Sussex County’s Inaugural Economic and Legislative Summit

GEORGETOWN, Del.– Legislators, home builders, and housing advocates gathered at the first annual Sussex County Economic and Legislative Summit with the goal of discussing affordable housing options and the rapid development that is happening across Sussex County.

Senator Brian Pettyjohn says that there’s more that goes into infrastructure then what people realize.

“The second piece of infrastructure that I think a lot of people don’t understand are things like health care and rural health transformation projects,” Pettyjohn said. “It’s everything that people are going to need to be able to come here to live a good, comfortable life.”

CEO of OA Companies Preston Schell explains what Senate Bill 23 is and what it means when it comes to development.

“One of the main provisions of SB 23 is if you come with an application that needs code, even if it has a subdivision, you are no longer required to have a public hearing,” Schell said. “If you want to see action and you want to see changes those are the best two pieces of legislation to actually cause that to happen.”

Schell also says that the more inclusive developments should be seen as an encouragement when it comes to responsible development.

“They can walk to the gym or drive within their community to go to the gym,” Schell said. “Those are outstanding projects and we should be doing everything we can to encourage those types of communities.