Preservation coalition outlines agenda for livable communities

The Sussex Preservation Coalition recently announced a framework for addressing the threats to Sussex County’s quality of life brought on by rapid population growth and development. The document can also serve as a guide for voters seeking candidates’ positions on critical growth issues.

SPC’s newly adopted agenda for livable communities identifies the qualities, policies and practices needed to create thriving communities that preserve the natural world while creating safe, respectful and healthy living conditions for all residents.

Sussex County’s population has grown 60% since 2000, resulting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, crowded classrooms, long waits for medical appointments, loss of woodlands and wetlands, and other adverse effects on the environment.

Key qualities of livable communities include: conservation of open spaces and forested lands; protection of bays, streams, ponds and rivers; and sufficient infrastructure – roads, bridges, health systems, schools, emergency services – to provide for the well-being of a growing population.

SPC also recommends actions necessary to implement and advance the agenda: maintaining a strong working relationship between state and county governments; protecting and expanding public engagement; creating and implementing a county-wide conservation plan; balancing personal and community rights; and ensuring infrastructure improvements precede or keep pace with population growth.

SPC representatives will soon ask every candidate running for office with a role to play in its enactment to endorse this agenda and its implementation. SPC will post the candidates’ responses on its website for public review. After the election, the agenda can provide a framework for advocacy by Sussex County residents.

The agenda for livable communities is a living document that will be periodically reviewed and updated. Residents who wish to add thoughts or help work on the agenda may contact SPC at spcde.org@gmail.com.

To review the detailed agenda along with candidate responses as they are received, go to sussexpreservationcoaltion.org.