When a councilman takes donations from developers, it's game over! Specifically, Councilman Mark Schaeffer is being backed by Preserve Sussex, a PAC with donations from several developers. Search preservesussex.com and Schaeffer’s campaign website pops up. On his campaign website, Schaeffer makes several claims that he voted no or stopped construction of several projects. In one project in particular, Round Pole Bridge Road in Milton, he claims to have voted no. Really? There were two developments on Round Pole Bridge Road during Schaeffer’s three-and-a-half years. Lockhaven, by Don Lockwood, and Twin Masts, by Stonemark Ventures (who donated to Preserve Sussex). With Twin Masts, planning & zoning approved this development with conditions. Schaeffer never voted on this development because it never went to county council. In the other development, Lockhaven, P&Z denied it after many residents raised concerns. It went to county council for appeal. Schaeffer had to recuse himself from voting on this because he and Don Lockwood have had a long-standing feud over a business deal gone bad and sued one another. All of this can be confirmed through county records. This campaign statement is misleading.
Another misleading claim is that he preserved much land in three-and-a-half years. In reality, Schaeffer inherited his board seat on Sussex County Land Trust after he defeated I.G. Burton by only a handful of votes. Scores of residents spoke at dozens of meetings and urged county council to protect mature-growth forest and farmland via the Sussex County Land Trust. Council decisions are voted on as a whole five-member group; Schaeffer makes you think he did all this single-handedly.
In a radio interview, when asked what the county council voting process is, he danced around the answer, focusing instead on the hundreds of acres he preserved. The answer is as follows: Applications for developments do not go to county council unless there is a zone change or an appeal; council never sees most applications for most developments. The two departments are completely separate.
However, the real kicker on Schaeffer's site is he claims have facilitated the stopping of the Angola Royal Farms. Wait, what? Dick Ennis withdrew his application after hundreds of residents spoke against it with concerns of a gas station so close to a wellhead where drinking water is supplied, or so we thought! We now come to find out that Schaeffer boasts that he had conversations with Ennis, the parcel owner, and the Royal Farms attorney – backroom discussions to influence Ennis to withdraw his application. These meetings are against county code; any current application must be discussed in a public forum.
In the same radio station interview, Schaeffer states the ROFO may come back in five to 10 years when Route 24 is upgraded. Wait, what? Does he know something we don’t know?
Vote for Jane Gruenbaum for District 3. I also also request that Mark Schaeffer be barred from voting on any development that comes to county council for a vote from a developer that has submitted money to Preserve Sussex.
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