Sussex County Comprehensive Plan

In 2007, Sussex County embarked on the task of updating its comprehensive plan, a document that will serve as the standard for how development will proceed and how land use will be governed over the course of the next five years.

Such a plan is used by local governments to establish land-use policies and identify growth areas, while giving consideration to various other community concerns, such as affordable housing availability, agriculture preservation, open space protection, economic development and transportation mobility. In short, it is a document that embodies a community’s image of itself, and what that image should be in the future.

Delaware law mandates that all counties and municipalities have a comprehensive plan in place to guide land use and future development. Counties and municipalities must review their plans every five years, and submit the plans to the state for approval.

Sussex County’s plan was last updated in 2002, and subsequently certified by the State of Delaware in 2003. The current plan and ordinances adopted to support the plan can be found here.

As part of the review process, Sussex County and its land-use consultant, Urban Research and Development Corp. of Bethlehem, Pa., in early 2007 hosted a series of public meetings to take comments on what principles and policies should be reflected in the 2007 update.

The first draft of the comprehensive plan was unveiled during a July 31, 2007 workshop of the Sussex County Council and the Planning & Zoning Commission, and was presented and discussed during two public input meetings held in September 2007. Click here to download the draft land-use section and accompanying elements of the plan. For individuals with slow connection speeds or who have difficulty accessing the file, a limited number of copies are available at the County Administrative Offices building in Georgetown.

For background, you can click here to listen to audio and view photographs from each of the community input meetings held since 2007. Click on this link to access other helpful Comprehensive Plan Update resources, including maps and summaries.

Sussex County held two public hearings in April for the Comprehensive Plan Update, and will consider all testimony as the document is finalized. The State of Delaware has granted Sussex County an extension for the plan update process, through Oct. 30, 2008. The Planning & Zoning Commission will make a recommendation to the County Council on whether to adopt the plan.

Sussex County thanks you for your interest in the 2007 Comprehensive Plan Update.