development in already environmentally sensitive areas?

The Indian River School District held multiple referenda requesting funding for anticipated  growth that were voted down. In the published words of Superintendent Mark Steele, “The defeat of the referendum is a serious blow to the Indian River School District. We are faced with an anticipated enrollment growth of more than 1,700 students in the next six years and there is no guarantee the State of Delaware will approve funding for these construction projects in the future.” How is the district to accommodate the increase in school population given the proposed density of Keastone Bay and other area developments?

Sussex County residents already face a serious shortage of primary care physicians, and fewer fire and emergency service company volunteers, who are already burdened with an increasing caseload and frequently horrendous traffic conditions that can cause dangerous delays in their response time.

The time has come for the members of the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission and Sussex County Council to reassess the viability of sustaining the current rate of growth, the density of proposed developments that are inconsistent with the area, and the long-term

impact that proposed and current development will have on the quality of life within the county. As responsible decision-makers, the future of the county is in their hands.

Mere consideration of short-term transfer taxes, property taxes, and similar development-related county revenue will eventually undermine the future viability of our county and is already seriously eroding the quality of life in the area.

Richard D. D’Auria
Millsboro

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