<div>The approval process for major subdivisions in Sussex County ground to a halt July 15, after a state affordable housing law signed by the governor two days earlier eliminated public hearings for such projects.Two subdivisions, one for 64 lots near Millsboro and another for 70 lots in Harbeson, were on the July 15 agenda for public hearings before the planning & zoning commission. Applicants were informed ahead of time about the cancellation and people who came to the meeting were told when they arrived.In a news release issued earlier in the day, Sussex County Council President Doug Hudson said Senate Bill 23 and other laws enacted this year have sweeping implications for the balance of power between the counties and the state.“This year’s General Assembly session has brought about serious, fundamental concerns about the nature of government and local authority here in Delaware,” Hudson said. “With the implementation of SB 23, the state has ripped away the public hearing process for certain types of residential applications, including major subdivisions, not just affordable housing developments. There are numerous questions about how we, and all local governments, are to proceed when it comes to the land-use development process."Jon Horner, president of the Home Builders Association of Delaware, has long complained about the local approval process for major subdivisions, which he said is unnecessarily burdensome and lengthy.It takes 18 to 24 months to get to a public hearing for major subdivisions, those with more than five houses, Horner said. Public hearings can lead to denials or conditions placed on projects that already comply with county laws and are entitled to approvals, he said.The process can also raise the cost of homes, Horner said.While serving last year on the 10-member county land use reform working group, Horner suggested eliminating public hearings for subdibvisions that comply with county rules. Supreme Court precedents have supported this position, he said. His suggestion was opposed by fellow working group member Jill Hicks, who was president of the Sussex Preservation Coalition before stepping down this year to run for the Sussex County Council seat against Hudson.Hicks said public hearings are an important venue for residents to have a voice in land-use decisions, and their recommendations and concerns can help improve proposed subdivisions.Supreme Court precedents make it clear that a landowner is entitled to develop property in compliance with local laws, Horner said.Several kinds of residences already did not require public hearings, said Horner, who noted he is aware of thousands of units of such housing.At the beginning of the planning & zoning commission meeting July 15, Assistant County Attorney Vince Robertson told commissioners about the two public hearing cancellations.They are Shadowridge, with 70 single-family home lots on 35 acres north and south of Soens Lane, and on the west side of Beaver Dam Road in Harbeson, and Windy Acres, with 64 single-family home lots on 64 acres on the south side of Godwin School Road, east of Hardscrabble Road near Millsboro.Gov. Matt Meyer two days earlier signed into law Senate Substitute 2 for Senate Bill 23, which set rules for affordable housing projects across the state that had implications for housing supply and affordability.The state legislation upends the county process that gave residents an opportunity to offer comments on major subdivisions.“Based upon this new legislation, which went into effect immediately, legal staff and county staff need to evaluate this because it appears there is no longer the requirement for a public hearing for any major subdivision in Sussex County at this point,” Robertson said.“We need to figure out what the process for that would be,” he added. “We don’t have a process for that now; how that’s going to be handled by staff, what it means in terms of what the decision is going to look like and what authority the county has in reviewing something potentially administrative on that type of scale.”P&Z Vice Chair G. Scott Collins said after the meeting that state law may have unintended consequences for creation of affordable housing, and he has concerns about the loss of local control.</div>

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The approval process for major subdivisions in Sussex County ground to a halt July 15, after a state affordable housing law signed by the governor two days earlier eliminated public hearings for such projects. Two subdivisions, one for 64 lots near Millsboro and another for 70 lots in Harbeson, were...

Law ends public hearings for subdivisions

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The approval process for major subdivisions in Sussex County ground to a halt July 15, after a state affordable housing law signed by the governor two days

Law ends public hearings for subdivisions

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