Sussex P&Z backs four ordinances to improve housing projects

Four proposed ordinances to improve housing development were backed April 15 by the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission. All were approved by 5-0 votes without discussion.

They now go to Sussex County Council for another hearing and a vote on whether to adopt them.

The changes involve the Sussex County Rental Program, open space requirements, preliminary plat requirements, interconnectivity and superior design, and subdivisions in rural areas and growth areas.

The Sussex County Land-Use Reform Working Group’s recommendations to redirect housing growth and improve projects were the basis of the draft rule changes.

Other ordinances are expected to be considered later, some of them during drafting of the next 10-year county comprehensive plan that is expected to be completed by the end of 2028.

The commission April 14 listed reasons why amendments to the rental program should be passed by council, noting the current program has not been economically feasible for developers, who only pursued two projects.

Among the reasons cited by the commission, there is a need for such housing, the percentage of units in a project subject to program rules would be lowered from 25% to 15%, open space requirement would be cut from 50% to 30%, the new rent-to-household-income ratio would make projects viable, and state affordable housing officials helped draft the changes and support them.

The subdivision rule changes would eliminate cluster subdivisions in rural areas and only allow subdivisions with minimum lot sizes of 20,000 square feet in rural areas if the lots are served by central sewer. Three-quarter-acre lots would still be allowed with septic systems. Residential Planned Community Districts would also be eliminated in rural areas.

The commission also said council should consider other working group recommendations as it drafts the next comprehensive plan, as several are interconnected, including where density should be reduced or increased.

“As a result, the commission is making this recommendation for approval with the knowledge that the additional work on the other land-use working group recommendations still must be completed,” Commissioner Jeff Allen said.

Subdivision code changes include requiring developers to show how each listed requirement will be met, extending the application of superior design to more types of projects and improving interconnectivity between developments.

Open space changes will require 35% open space in growth areas and 50% in rural areas. This will reduce density in rural areas while increasing it in growth areas. Naturally designed and planted stormwater retention ponds would be included in open space calculations. The open space design standards that had been required for cluster subdivisions will be extended to all subdivisions.

“This ordinance will result in an overall improvement of the design of subdivisions and the open space areas located within them,” according to the recommendation.

The P&Z Commission held public hearings on the four proposed ordinances during its April 1 meeting.

The Sussex Preservation Coalition recommended changes to the proposals, particularly the subdivision rules, to ensure roads, schools and emergency services were adequate or could be upgraded to accommodate a development project.

Jon Horner, a representative of the Home Builders Association of Delaware, warned that those recommendations could thwart housing construction in the county at a time when homes are desperately needed.