Sussex County holds housing workshop as state, builders and nonprofit outline supply, zoning and transit hurdles

Sussex County officials, state housing agency staff and housing advocates convened a workshop Feb. 11 to review long-term shortages of affordable and workforce housing, county-level income and rent data and possible zoning, fee and transportation reforms to encourage more diverse housing production.

The discussion opened with Caitlin Delcalo, chief strategy adviser at the Delaware State Housing Authority, who framed affordability in federal terms and said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines housing as affordable when a household pays no more than 30% of gross monthly income on housing costs. “HUD considers housing to be affordable if the household is paying no more than 30% of its gross monthly budget on housing costs,” Delcalo told council members and attendees.

Why it matters: presenters said Sussex County faces a two‑sided problem — a market that has produced mostly single‑family detached houses, and a shortage of rental and ownership options affordable to households below median incomes. Combined with limited by‑right density, local permitting steps and transportation constraints, speakers said those factors are inflating prices, squeezing lower‑income renters and reducing the practical reach of federal vouchers.

Most important findings

- Area median income and affordability: Delcalo used the county’s 2023 AMI (area median income) for a two‑person household — $71,200 — to illustrate affordability bands. She noted that a household at 50% AMI in Sussex would have income of about $35,600 and that a household at 100% AMI would see a 30% affordability threshold near $1,780 per month for housing costs.

- Rental market gaps: DSHA’s statewide housing needs assessment, Delcalo said, shows large shortages of rental units for the lowest income bands. Western Sussex has roughly 1,900 renters at 0–30% AMI but far fewer units priced at that level, producing a shortage of about 971 units; East Sussex showed an almost 1,200‑unit…