GEORGETOWN, Del. — Sussex County’s Land Use Working Group is laying the foundation for sweeping recommendations aimed at guiding the region through rapid growth while preserving its rural character, expanding housing access, and improving infrastructure planning.
The 10-member group, created at the behest of Sussex County Council, met Thursday for its second session, where engineers, planners, housing experts, and community voices tackled the tension between growth and infrastructure, zoning uncertainty, and the need for better long-term planning.
Andrew Bing, who is facilitating the working group on behalf of the county and consulting firm McCormick Taylor, said the group is just getting started, but is focused on delivering real solutions.
“We have just started our process. We're in the early going, so we're really trying to build some foundational things right now, trying to understand the needs and the issues of the area,” Bing said. “Some of them are obvious, some maybe not so obvious. We're trying to learn from each other.”
Smart Growth Begins With Listening
While many participants expressed a sense of urgency about Sussex County’s growing pains, Bing emphasized the importance of thoughtful dialogue and listening across perspectives.
“These are not easy issues,” Bing said. “Speaking is the easy part. Listening sometimes can be the harder part. And I think it's important for each of us to listen to each other and understand the different perspectives, the different backgrounds, the different concerns that people have.”
Growth vs. Infrastructure
One of the strongest themes of the session was the fear of uncoordinated development speeding ahead of other components such as roads and schools.
David Edgell, with the Office of State Planning Coordination, said agencies can coordinate more effectively when land use planning is clear and predictable.
Zoning Predictability and Housing Affordability
The group also highlighted concerns over zoning that is too discretionary, making it difficult to finance and progress quality housing projects. Participants said Sussex County needs clearer rules and more defined housing categories to enable growth where it’s most needed.
Caitilin Del Collo with the Delaware State Housing Authority pointed out that all non-single-family homes are currently lumped together zoning-wise.
“Just having a separate definition for duplexes versus townhomes would go a long way to getting that predictability with developers,” she said, adding that it could unlock more affordable housing development without needing subsidies.
Preserving Farmland — and the Farmers
Jay Baxter expressed concern that open space preservation is being prioritized without necessarily protecting active farmland or the people who farm it.
He added that rising land prices and development pressure are pushing out local agriculture. The group expressed interest in bringing this topic up in a separate, longer discussion.
Tying It All Together: Five Goals
Bing noted that the working group is focused on achieving five specific goals laid out by Sussex County Council:
Implement smarter, sustainable development
Ensure growth is supported by infrastructure
Create an inventory of affordable and workforce housing
Preserve farmland and critical natural resources
Prevent low-density development in unincorporated areas
And while the working group will only provide recommendations, Bing said their work is intended to have weight.
“Ultimately the county council will need to act on that. However, the council put this group together for a reason, and they asked this group for recommendations, so I think they're going to take these recommendations seriously.”
The group also heard a presentation on the subdivision and conditional use application process.
The group’s next steps will involve refining its ideas into actionable proposals. The next working group meeting is set for May 1st.