Georgetown, Del., Feb. 26, 2008: Sussex County will hold two public hearings in April to take comment on the 2007 Comprehensive Plan Update, a state-mandated document that will guide development and land use within Sussex County into the next decade.

The draft document has moved through the Delaware Preliminary Land Use Service review process for comments from State agencies, and is now being finalized with various State-recommended revisions. County leaders are scheduled to issue their formal response to State comments Friday, Feb. 29, during a 1 p.m. meeting of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Planning Coordination. That meeting will be held in the Tatnall Building in Dover.

Delaware law mandates that all counties and municipalities have a comprehensive plan in place to guide their future. Counties and municipalities must review their plans every five years, and submit the plans to the State for approval. Such plans define, among other things, growth zones, land-use policies and how development should progress, potential transportation improvements, historic preservation and economic development efforts. The County’s current plan was adopted in late 2002.

The State of Delaware last year granted Sussex County an extension to complete the 2007 Comprehensive Plan Update. The deadline for adoption is April 30, 2008.

The public hearings scheduled for the Comprehensive Plan Update include:

• Thursday, April 3, 2008, at 6 p.m., before the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission, at the CHEER Center on Sand Hill Road and U.S. 9 in Georgetown;
• Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 6 p.m., before the Sussex County Council, at the CHEER Center on Sand Hill Road and U.S. 9 in Georgetown.

Additionally, the Sussex County Council and the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission will hold a joint workshop to discuss the draft plan, and its proposed revisions, at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, 2008. The meeting will be held at the Sussex County Administrative Offices West Complex, DuPont Boulevard and Old Laurel Road, in Georgetown. The meeting is not a public hearing, but will be open to the public.

In addition to the public hearings, citizens can continue to submit their comments, suggestions and ideas for consideration, via the Internet or by mail. To submit comments electronically, log on to sussexcountyde.gov/comprehensive-plan to fill out a form. Comments also can be mailed to the following address:

Sussex County 2007 Comprehensive Plan Comments
ATTN: Mr. Hal Godwin, Assistant to the Administrator
PO Box 589
Georgetown, DE 19947

County officials will incorporate all comments into the public hearing process of the plan’s update.

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