Why Should Delaware Care?
Sussex County has experienced a building boom in the last decade, adding more than 30,000 residents and putting strains on infrastructure and the natural environment. The appointment of a new planning commissioner has the potential to shape the 2028 Comprehensive Land Use Plan, and the future of development in Sussex County.
After Sussex County elected three new county council members last November, the board sees the turnover as a mandate for broad change in the county’s approach to development.
“The voters voted for change. Free-sweeping change,” Matt Lloyd, one of the council members elected last fall, told Spotlight Delaware. “They didn’t just want a new direction in land use; they wanted a new direction in leadership.”
In adopting this approach, Lloyd decided not to renominate Bob Wheatley, who had served as a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission for 30 years and as the chair for nearly 20 years, for another term. Instead, Lloyd selected Jeff Allen, a Laurel-based business owner, to represent his district on the commission.
Lloyd described Allen as better in line with his own land use philosophy than Wheatley.
“This isn’t because Bob [Wheatley] did anything wrong, per se. I just think it’s time for a new perspective,” Lloyd said. “Because Jeff [Allen] and I align in the way we think of land use, having him there for the rewrite is something we’re both excited to be involved with.”
The county council unanimously approved Allen’s appointment to the Planning and Zoning Commission at their July 15 meeting.
Laying the groundwork
According to multiple members of the council, the change feels particularly consequential given that county officials will begin work next year on the 2028 Comprehensive Plan, a once-in-a-decade plan that has an enormous impact on how the county will be developed into the future.
Jane Gruenebaum, another newly elected member of the County Council, said she agreed with Lloyd’s decision to make a change on the Planning & Zoning Commission, especially looking forward to the comprehensive plan.
“We’re sort of laying the groundwork for the next comprehensive plan,” Gruenebaum told Spotlight Delaware.
Wheatley, who has overseen the past three comprehensive plans, said he is disappointed that he will not be involved in the next one. Each county in Delaware does a comprehensive plan every 10 years as a way of identifying areas for growth and other land use concerns in the community.
Wheatley added that he was the only member of the Planning & Zoning Commission who had previous experience working on a comprehensive plan.
“I did want to stay on one more term,” he said.
A ‘balanced’ approach to development
Lloyd, Gruenebaum and Steve McCarron, all new members of the council, described their approach to development in Sussex County as “pro-growth.” However, that growth must be “balanced,” Gruenebaum said, with an increased focus on the accompanying infrastructure, and particularly more affordable workforce housing.
All three said that they ran their campaigns primarily on the need for a different approach to development, and that they heard from residents across the county about their desire for major change in the development sphere.
“There were three of us today that campaigned with the vision that things in Sussex County needed to change and growth needed to look different,” McCarron told Spotlight Delaware. “I think that was something the public was very supportive of and certainly views as a priority.”
Wheatley said his attitude toward development was “pro-ordinance,” meaning following all ordinances established by the county council, regardless of any public pushback to a development proposal.
While Lloyd said his decision not to reappoint Wheatley was unrelated to Wheatley’s performance on the commission, some county residents criticized the way Wheatley ran meetings as the Planning & Zoning chair.
Jill Hicks, a co-founder of the Sussex Preservation Coalition, a nonprofit that advocates for land preservation and smart growth, said she observed Wheatley give a generous amount of time for developers to speak at meetings, while shutting down public comment very quickly.
“He used to cut us off. That was very offputting, and it felt disrespectful to the public,” she said.
When asked about Hicks’ criticism, Wheatley said he only shut down public comments when testimonies veered off topic or became redundant.
Gruenebaum and McCarron thanked Wheatley for his service on the commission, while also standing behind Lloyd’s decision to replace him with Allen.
Rieley backs plans
John Rieley, now one of just two multi-term members on the county council, said he believes the council has been trying to make reforms in respect to development since he became a part of the elected body in 2018. Still, he said he is on board with the wave of change that the new council members are pushing.
“They made a change and I respect that, and we’ll work to implement it,” Rieley said.
At the July 15 County Council meeting, Allen answered some questions from Lloyd about his background and vision for the Planning & Zoning Commission before the council voted to approve his appointment.
Allen is a retired insurance claims manager, who also spent a term on the Laurel School District Board of Education.
“I am excited to not only be part of the discussion of the proposed projects and the current ordinances, but also having a voice in the upcoming comprehensive plan,” Allen told the council.
Lloyd and Sussex County Government Communications Director Chip Guy declined to let Allen comment on his appointment, stating that members of the commission have traditionally declined to discuss their work outside of public forums. There is no regulation barring such discussions though.
Maggie Reynolds is a Report for America corps member and Spotlight Delaware reporter who covers rural communities in Delaware. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://spotlightdelaware.org/support/.
