In a matter of eight years, I have watched Millsboro be developed and farmland be swallowed up by new housing with seemingly no end in sight. It was gradual at first, but now it seems to be progressing at breakneck speed, and I know that this much development cannot be healthy. It is a detriment to the locals, and there is not enough infrastructure in place to keep everyone happy and safe.
At the current rate of development Millsboro is experiencing, the level of infrastructure is being overwhelmed by the rising levels of congested traffic. Most of these new neighborhoods are pressing right up against the main roads that everyone in Millsboro has to use, and with the new influx of motorists, the roads are being strained beyond their capacity, causing deterioration of the roads. Gov. Carney’s solution is a new $140 million bypass to dilute traffic. However, the roads of this proposed bypass will cut through two more fields and will run behind a small community of homes near Betts Pond. My family and I know another family that lives on that road, and its patriarch, David Mancuso, told me this: “I don't want to pay high taxes that will put a highway in my backyard.” I live near the other side of where this bypass will be, and that field is already being half taken up by a new section of Plantation Lakes.
Even with all of this new housing, many people cannot afford to live in them, nor are there any affordable apartments being built. Currently, the median listing price per square foot is around $226, meaning that even small homes (around 1,800 square feet with minimal property) can run for around $319,000 to $475,000. Developers are more interested in building homes due to the profits they can bring in rather than spend money to build apartments. As of right now, the median price for an apartment is about $1,550 per month. None of this accounts for average living costs; these are the baseline price for rent, and for many people, especially younger ones, it can be nearly impossible to meet that baseline. One of my friends found herself in this position. She was lucky, but many people on low incomes are similarly struggling. One would think the increase in development of Millsboro would make housing more affordable, but instead it is forcing many people to remain living with their parents or out of their hometown.
Many citizens of Millsboro, including myself, feel as though developers are building without planning and are pushing out longtime residents. Yes, these new citizens are bringing in more tax money, but most of that is going back into fixing roads that are being overworked by the influx of all these new citizens, rendering them worthless. I believe that Kimberly Pettyjohn said it best when addressing the Millsboro council: “This town has turned into a city. The people who have lived here, who want to raise their children here, are being pushed out.”
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