Sussex County's Comprehensive Land Use Plan update inched closer to reality on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2002, with the completion of the final public hearing on the plan.

Testimony included a last-ditch effort by coastal mayors to solidify protections for the Inland Bays.

Fenwick Island Town Council vice president Harry Haon, representing the Association of Coastal Towns, called the proposed plan "a step in the right direction in some instances," such as the inclusion in the plan of a 7,500-square-foot minimum lot size in the area surrounding the coastal bays.

However, Haon called other references to the Environmentally Sensitive Developing Area "vague and unclear."

He urged the council to consider several modifications to the proposed plan. They are:

• Changing density guidelines in the Environmentally Sensitive Developing District to permit no more than two dwelling units per acre where there is central wastewater. The proposed plan calls for residential density to depend on the "underlying zoning district."
  
  
• Requiring "unique circumstances" including additional environmental safeguards, approved by the state, beyond those required at the base density and traffic studies confirming that existing roads can handle the added traffic. The existing language calls for only "proper environmental safeguards" to be in place before land is upzoned.
  
  
• Requiring a 100-foot buffer zone around tidal wetlands and a 25-foot buffer around non-tidal wetlands. The proposed plan calls for a 50-foot buffer around tidal wetlands and "evaluating the necessity" to create a 25-foot buffer around non-tidal wetlands.
  
  
• Changing the definition of open space, which under the proposed plan can include non-tidal wetlands if "sufficient recreational and buffer areas are provided." ACT recommends allowing only the buffer zones to be counted as open space, not the wetlands they protect.

Haon urged the council to be as specific as possible in the land use plan itself. "It should be the guideline for writing the ordinance, not the other way around," Haon said.

Citizens Coalition director Mable Granke of Rehoboth Beach agreed, saying "if the words aren't in the plan, we haven't got anything." Granke acknowleged that the issues surrounding the land use plan had caused a "very real tension" among council members and between some segments of the county population.

Council member Vance Phillips said the approval process has been complicated by the lack of agreement among the council members on some of the issues. "On some things there's a consensus, but on some things we just don't have a consensus," Phillips said.

Attorney Jim Fuqua, who often represents developers before the council and the Planning and Zoning Commission, said he objects to the "creeping semantics" in which many county groups -- including the Association of Coastal Towns -- have refused to use the term "Environmentally Sensitive Developing Area" -- choosing to delete the word "developing" in their presentations.

Some have verbalized their feelings that "environmentally sensitive" and "developing are, or should be, mutually exclusive.

Several at the hearing -- including council member George Cole of Cedar Neck and audience members -- voiced the opinion that the proposed land use plan does not do enough to preserve agriculture.

When council member Vance Phillips chimed in that restricting uses on agricultural land denies the rights of the farm owners, Cole retorted, "Would you please move somewhere that has these kinds of density if you like it so much."

The council is scheduled to vote on the proposed land use plan update during its Tuesday, Dec. 10 meeting. The council is required by the state to approve the update by Dec. 31. The county then has 18 months after the approval to put ordinances into place that support it.

Save $$$ on Easy Internet Access Sussex County Online's Internet access service will save you $50 to $75 over AOL or MSN accounts but still give you all of the services of the national services: Automatic Configuration and Signup CD Multiple email accounts Web-based email Nationwide access Online support Personal web space All from a locally owned and operated company. For details, visit our web site or call us at 537-4198.

Home Page

Internet Access

Email Updates

Classifieds

Sussex Search

Sussex Shop

Beach Guide

Businesses

Computer Guide

Dining Guide

Events

Forums

Golf Guide

Government

Local News

Lodging Guide

Organizations

Real Estate

Schools

Sports

Sussex Towns

Sussex Weather

Advertising

E-Mail

Sussex Beach Guide From Beach-Net! Activities Bethany Cam Dining Events Fishing Lodging Maps Real Estate Rehoboth Cam Shopping Surfing * Beach-Net! is a service of Coastal Images Inc., Fenwick Island, Delaware.