“Doing nothing is not an option anymore:” Sussex County residents concerned about uncontrolled growth in area

GEORGETOWN, Del.- Tuesday a packed crowd stood along Georgetown Circle protesting for change.

Chanting, honking, and holding up these signs to get the attention of the community and county leaders.

Saying there’s uncontrolled growth in Sussex County and it’s no longer acceptable.

“Doing nothing is not an option anymore,” Judy Rolfe, a concerned Sussex resident, said.

“People have reached a limit, for whatever their reasons something has pushed them over the edge,” Greg DuRoss, a concerned Sussex resident, said.

People we spoke with said there’s over development in the county and it’s having negative impacts on the quality of life.

“I certainly am not opposed to growth, I just think you have to manage it, you have to plan for it, you have to have infrastructure to support it, it’s not just about roads, try to get a doctors appointment around here with all this population increase,” DuRoss said.

“Our wetlands, our marsh, our open spaces are not commodities, all of us are concerned about safety, we’re concerned about traffic,” Rolfe said.

Meanwhile, a Sussex County councilman said the council does welcome input, and agrees there is more people flocking to the area.

“We are seeing a lot of people move to Sussex County, so we have had a big uptick in building to respond as the market responds to this influx of people wanting to move here,” Councilman John Rieley said.

But Councilman John Rieley said they are functioning under a plan when it comes to projects, and are attempting to balance the flood of growth.

“There is a very strong plan in place, we have a 10 year comprehensive plan that we review periodically,” Councilman Rieley said.

“We have instituted what’s called the Fast Program where we are fast tracking traffic projects to get them completed more quickly,” Councilman Rieley said.

While, it is assured by Councilman Rieley that the council does want to hear the public’s point of view,  concerned citizens said the fight isn’t over.

“We’ve touched a nerve and I hope our elected officials are paying attention,” DuRoss said.

We’re told members of the council try to keep lines of communication open with the public.

Adding, that builders can’t build on wetlands- and how far back you have to buffer that is a question that might be up for discussion.