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Why town-centered growth is the preferred option

February 4, 2025

Moratoriums on residential development are the talk of the town – or, should I say, the county – these days. While it is tempting for those of us who were born and raised in eastern Sussex to blame our traffic challenges on the increasing population, there is a solution that will allow those of our friends and neighbors who work in one of the various construction-dependent industries to continue to prosper while, at the same time, being sensitive to the concerns being expressed about there being too much development in rural areas: So the country largely remains the country, those who lead our inland towns must create (more) incentives in an effort to effectively redirect growth away from rural areas and to our municipalities.

Instead of looking like a filled-in square, many of our towns’ boundaries are incredibly jagged – with a large number of out-of-town parcels butting up against in-town ones – even, in some cases, near the very downtown core of the particular municipality. Our towns should, therefore, make their zoning ordinances more friendly in an effort to inspire individuals to request that such properties –as well as those located along the municipality’s perimeter – be annexed into the given town.

Consider that, generally speaking, when a parcel is located close to a municipality, water, sewer and other utility lines do not have to be extended nearly as far as would often be the case if the property were instead located in the middle of a cornfield miles from a town. This, of course, means a lower cost for many. Likewise, under such a scenario, the school bus, police car, ambulance or fire truck doesn’t have to travel nearly as far to provide the needed service, which, of course, is better for the environment. Lastly, in many cases, fewer expensive, taxpayer-funded road improvements end up having to be made.

Whether we like it or not, from an economic development perspective, we absolutely need the additional residential rooftops we are seeing in order for retail recruiters like me to be successful in our efforts to help create an environment that is more hospitable for commercial growth. In addition to local retailers, Target, Whole Foods, and Dick’s Sporting Goods, just to name a few, simply will not end up opening a location in our area (even if preliminary plans currently exist) if we lack the number and type of prospective consumers necessary for them to be profitable. Simply put: More people in coastal Delaware will ultimately lead to us having even more in the way of conveniences, which translates to locals and new residents alike having to make fewer long, costly trips to Salisbury, Christiana and elsewhere to shop for necessities.

Sheldon P. Hudson is the town manager of the Town of Frankford, the former town manager of Millsboro and Smyrna, and the owner of Hudson Municipal Consulting.
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