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Hyland, Phillips, debaing development in fifth district
By Jonathan Starkey
Staff Reporter
Retired teacher and current Laurel School Board member Harvey Hyland Jr., who filed to challenge incumbent County Councilman Vance Phillips (R – 5th) in the Nov. 7 election, is running on a platform familiar to anyone who has followed Phillips or Sussex County issues in recent years: Development.
“We’re developing faster than we can keep up with infrastructure,” Hyland said in an interview this week. “We’re over-developing. I’d like to see infrastructure set up before development takes place.”
Hyland said his decision to run came after suggestions from community members and his own concerns about sprawl downstate.
“A lot of people came to me and said they were unhappy with development,” said Hyland, who served four years in the Air Force. “They thought we needed change and I sort of agreed with them.”
Hyland said he supports the implementation of impact fees to assist schools and fire departments, and a better partnership between the county and the state to help with road improvements.
Hyland did not have any specific suggestions on how to improve the stressed relationship — or even how DelDOT would pay for more projects even if the relationship improved — but said building a better relationship between the two governments is essential to building much-needed infrastructure downstate.
Interestingly — and perhaps quite predictably — Philllips, a property-rights advocate who is seeking re-election to his fifth term this November, is also stressing development reform.
Phillips, who introduced the density-trade ordinance that was passed this year but has only has limited application, said more developers should be paying to exceed density requirements, instead of just bartering their way into excessive building. That money, the eighth-year county councilman said, could be used to buy more property downstate for preservation, conservation and recreation purposes.
Work on the county’s next land-use plan is set to begin next year and is a perfect opportunity for the county to implement new, fresher ways to deal with the development problem, Phillips said.
“The land use is certainly of primary importance to me. We’ve got to protect the individual while respecting the community,” Phillips said. “We’ve got to look for creative ways to respect our quality of life. I believe the county should be charging developers when there is a request for increased density.”
Hyland, who will certainly be arguing with familiar sentiment this fall, has spent four years as a member of Laurel’s school board.
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