Are you aware that Sussex County holds coastal zone cluster developments to significantly lower design and environmental standards than for the rest of the county outside the coastal zone? The coastal zone (the area around Lewes, Rehoboth and the Inland Bays) was intentionally excluded from the “superior design” requirements that became mandatory for the rest of the county in 2019. Sounds backwards to me!
Last week an effort was made to fix this by amending the Sussex County code and it appeared on the planning & zoning commission agenda. The purpose of this P&Z commission agenda item was to amend the code regarding the coastal area and add superior design criteria to make it conform more to the cluster ordinance with “superior design” in place for the rest of Sussex County. It was not to revise and rewrite the entire ordinance or increase density in the coastal zone.
This hearing was dominated by a well-orchestrated group of developers, landowners, farmers and their consultants (attorneys, architects, engineers) all calling to rewrite the coastal-area superior design standards and have a workshop committee study it. Unfortunately, sending a controversial item to a workshop for study at the county can mean it may never see the light of day again.
On many occasions at planning & zoning hearings, if any of those speaking for or against an ordinance or proposal got off the specific topic, they were remanded by the chair to address the hearing topic specifically or be cut off. That is not what happened last Thursday evening. Instead, the hearing was allowed to become a wide-ranging discourse on all the things developers and farmers don’t like about this ordinance, and even pushing to increase density in the coastal zone to reduce sprawl. If this was the topic of the hearing and advertised as such, it would have been packed with residents concerned about overdevelopment in the environmentally sensitive coastal zone.
Large landowners fear their property values will be reduced if this superior design element is required in the coastal zone. New residents are worried the building lots they are purchasing don’t have adequate protection to reduce flooding, improve water quality, provide useable open space for kids to play, or other design criteria available for every area of Sussex County except the coastal zone. This superior design has been working for the rest of the county; why would it not be good for the coastal zone?
The coastal area has the highest risk from storms and sea level rise given its rapid buildout, congestion, flooding, lack of adequate infrastructure and evacuation routes, and proximity to our Inland Bays, tributaries, rivers and ocean. Therefore, this amendment should be approved and moved to county council quickly, where this ordinance can be amended to include superior design in the environmentally sensitive coastal zone. Delaying only increases our risk. Should any more changes to the code be desired by council, that can be addressed after the current code is brought into uniformity for all parts of the county.
It is in the coastal zone where the environmental superior design component of this ordinance is needed the most. We have the highest risk, the least protection and sea level is rising the fastest in the country. Let’s be realistic. If we don’t address these environmental issues, all properties could lose value. Our elected officials took an oath “to protect the health, welfare and safety” of all those they represent. That includes both the landowners (farmers and developers) and the purchasers of their subdivided properties. It is time to act, and not delay. There is good reason to expedite this amendment!
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