Planning for growth without fear

In “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey believed deeply in his neighbors. He believed they should have a real stake in their community, that opportunity should be shared and that leadership sometimes requires sacrifice for the common good. His vision wasn’t about stopping growth; it was about making sure growth worked for the people – not just the few.

Growth is one of the most difficult and emotional issues facing our communities. Concerns about traffic, infrastructure capacity, quality of life and the pace of change are real – and they are shared by many residents. These conversations should not be about being for or against growth; they should be about how we respond when growth arrives faster than our planning or investment.

In some recent discussions, some items were driven by fear, not fact.  Affordable housing – and specifically Section 8 – was raised as a concern. Too often, those references were unaccompanied by facts, and instead implied risk, cost or decline. That framing does real harm.

The families who might qualify for housing assistance are already part of our communities. They are the nurses, educators, first responders, service workers, tradespeople and caregivers who keep our towns – like Millsboro – running. They are not a problem to be managed; they are neighbors to be supported. They are invited to work in our communities, but somehow not invited to live in them.

The reality is that developing new Section 8 housing is extraordinarily difficult today because federal resources are severely limited. It’s been decades since new Section 8 units have been created. What we are actually talking about is creating housing opportunities – a range of homes at different price points – so the people who work in our communities can afford to live in them.

Delaware’s Affordable Housing Task Force, which I chaired, made its conclusion clear: Outdated local zoning is the single greatest barrier to housing affordability. Many zoning codes reflect planning assumptions from the 1970s, when communities were designed around separation and sprawl. Those rules limit choice, push development outward and make congestion, land loss and infrastructure costs worse – not better or less expensive.

Recognizing this, the General Assembly passed my Senate Joint Resolution 8, which provides free technical assistance to municipalities and counties to modernize zoning and land-use codes – voluntarily, collaboratively and with local control as the centerpiece. Many Sussex County towns, along with the county itself, applied and will be using this assistance to plan smarter growth.

Yet, not all jurisdictions took advantage. Hesitation remains. Some argued that waiting is safer, that the state might act in the future as many other states have, so “let’s wait and see.” Doing nothing out of fear of hypothetical action is not a strategy. The best way to protect local control is to use the tools available now to shape growth intentionally, and before someone else feels compelled to step in. That takes leadership and can be uncomfortable.

We should also be honest about infrastructure and congestion. We will never build our way out of traffic. But we can reduce its impacts by developing differently, such as building connected neighborhoods, housing near jobs, walkable areas and mixed-use, denser communities to contain sprawl and preserve farmlands.

The choice is not whether our towns – or Sussex County – will grow. It will. The choice is whether we guide that growth thoughtfully, or allow outdated policies to make it harder, more expensive, and more divisive than it needs to be.

In “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey reminds us that a community’s strength isn’t measured by how well it keeps people out, but instead by how well it invests in its people. In a world where too many “Potters” reduce human worth to fear, exclusion and short-term thinking, the better path is clear: Be a George Bailey. Empower your community. Plan with intention. Invest in them. And choose community over fear.

That’s how we protect what makes our towns worth calling home.