Georgetown Town Council is considering an ordinance that would authorize a new residential single-family leasing community.
The new development is in line with at least six goals in the town’s 2021 comprehensive plan, including providing a range of housing types, prices and densities, promoting affordable housing, and directing housing developments towards areas of town that public water and wastewater can efficiently serve.
The development would sit on 20 acres, with around six units per acre, for a total of about 120 homes.
Executive Director of the Springboard Collective Judson Malone says there are concerns about the decline in home-ownership in Georgetown, but he believes that is a separate issue that requires its own solutions.
“But we shouldn’t ignore the fact that these major employers are desperate for workers, and they cannot recruit them if there is no place for them to live," Malone says. "And the other thing is housing choice. Bringing more families into Georgetown is highly desirable, but for them to come and live in apartments is not always their first choice.”
Resident and Planning Commission member, Linda Dennis supports the ordinance, but raised concerns over the density of the development and its impact on first responder services. She suggests assessing an impact fee for developers.
“And if there is more to come, I think we need to think of what options there are to have developers pay their fair share towards increased police and fire protection,” Dennis says.
Organizations like Beebe Healthcare, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, and the Sussex Economic Development Action Committee submitted letters to council supporting the ordinance.
The ordinance was approved and recommended to council by the Georgetown Planning Commission on March 15.
The first reading of the ordinance is on April 24, and the second reading and vote is slated for May 8.
