Sussex County passes its first ever ordinance requiring developers engage in forest preservation efforts.
The new ordinance broadly requires housing developers to follow certain rules to preserve forests on parcels they build on, preserving between 30% to 50% depending on the area it's constructed in.
The new rules also require buffers between housing developments and protected forests, the planting of new trees as part of development projects.
The ordinance is based on one of the Sussex County’s Land Use Reform Working Group’s recommendations. Sussex Preservation Coalition co-founder Jill Hicks was a member of that working group.
“This has been a very long time coming. It’s not perfect, but it’s a good ordinance- it’s a great start and I’m happy we got it done.” she told DPM.
One proposed amendment to the measure - a “pay-in-lieu” option for developers who qualified for hardship - was dropped from consideration.
Councilman Matt Lloyd proposed that amendment.
“I saw it as a chance to stick it to developers and collect money, which is what I’ve heard the public screaming for a long time and it didn’t pass. [But] again, this is the opinion of the whole, and it didn’t pass. And frankly, that’s fine." he said.
Lloyd previously proposed the money collected from such a fee be used to fund something like the Sussex Land Trust. He also supported making the fee "an amount that hurts"- initially proposing $25,000.
Against that proposal was Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum- who said she is pleased with how the final measure turned out.
“There were things in it that I would have done differently, for sure. But, it’s important to get an ordinance on the books, for the first
time ever that protects forests in Sussex County. That was a big, big step forward." she told DPM.
The ordinance is based on one of the recommendations delivered by the County’s Land Use Reform Working Group last year, but discussion about forest preservation in Sussex have been going on for nearly six years, according to Councilman John Rieley.
One aspect that was debated until the final vote was when the ordinance should go into effect. As written, the new rules would begin six months after the ordinances passing, but some wanted it to go into effect immediately.
Ultimately, the Council decided on a three-month period from signing to effective date: The measure, which Council passed unanimously, will now become law on December 1st.
