A University of Delaware Institute for Public Administration researcher told Sussex County Council members on July 29 that the General Assembly passed SB237 last year to require new comprehensive plan content addressing climate change and community resiliency, and that local governments should give feedback before state agencies issue implementing guidance.

Philip Barnes described SB237 as amending the code to require that a future land use plan "must reflect strategies which consider community resiliency and reduce the vulnerability of property, agriculture, infrastructure, etcetera, etcetera, to the impacts of climate change." He told the council the bill takes effect in November 2026 and that state guidance from the Office of State Planning Coordination (OSPC) and DNREC remains to be developed.

Barnes said he is collecting anonymous comments from counties and municipalities and presenting them to state officials as they write guidance. Several council members asked whether maps and models—such as FEMA flood maps or sea‑level rise scenarios—would be specified and who would produce them. Barnes and Planning Director Jamie Whitehouse said the maps exist but that the CAP (Delaware Climate Action Plan) update and OSPC guidance will clarify which models and scenarios counties should use.

Whitehouse told council members the resiliency chapter will touch on transportation, flooding and mitigation and that DNREC is expected to include multiple sea‑level‑rise scenarios in its updated CAP. Some council members said they had only recently seen the legislation and want more time and clarity before the county’s comprehensive plan update.

Why it matters: The law will require that counties and municipalities incorporate climate resiliency into land use planning. County officials said they want clearer state guidance about maps, models and implementation before beginning work on the comp plan update.