Sussex taking comments now for new comp plan

Sussex County government needs to write a brand-new comprehensive plan by 2018, and the county has now set the first public hearings that will shape it.

At a website dedicated to the rewriting of the comp plan, sussexplan.com, the county lists five meetings in late September and early October as chances for the public to weigh in on the plan's land-use goals. While times for the meetings were not given, the listed meetings are:

• Monday, Sept. 26, at Lewes Fire Station #2
• Tuesday, Sept. 27, at the Millsboro Town Center
• Thursday, Sept. 29, at the Seaford Town Hall
• Tuesday, Oct. 4, at the Georgetown Fire Hall
• Wednesday, Oct. 5, at the Millville Fire Hall

Earlier this summer, the county's planning and zoning staff said there will eventually be at least 15 public meetings held to take input on the comprehensive plan.

The website also lets people submit public comments right away, without waiting for a meeting, by choosing a category like 'conservation' or 'housing' and uploading written comments.

STORY: Sussex Council asks, comp plan work already?

"We are interested in hearing from you about what has changed in the county since the last plan was adopted in 2008 and what you envision for the future," the website tells readers.

A comp plan is meant to guide a county's growth and development for at least a decade, and goals in one comp plan are often echoed in the ones that follow it. The details of Sussex County's comp plan, and maps showing where it wants growth to go, were central to the debate over Overbrook Town Center, an 850,000 square foot commercial complex that the County Council denied rezoning for. The developer has appealed, arguing the councilmembers misinterpreted the current comp plan when they voted no.

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Contact James Fisher at (302) 983-6772, on Twitter@JamesFisherTNJorjfisher@delawareonline.com.