The following letter is in response to comments made by Sussex County Councilman John Rieley about a proposed building moratorium.
A proposed building moratorium is only good if it addresses the issues of overbuilding in a way that it affects the many proposed developments that are creating more negative impacts. The many developments that are approved and in the pipeline will continue to provide construction jobs for a minimum of two years.
I purchased a new condominium in a newly constructed building of 36 units. After we all were moved in and settled by January 2024, we found issues with plumbing, electrical, drywall and flooring. The developer had rushed construction in order to sell units and get the building sold out. We became the victims of sloppy construction work. It took many months to get the developer to honor the warranty and get corrections made. It left us with frustrating headaches. I learned that many of my friends who purchased homes in other new developments have experienced the same rush jobs and sloppy work. Slowing down the entry of new developments might be a solution to this problem.
It is disappointing to learn that you do not believe that the county legal staff should be working on an ordinance that is going to be bearing no fruit. Please know, the residents of Sussex County complain bitterly to one another about increased traffic that clogs main corridors like Routes 54, 26, 24, 9, 20 in the county; and about the lack of doctors, as many medical practices are serving 2,000-plus patients creating long wait times for appointments. Unchecked growth is causing an impact on schools and EMS and fire companies. This silent majority of your constituents neglect complaining to you, but choose to be angry and complain among themselves because they do not know who can help alleviate this county problem.
For the past four years, I felt you were listening to your constituents, but now when a very major problem looms before council, you seem to think ignoring the problem will make it go away.
Please, listen to voices in the county and allow the council to request that legal staff work on policies, procedures or whatever it takes to slow the development growth going forward.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to viewpoints@capegazette.com. All letters are considered at the discretion of the newsroom and published as space allows. Due to the large volume of submissions, we cannot acknowledge receipt of each submission. Letters must include a phone number and address for verification. Keep letters to 400 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content or length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Letters should focus on local issues, not national topics or personalities. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days regarding a particular topic. Authors may submit a second letter within that time period if it pertains to a different issue. Letters may not be critical of personalities or specific businesses. Criticism of public figures is permissible. Endorsement letters for political candidates are no longer accepted. Letters must be the author’s original work, and may not be generated by artificial intelligence tools. Templates, form letters and letters containing language similar to other submissions will not be published.
