Council members have spent the latter part of this year discussing some of the largest development applications this particular council has ever seen, and most faced public backlash, chiefly due to traffic concerns on already-struggling roadways.
Council has also complained that the state strategies map shows areas in Sussex as level one development, but those areas aren’t receiving “level 1” infrastructure attention
District 2 Councilman Steve McCarron questioned DelDOT officials this week.
“What are the other contributions, other than roads, that you would improve upon? I can’t think of any one instance that you would make an investment, other than the roads.” he said.
DelDOT secretary Shante Hastings says the state strategies map is not the only factor in their decision making.
“We have to repave all roads. Doesn’t matter if you’re in a level one or level four. I have to do all bridges, doesn’t matter where it is. I have to do safety, doesn’t matter where it is” she said.
Council wants to rely on the State Strategies Map to guide their “growth area” designations, but some members expressed concerns with the lack of “future focusing” the State’s map provides.
This week's meeting with the state brought similar concerns.
Council Vice President John Rieley told state officials he’s often “at a loss” when trying to use the map to make decisions.
“Just with the recent application with Atlantic Fields, we have a proposal that’s at a level one, and yet we have our state representative from that district coming and opposing the application. So, it’s very difficult as a decision make to know what the right thing is to do.” he said.
Sussex council is pushing for the revision of the comprehensive plan following the finalization of 19 recommendations from the county organized Land Use Reform Working group.
Council and the group met in a workshop style meeting earlier this year; it was discussed that some of those recommendations were intended to be implemented during the county's comprehensive plan revision process.
Working group members have also stressed to county officials that it's important council considers the package as a whole, adding that adopting a "piece-meal" approach to the recommendations may severely affect their efficacy.
County officials also expressed confusion over what contributes to an area being designated as a level 1 development area, the highest, and a level 4 development area, the lowest, on the state strategies map.
Sussex County announced earlier this year it will begin work updating its Comprehensive Plan immediately- nearly a full year earlier than County Council originally planned the process to begin.
