Why Should Delaware Care?
Housing costs are rising in Delaware, leading to strained budgets, longer commutes and an increase in the homeless population. A new bill attempts to fix the problem by imposing stricter requirements on municipalities’ zoning codes, which opponents argue takes away localities’ ability to control their own land use rules.
A new bill meant to address Delaware’s affordable housing shortage is already facing steep opposition from local governments.
Senate Bill 23, dubbed “The Housing for Every Delawarean Act,” would require most localities to increase housing density and adopt other measures to make homes more affordable.
The Senate Housing and Land Use Committee held a hearing for the bill Wednesday, but did not vote on whether to advance it out of committee.
The bill comes amid growing momentum among elected officials in Delaware to encourage the construction of smaller, more dense housing in order to address a shortage of affordable homes across the state. But it also is the latest measure in Dover to spark a backlash from municipal leaders who fear an erosion of their local control.
Delaware is short almost 20,000 rental units for households that earn less than half the region’s median income, according to a 2023 study conducted by the Delaware State Housing Authority.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the bill’s sponsor, State Sen. Russ Huxtable (D-Lewes), noted the state government already works with municipalities to plan for more affordable housing, but said those plans sometimes stall.
“That’s why this bill is necessary. It moves us from planning to outcomes,” Huxtable said.
In response, leaders of Delaware towns, cities and counties said those outcomes should be a result of land use rules set by their municipalities and not the state. The arguments echoed a longrunning point of tension between local governments and the Delaware legislature.
Three county officials — New Castle County Executive Marcus Henry, Sussex County Council President Douglas Hudson and Kent County Levy Court President Joanne Masten — also signed a joint letter to the Senate committee that argued the bill “goes too far.”
The letter said SB 23 is a “heavy-handed, top-down approach” that will not increase affordable housing but instead “produce onerous mandates, sow confusion, and further the divide between State and local governments.”
Town council members and municipal managers made similar arguments during the public comment period, stating the legislature should work with them to come up with solutions to the affordable housing shortage rather than mandating changes.
“We can support affordable housing without dismissing the voices and authority of the local governments,” Townsend Town Manager Julie Goodyear said.
But Jon Horner, a Schell Brothers attorney and president of the Home Builders Association of Delaware, said local governments have already had years to allow more affordable housing.
“Yet the housing crisis has persisted and been exacerbated,” Horner said.
Horner was one of several members of the building trades who spoke in favor of the bill, along with affordable housing advocates.
The bill would require a two-thirds majority vote to pass both chambers because it would affect the charter of some of the state’s municipalities.
What does the bill say?
SB 23 primarily reforms state requirements for comprehensive plans — which are roadmaps for future growth the state requires counties and municipalities to update every 10 years.
Comprehensive plans can have enormous impacts on what is and isn’t allowed to be built because it guides zoning changes, transportation investments and natural resource protection.
Under the bill, counties, cities and towns with a population over 2,000 residents would have to add an affordable housing plan to their comprehensive plans.
That plan would have to increase the maximum density of residential areas and remove barriers to constructing smaller houses, such as townhomes and duplexes.
SB 23 lists 10 other measures meant to make housing more affordable or easier to find. Local governments would have to choose at least five of them to include in their plan.
Those measures include waiving impact fees for income-restricted housing, allowing more transitional housing and speeding up the approval process for affordable homes.
The bill also says the state government “shall not be obligated to provide state financial assistance or infrastructure improvements” to support development projects that are not consistent with the comprehensive plan.
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