The Sussex Planning & Zoning Commission is scheduled to make recommendations on Cool Spring Crossing at its meeting Wednesday, July 2. Commissioners will rule on multiple applications, including rezoning and an amendment to the county’s future land-use map.
Amending the FLUM is especially controversial. The Office of State Planning Coordination has objected to the amendment four times since 2021. The 637 acres are located where state infrastructure investments are years away. Most significantly, there are no current plans to widen Route 9 to accommodate the projected 33,000-plus additional daily vehicle trips.
Cool Spring’s FLUM amendment is 106 times larger than the average acreage of other amendments approved by Sussex County since 2018 that move land from low density to a high-density usage. And it is by far the largest FLUM amendment in the state during that period.
Cool Spring Crossing is projected to have around 5,500 residents, larger than 80% of Sussex County’s municipalities. Its size will worsen the strain on essential public services – fire, ambulance, schools, healthcare and traffic.
A change of this magnitude undermines the legitimacy of the FLUM, which under Delaware Code has the force of law. Why should anyone respect the FLUM if it can be so massively altered, reversing conclusions based on broad public participation and discussion that went into completing the comprehensive plan? The public’s interest as expressed in the comprehensive plan should take priority over any developer’s financial interests.
Rather than amending the FLUM and rezoning the Cool Spring land, action should be delayed until completion of several county and state efforts with a direct bearing on this project:
- The land-use reform working group is reviewing land-use ordinances and will make recommendations in fall 2025
- The state will announce updated state investment levels that guide state infrastructure improvements by December 2025
- DelDOT’s Route 9 corridor study, including the Cool Spring area, is developing recommendations, deadline unknown
- Sussex County will launch a new comprehensive planning process mid-2026.
One message from the 2024 elections was to stop doing business as usual. Sussex faces its current problems partly due to decisions made piecemeal, one development at a time, without looking at the full picture.
It should now be clear: Business as usual is not sustainable in the long run.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
