Sussex set to begin land-use plan update

June 2018 may seem a long way off. But two years is only a blip on the schedule for officials writing a comprehensive land-use plan.

Sussex County Council and Planning and Zoning Commission members had a workshop March 1 with land-use consultants McCormick Taylor to kick-start the process.

Under state law, county and municipal officials must write a new plan, adopt it, obtain approval from state planners and officials and get it signed by the governor.

Planning and Zoning Manager Janelle Cornwell will be the county's point of contact during the plan-writing process.

She said over the next 28 months county staff and consultants will conduct research, gather data, seek input from residents, groups, staff and elected officials and hold a series of public meetings. The plan – which by state law must be updated every 10 years – is made up of chapters or elements covering economic development, open space, historic preservation, housing and transportation mobility. It will also include updated zoning maps.

“This is a guide for the future development of the county,” Cornwell said.

Ordinances have key role in plan

A key component of the plan will be ordinances that reflect updates and possible changes in county code.

Councilman George Cole, R-Ocean View, the only council member who has participated in the process, said he hoped ordinances accompanying the 2018 plan would be implemented. Cole said the majority of proposed ordinances in the 2008 updated plan were never acted on.

Cornwell said ordinances included with the new plan would be drafted by staff and consultants with input from the public as well as elected and appointed officials and then acted on according to an agreed-upon timetable.

“This time we should get it right to put us in compliance with the plan,” Cole said.

Assistant County Attorney Vince Robertson said once adopted, the plan is a legal document that has the force of law.

Councilman Rob Arlett, R-Frankford, wanted to know how council members would be informed about the progress of the plan and how elected officials would provide input.

“You will see it multiple times through the process,” Robertson said.

Cornwell said council members would at first receive quarterly updates and later on would get monthly updates. “There is no way you will be blindsided,” she said. Council's comments and suggestions would be welcome at any time, she said.

Plans are in the works to establish a link on the county's website to submit ideas for the plan, Cornwell said.

New plan should include residents' ideas

“Planning is finding out what people want and then to help them get there,” said planner Bert Cossaboon with McCormick Taylor. “This will be a visionary document.”

He added it's understood there will be a broad range of interests and issues.

The process will take place in four phases over the next 22 months to allow additional time if needed. Cossaboon said one of the first tasks will be to document changes that have occurred since the last plan.

Cornwell said the first round of public input sessions for the 2018 plan could begin in late spring or early summer, after the consultant has reviewed the current plan and various data, with a first draft of the update expected as early as mid-2017.

Cossaboon said the plan has to be a reflection of community input so residents can recognize that they were heard.

He said his company's job is to bring professional planning to assist the county to look at alternatives and present officials with a menu of choices.

Cole said because the county is so diverse, input from residents will be like a pinball machine. “It will be all over the place,” he said. “You will not get a common theme around the table.”

Cole said one of the most divisive issues will be discussions balancing the county's top two industries – tourism and agriculture.

“That's a good example of the dialogue we are going to have,” Cossaboon said.

“This will be a very long, but important, process for all of us to determine where we see our community today and years from now,” said County Administrator Todd Lawson. “The county will be actively seeking input from a multitude of stakeholders, though public meetings, focus groups and workshops, to develop a plan that will be a blueprint for this county’s future.”