State unveils draft 2025 state plan for spending and policies

Gazing at the red, orange and yellow blots on maps projected on large screens throughout a conference room in Georgetown, local officials and residents strained to see the future of their communities.

The Office of State Planning Coordination held its third and final workshop Sept. 30 in the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center as it works to complete the 2025 Strategies for State Policies and Spending.

The maps represented where and how the state plans to support local municipalities’ development goals.

The state established investment levels, ranging from 1 through 4. There is also an out of bounds category of environmentally sensitive areas where the state does not want development.

Level 4 is expected to have little development, focusing on preservation of farmland and open space. Levels 3 through 1 are progressively more dense development, and the areas where the state plans to fund roads, schools and emergency services. 

Development in Sussex County has outpaced both New Castle and Kent counties combined in recent years.

But there has been a sharp conflict between the state plans and actual development in Sussex County, where in recent years more than a quarter of development occurred in Level 4, where the state does not anticipate it.

That has led to burdens on roads, schools, emergency services, healthcare providers and the environment, and prompted a political upheaval that carried three newcomers to Sussex County Council election victories in 2024.

Council created a land-use reform working group, which in September offered 20 recommendations for council to consider. Among them are shifting development into growth zones, promoting more diverse housing options, and protecting farmland, open space and environmentally sensitive areas.

The 10-member working group comprises representatives of developers, environmental groups and state agencies, including David Edgel, director of the Office of State Planning Coordination.

However, skepticism remains among some people about whether the county can align its plans with the state.

Milton Mayor John Collier said he has mixed opinions about the state plans.

Collier was glad to see some changes, such as expanding growth areas around the edge of Milton, but doubted the overall state goals would be met, considering the county’s history of diverging from the state’s intentions.

“To be honest with you, I still feel like this is an exercise in futility,” he said. “As long as Sussex County approves stuff in investment Level 4, what have we accomplished? It’s the same thing with their land-use working group. During the course of that, they were approving things in Level 4.”

When development is allowed in areas where it is not anticipated, it has consequences for local communities, Collier said.

“DelDOT puts their money in where it’s required for safety,” he said. “So every time they approve something in Level 4, that’s money that’s not spent in my municipality on DelDOT roads.”

Sussex County Councilman John Rieley, one of two council members who did not face election last fall, said it will be a challenge to enact change. 

“The trick is finding the balance that protects people’s [property] rights and recognizes the needs of the community,” he said.

“Hopefully our plan will sync up with what [the state is] doing in a way that makes sense,” he said.

The state strategies plan will be a foundation of the updated county comprehensive plan, which must be completed by the end of 2028, Rieley said.

The state strategies plan is online at 2025-delaware-state-strategies-delaware.hub.arcgis.com, and comments and suggestions can be left on the website until Friday, Oct. 10.

The schedule calls for completion of the plan by December, when Gov. Matt Meyer is expected to sign an executive order directing state agencies to make funding and policy decisions based on the document, Edgell said.

The strategies are updated every five years. The document was originally scheduled to be completed in July. The process was pushed back six months to give the new governor’s administration time to get up to speed and to allow the Sussex County working group time to draft rules to limit housing growth.

Edgell said he’s optimistic for cooperation between the state and county.

“We’ve had some good conversations,” he said. “I think it’s a real possible relationship. I think they’ve got very good objectives for the county, from what I’ve seen and heard. And the working group was a major accomplishment.”

Rep. Jeff Hilovsky, R-Long Neck, said policy and spending decisions have life-or-death consequences, and state and local governments have to create development plans with that in mind.

Hilovsky said the population of his district increased from 19,400 in 2022 to 25,700 in August, and he recounted recent instances when residents had long waits for an ambulance due to traffic congestion.

“The primary job of government is to provide public safety,” he said. “This is a complex problem … I just hope and pray these guys can come together and figure it out.”