As Sussex County Council prepares to receive recommendations for rules to help control booming development, members discussed their anticipated review of the proposals at a July 15 meeting. 

County Administrator Todd Lawson gave an update on the progress of the land-use reform working group’s efforts to date.

The 10-member panel, established this year by council, includes representatives of environmental groups, affordable housing advocates, builders, engineers, developers, and state transportation and planning offices.

Council has indicated it plans to quickly get to work considering the suggestions, once they are submitted.

The working group has been reviewing draft recommendations in recent weeks. It is scheduled to finalize its recommendations during meetings Thursday, July 24, and Tuesday, Aug. 5. Another meeting is tentatively set for Thursday, Aug. 21, if needed.

“Most important is making sure that we put some depth to these recommendations so that you understand what the group is asking you to consider and also what next steps would look like,” Lawson said.

It is likely council will schedule a workshop to allow time for a lengthy discussion to prioritize the recommendations, he said. Any proposed rule changes would be subject to public hearings at council and planning & zoning commission meetings.

“I think there’s going to be some low-hanging fruit that we can take action on immediately and probably turn into an ordinance pretty quickly and run it through,” Lawson said. “Then there’s going to be some recommendations that are complex. Maybe they require an element of our comp plan that we need to address. If that’s the case, it will take more time.”

Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum praised the working group members for their efforts, during meetings and between, including progressing quickly.

“We did not want this to be a task force that went on and on,” Gruenebaum said.

“We have a good group of professionals from certainly diverse interests all in one room, volunteering their time to affect how development looks like in Sussex County,” said Councilman Steve McCarron. “A lot of times, it's surprising, but they’re agreeing on a lot of topics. I’m excited and feel positive about the outcome that we should be seeing in the very near future.”

Some council members raised concerns about developers trying to rush projects in to the county before new rules can be established.

County Attorney J. Everett Moore Jr. and Jamie Whitehouse, director of the county Planning & Zoning Department, said they do not believe that will be an issue. Projects take a long time to design and submit to the county before the review process can begin, they said.

Whitehouse said there have been procedural changes in his office for large developments that include submission of a forestry assessment, wetlands evaluation and resource management buffer zones. These are required before an application is deemed complete and review can begin, he said.

“I don’t think there’s anything we’re talking about here that someone could go in and shortcut the process by just filing something,” Moore said.

He suggested the council move first on suggestions that are more easily implemented, and that any new laws be made effective on the date of approval. 

Councilman Matt Lloyd said there is case law that would allow the county to stop accepting applications or pause final approvals of projects that would be affected by a change in law. The introduction of a law would be enough to trigger this, he said.

Lloyd suggested the county pause accepting or at least approving projects that could be affected by laws that council is considering approving.

“I’m just envisioning an administrative sort of prioritizing or pausing of applications for certain things that we anticipate changes coming, and maybe those are accumulating on a desk at planning & zoning,” he said. “Maybe they still go through the process, but maybe before they’re processed in through our system, maybe that’s where there is a pause for future consideration for future changes.”

Soon after taking office in January, Lloyd recommended a moratorium on accepting applications for large housing developments in rural areas to give the county time to draft new laws governing such projects.

The idea did not receive support among the other council members, and the council formed the working group to review development rules and recommend changes.