Upzonings should leverage open space
In the ongoing discussion of land use in Sussex County and the many current requests for upzonings, it’s time to revisit a concept brought forward many years ago by former Sussex Councilman Vance Phillips.
Phillips authored an ordinance which allows developers to apply for extra density in environmentally sensitive and developing areas. While that extra density has to be approved, the catch is that it comes with a price tag. In some instances that price tag is in the magnitude of $20,000 for each additional unit approved above what existing zoning allows. That money can in turn be used for open space preservation, whether through purchase of conservation easements, development rights or outright fee simple acquisition.
Phillips talked from time to time of expanding that purchase program to all upzoning requests. “No upzoning for free,” is how he phrased it.
Upzonings typically increase the value of an owner’s property. In some cases, where an upzoning would be needed to accommodate a clearly identifiable need for an area - such as a medical clinic for a rural community - purchase of upzoning rights might not be appropriate.
But in most of the upzoning cases currently being considered in the Cape Region, the requests involve additional residential units, or commercial zoning, which clearly make the land more valuable and significantly improve developers’ prospects for additional profit. The upzonings don’t address any direct local need.
The units will most likely be acquired by people moving in from outside our area to take advantage of low taxes and the many amenities in place here including beaches, parks, trails, temperate climate and shopping. And over the long haul, given that most of Sussex County is zoned for residential development, upzoning will only add units on top of the already hundreds of thousands of units of residential development already available to developers by right, without any rezoning.
The only way for upzonings to make any sense in the rapidly developing coastal areas is for them to come with a price tag that will provide the means to leverage the purchase of open space in other areas. It’s time for Sussex Council to give serious consideration to what Phillips wisely was proposing: no upzonings for free.
