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Sussex County launches land-use reform working group after residents press council on development
Summary
Council scheduled a land use reform working group kickoff for March 27 after public commenters criticized past zoning decisions and urged greater council involvement in planning and zoning reviews.
Sussex County Council announced the first meeting of a land use reform working group and heard public comments pressing the council to move quickly on zoning and planning reforms.
County Administrator Mr. Lawson told the council the working group will meet starting Thursday, March 27, at 10 a.m. at the county’s public safety complex as “the kickoff meeting to a series of planned workshops with selected stakeholders from a variety of disciplines.”
The announcement came during the public-comment portion of the March 25 meeting, where resident Alan Roth accused the council of creating the development pressures it later criticizes and said he is studying statutes and case law to follow upcoming zoning applications. “So much of that development pressure was blessed right here in this building, either by this council or by the planning and zoning commission,” Roth said, and added that he would follow upcoming applications closely.
Another attendee, Susan Petsey Rosenblum of Lewes, praised recent council activity and urged more council involvement in planning-and-zoning decisions. “I just want to thank council and county staff for all the work they’ve done since the start of this year to respond to the concerns of their constituents,” she said, and suggested a council member attend Planning & Zoning meetings and review state-plus reports before a final decision on applications.
Why it matters: The working group is intended to review land-use trends and make recommendations to the council. Public commenters urged faster, more substantive changes to zoning and to greater council oversight of planning-and-zoning approvals — requests that could influence forthcoming ordinance proposals and project reviews.
What happened next: The county administrator provided the working-group meeting date and a link to information on the county website; no formal vote was required for that announcement. Council members did not adopt any zoning ordinance at this meeting under that agenda item, but multiple zoning ordinances and conditional uses were later introduced or decided elsewhere on the same agenda.
What to watch: The working group is scheduled to meet beginning March 27 with additional workshops through July; the council will receive the working group’s recommendations for potential ordinance or procedural changes.
