The following letter was sent to Sussex County Council with a copy provided to the Cape Gazette for publication.
It seems that every week there is a new development project being proposed in proximity to the Route 1 and Route 24 corridors. At this point, the question should not be, “Do we have the infrastructure in place to accommodate these projects?” Rather, it should be, “Do we need to take a pause (including proposals already in the pipeline) in order to evaluate all of the projects in a holistic fashion?”
I recognize the developers are rushing to submit their plans before the 2028 comprehensive planning process gets underway. I also recognize the state’s land-use map has flagged the Lewes/Rehoboth area as Level 1 for new development. That said, of the three counties in Delaware, why is Sussex county the only one that operates under the premise that it’s okay to develop first and worry about the infrastructure later?
Simply stated, if these projects move forward, it will cripple the area and turn it into a place that no one will recognize, let alone want to live in or even visit.
I believe several of you ran on the notion that Sussex County needs to pause development in order to allow the infrastructure to catch up. If you are true to your word, I urge you to pause all development for an interim period of time and engage DeDOT and an independent engineer (not picked by any developer) to evaluate all of the projects relative to the infrastructure needed in advance of any development happening. Please don’t let any threats of a lawsuit by one or more developers stop you from doing the right thing.
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