Sussex County Council: Workshop Discussion Related to County Code Updates focused on Land Use Reforms
The Sussex County Council at a workshop this week at the County Public Safety Complex are discussing County Code updates focused on land use reforms.
County Administrator Todd Lawson said they weren’t taking votes at this meeting, with this being a workshop, but they were looking for “thumbs up” for aspects of the County Code update that are supported and “thumbs down” if concerns need to be addressed.
From Sussexcountyde.gov and among topics discussed today and some backgrund are as follows: In 2025, the Land Use Reform Working Group was established by the County Council to review land use trends in Sussex County and to provide recommendations to the Council for possible changes in the County Code and Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The purpose of the recommendations is as follows (from the presentation given on October 14th, 2025:
- Implement smarter, sustainable development
- Ensure growth is supported by infrastructure
- Address affordable/workforce housing needs
- Preserve farmland and natural resources
- Prevent low-density, uncoordinated sprawl
(Further details can be found at https://sussexcountyde.gov/land-use-reform-working-group
At Tuesday’s Workshop meeting of the Sussex County Council, County Administrator Todd Lawson summarized what they talked about — including discussing the County Code update on Land Use and what will be the next steps going forward:
He adds that for example, the Forest Preservation ordinance should be separate from open space, as not all may agree on open space. He says going forward, they will continue to evaluate the recommendations and listen to more feedback. Lawson said the priority is to address the ordinances that they think they have support and not much work to get approved. Almost all of the recommendations will require two public hearings–Planning & Zoning first and then County Council.
One of the major topics of discussion tied to the recommendations was open space. County Administrator Todd Lawson said balancing the preservation of open space with the benefits of higher-density development will require close consideration.
He added that for subdivisions and density, the goal is to push development into the areas the county wants to see growth and away from areas it does not, with sewer availability playing a major role in the discussion.
When it comes to cluster subdivisions, he said they will still be permitted, but they want to see them in the growth areas. Also, they will be expected to have the new updates related to standard subdivisions…
He adds that the takeaway in all of this is that all subdivisions should have the same standards–not separate standards for a standard subdivision and cluster subdivision. Therefore the standards for all subdivisions would be the same. As a staff, they can then review everything in unified form regarding those standards and then look for the updated elements in the code. Lawson said the hope is cluster subdivisions will be built in growth areas. not all growth areas will see cluster subdivsions, as he says you have to have sewer service available…