In addition, it has 500 vacant lots within its borders, most of which will likely be built on in the next 10 years. That kind of growth is extremely difficult for any town to sustain, rarely works in the town's favor, and is at the root of the proposal by the mayors of the Association of Coastal Towns to implement a one-year rezoning moratorium in the unincorporated areas of the coastal zone. Towns can't seem to keep ahead of problems created by expansion in excess of this rate. Before one problem can be solved, one more pops up. They pile up and complicate each other.
Local leaders are overwhelmed.
We're seeing these problems all over Sussex County, from small towns like Ocean View to resorts like Rehoboth Beach and Bethany Beach to larger towns like Seaford to Sussex County Council. Council President Dale Dukes, in expressing his opposition to ACT's proposed rezoning moratorium at the April 3 council meeting, begged the coastal towns to take the rezoning decisions off the county's shoulders by annexing properties around their borders. He has simply been overwhelmed by them. Still, despite Dukes' opposition to the rezoning moratorium, we were mightily encouraged by council's decision on the Korotki development. That it was unanimous was even more encouraging.