While a number of excellent conservation recommendations were included thanks to the Herculean efforts of Jill Hicks and Chris Tulou, it was an uphill battle with the developers dominating the Sussex County Land-Use Reform Working Group. A more balanced working group committee would have produced results more in tune with what residents would like to see. Here is some of what’s missing:
• Resiliency planning and tighter restrictions on building in the 100-year floodplain to reduce flooding. Instead, density and height increases permitted in vulnerable coastal areas put more people in harm’s way. No plan to direct affordable housing to safe areas not at risk for flooding
• A plan to expedite funding for adequate infrastructure before construction begins: roads, schools, medical facilities. Underfunded DelDOT transportation improvement districts are not working. Too many zoning changes within TID. DelDOT can never catch up as it takes too many years to build roads. Developers can donate adequate land for schools and medical facilities. Some already do
• A plan to hold the state accountable for directing development to growth zones, defined on state strategy maps, without providing adequate funding for infrastructure. State planning an exercise in futility without funding (Note: even with a new hospital in Millsboro under construction, the Office of State Planning did not include it in 2025 strategies document as requested by county)
• Landscaped roadside buffers to screen development. Instead, setbacks are reduced, eliminating space for screening or landscaping. Screening with naturalized, easy-to-maintain buffers, reduces NIMBY complaints, especially for affordable housing
• Building design of affordable housing. Quality design and construction standards that will withstand the test of time and retain these residences as desirable places to reside for the long term will lessen objections to affordable housing. How it looks matters
• Scenic byway preservation standards and sign restrictions that enhance our tourism industry. The height and density increases can forever change the character of byway roads
• No mention of preserving the character of our historic towns – Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, Milton, Bethany
• Municipalities not represented on the working group, but recommendations made to increase density and building height in and around them
• An acceptable solution for farmers worried about losing equity in their land
• Finding a way to slow the rush to get approvals before reforms are in place.
Let’s hope Sussex County Council can address these missing recommendations. They are as important as the missing middle.
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