Why Should Delaware Care?
Government works best when its citizens are knowledgeable and engaged. Delaware’s government has scores of commissions, working groups, agencies and legislative committees. All must hold meetings that are open to the public. Below we highlight a few of those meetings that are happening this week.
Below are some of the most important or interesting public meetings happening around the state this week.
- Georgetown reneges on tiny homes
- State bonds for Lewes housing development?
- Sussex leaders talk future growth
Georgetown leaders to repeal tiny home rules
Less than one year after they were first implemented, tiny home regulations could be removed from Georgetown’s town code.
Members of the Georgetown Town Council will formally begin the process of repealing rules and regulations surrounding the building of tiny homes within town limits during their meeting on Monday night.
The proposal would remove tiny homes as a permitted land use within the town’s code, potentially ending months of controversy between residents, town leaders, and local nonprofits that have sought to build tiny home communities within the Sussex County seat.
Currently, up to 12 tiny homes can be built on a single acre of property zoned for urban residential use in Georgetown. But that could soon change.
One tiny housing project, developed by the nonprofit Little Living, was already approved by the town council in February. It will be able to move forward with construction regardless of whether the town chooses to repeal the cottage housing ordinance.
While the Little Living project, which will include 20 tiny homes on a roughly 2-acre property on East Market Street, will not be impacted by changing development rules, another cottage housing community proposed by Springboard Delaware would be left dead in the water should the town repeal its ordinance.
Judson Malone, executive director of Springboard Delaware, which also operates the pallet village transitional housing community in Georgetown, said the organization has plans to build 122 tiny homes on a 14-acre property near Sussex Academy.
Repealing Georgetown’s tiny homes ordinance represents a continued point of friction between town council and residents over how government leaders should respond to the demand for more affordable housing and a split over how best to provide homelessness resources in town.
It also follows the May election of two new members of the five-member town council, both of whom campaigned, in part, on a platform of repealing the ordinance and were backed by a vocal Facebook group of Sussex County residents opposed to Georgetown’s handling of its growing homeless population.
📍 The Georgetown Town Council will meet at 6 p.m. Monday inside Council Chambers, located at 39 The Circle in Georgetown. For more information, including on virtual attendance, click here.
State bonds for Lewes housing development?
While Georgetown considers repealing its tiny home regulations, state leaders will consider whether or not to dole out $100,000,000 in bonds to build, among other things, tiny homes near Lewes.
The Council on Development Finance, a state board that considers applications for taxpayer-backed grants for economic development projects, will meet on Monday to hear from a developer seeking to build apartments and tiny homes near the Moorings at Lewes senior living community.
The project would include 43 new apartments, 21 new tiny homes and amenity space that could be used for dining venues, wellness and fitness facilities, and outdoor recreation areas.
📍 The Council on Development Finance will meet at 10 a.m. Monday inside the Delaware Public Archives, located at 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Dover. For more information, including on virtual attendance, click here.
Sussex leaders discuss comp plan, SB 23
Sussex County leaders on Tuesday will discuss their next comprehensive plan, a 10-year document that guides the future of land use policy, along with how to implement much-discussed affordable housing legislation.
During Tuesday’s County Council meeting, County Administrator Todd Lawson will give a presentation on the upcoming comprehensive land use plan, a document that has become a centerpiece of this year’s county council elections.
All four candidates in those races are laser focused on having a seat at the table when county leaders begin work this winter on writing the new comprehensive plan, which will determine where developers can build over the next decade.
Along with discussing the comprehensive plan, Lawson will also give a presentation about how the county plans to implement Senate Bill 23 and House Bill 450, two new housing policies that created a stir in Delaware’s southernmost county earlier this year.
At the heart of the controversy surrounding the legislation is how best to balance the need to create more affordable housing units across the state while also ensuring residents feel like their voice is heard during the development process.
📍 The Sussex County Council will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday inside the County Administrative Building, located at 2 The Circle in Georgetown. For more information, including on virtual attendance, click here.
