Lewes’s Planning Commission is calling on City Council to put a pause on some new development in the city.
The recommendation comes in response to SB 23, a new law intended to spur the creation of more affordable housing. The law has sparked frustration from other local governments around the state, including Sussex County, which expressed its frustration with the measure last month.
The moratorium proposed by Lewes’s Planning Commission would be relatively narrow in scope, applying only to residential developments with more than five units. If passed by commissioners, it would last until the city’s new comprehensive plan is approved by the state or December 31, 2027, whichever is earliest.
Updating the comprehensive plan is crucial, because the new law does away with both the public hearing process and the ability of planning commissions to add conditions to new developments, according to Chair Rich Innes.
“Because our 2015 comprehensive plan lacks the highly detailed objective housing metrics to handle high density or multifamily structures, we're vulnerable,” he said.
Planning Commission Vice-Chair Kevin Keane said that with the new comprehensive plan as the only tool the city has to control developments that meet the city’s zoning code, getting input for the plan as it is being developed is more important than ever.
“The most important thing now is to get the information from the people and the public, get it into a comprehensive plan so that any application that comes before us from that point forward is then based on that public input,” he said.
Commission member Alan Roth had harsh criticism for state lawmakers who supported the measure.
“This is not a feasible way to go about doing what you're doing or trying to do,” he said, “It certainly isn't feasible without your coughing up a whole lot of money to make it happen, and you have got to amend this law.”
Planning commission members unanimously supported a resolution calling on city council to pass the moratorium. Council members could take up the proposal in the coming weeks.
