Sussex County News

Bethany Beach officials are one step closer to officially endorsing a plan to make over their downtown area, with discussion and possibly a vote now on the agenda for their March 20 meeting on whether to pay costs associated with removing utility service from poles along Garfield Parkway to buried lines leading to the neighboring alleyway.

Sussex County Councilman Vance Phillips (R-4th) introduced a long-awaited ordinance Tuesday that would allow county officials to trade density requirements in multi-family development plans on agricultural and sensitive county land for money.

Despite no actual plans yet to employ the power, Sussex County Council members on Jan. 8 voted 3-2 to ask the state’s General Assembly to pass legislation that would enable the county to create special development districts (SDDs) to help pay for infrastructure associated with development.

The Sussex County Council on Tuesday reversed its previous position of opposition to House Bill 42, which was passed in the state’s House of Representatives last year but is still pending in the state Senate.
The bill would increase the number of members on the Sussex County Council from five to seven, with the two new members being at-large representatives.

During a review of pending legislation from the 2007 General Assembly session, Sussex County Council members on Tuesday continued their unanimous opposition to House Bill 111, which county officials said they’d been opposing “strongly and effectively” to date.

Democrat Finley Jones of Sussex County’s second district took over the reins as president of the county council on Tuesday, Jan. 8, succeeding outgoing Council President Dale Dukes (D-1st) with the first vote of the council in 2008.
The change was greeted with mirth by Councilman George Cole, (R-4th), who routinely finds himself at odds with his peers on the five-man council.

Sussex County officials presented an interim financial report on the county’s 2008 fiscal-year budget at the county council’s Dec. 4 meeting, noting concerns over drops in development-related revenues and expectations of a $2.7 million operating budget deficit at the end of the fiscal year.

The Sussex County Council is considering asking for state legislation that would clarify the county’s ability to establish overlay zones.

The Sussex County Council moved forward on two pieces of proposed legislation this week, at their Tuesday, Sept. 25, meeting. Council President Dale Dukes introduced final drafts of the county’s new proposed lot maintenance ordinance and on a new “clean hands” policy requiring those applying for county permits to first pay up on amounts owed to the county.

Sussex County Councilman George Cole (R-4th) wants to protect the views of major subdivisions neighboring lands developed across the county in the future.

The Sussex County Council discussed two proposed ordinances at their Sept. 18 meeting, dealing with the maintenance of lots by property owners and with the county’s ability to refuse to issue building permits until applicants have paid up on monies due to the county.

County Administrator Dave Baker brought to the Sussex County Council’s attention at their Aug. 21 meeting the Delaware Department of Transportation’s five-year capital improvement transportation plan and a planned Sept. 6 meeting regarding the final draft of that plan. The meeting, which is open to the public, is set for 6 to 9 p.m.

Sussex County Councilmen wrangled on Tuesday with a proposed ordinance change that would define the 30-foot forested buffer the council requires of developments adjacent to existing agricultural lands.

Moves made in Georgetown this week disregarded the recommendation of a Sussex County land-use consultant being paid $225,000 to help shape development policy.

Sussex County Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance that tacks a fee onto marriage ceremonies through the county’s Clerk of the Peace office. George Parish, the county’s eccentric Clerk of the Peace, who performs the ceremonies and reportedly denies all gratuity offers, said the new ordinance will charge for a popular service and save taxpayers’ money.

Despite a change one county official said could make the ordinance “unworkable,” Sussex County’s planning and zoning commissioners on Wednesday recommended approval of an ordinance that would allow county officials to trade density restrictions in certain residential developments for cash.

Later this month, developers of The Estuary, a 1,052-home community tucked beside the Assawoman Wildlife Refuge, will ask Sussex County Council to create a special tax district to finance infrastructure costs.

State legislators approved a sweeping revenue package with the 2008 fiscal year budget this weekend, raising $572 million over the next six years to help cover a $1.5 billion shortfall in the capital transportation program and, perhaps, saving some roadway projects that were left in jeopardy.

Low-income homeowners outside Selbyville and in Ocean View will receive funding through the federal government’s community development block grant program this year to fix up their homes or connect to central water service, according to county officials.

Delaware House of Representatives on June 21 passed House Bill 211, making an amendment to the charter of the Town of Millville, to allow the town council to create special tax districts.

State legislation up for approval this week would allow state transportation officials to begin work on the much-anticipated Indian River Inlet Bridge project that was delayed again in late April.

Delaware roadway congestion will worsen and the condition of the state’s roads and bridges will deteriorate if state legislators don’t find a way to fund needed projects, two independent organizations reported this week.

Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commissioners on Wednesday denied approval of an updated plan for the expansion of 84 Lumber at their location off Route 26.

University of Delaware officials will be holding a workshop on Thursday, June 28, to discuss Sussex County growth and its impacts.

Sussex County Council unanimously approved their $142 million 2008-fiscal-year budget Tuesday, with one amendment to help aging county senior centers.