Again ignoring a Planning and Zoning Commission decision and perhaps trampling on state land-use policy, Sussex County Council on Tuesday approved a 350-home Milton-area development that had been on appeal for nearly seven months.
The Hayfield appeal arose after the county’s approval last year of Isaacs Glen, a 1,600-home development that borders the Hayfield property. That project was also approved on appeal, after a Planning and Zoning denial.
Jim Fuqua, a Georgetown attorney who worked on both projects, argued successfully that projects must be approved if they meet county code.
Fuqua said Tuesday that councilmen can not “arbitrarily” make zoning decisions. County Attorney Jim Griffin has historically agreed and noted the Isaacs Glen decision Tuesday and its relation to the Hayfield case.
“Isaacs Glen has set a template I think we should follow,” he said.
After a January public hearing, county Planning and Zoning commissioners voted unanimously to deny the Hayfield application, stating that the plan to build 350 homes on 175 rural acres outside of Milton did not “promote the orderly growth of the county.” Commissioners also cited state agencies’ opposition to the plan being for a Level 4 area, where the state does not support growth or help with infrastructure improvements.
County Councilman George Cole (R-4th) expressed skepticism Tuesday about approving developer-drawn findings with the application, one of which he said could set a precedent and be viewed as the county’s position on state strategies.
Finding “b” under number “16” reads that “…state policy should not be used as a basis for denial if the project otherwise complies with the county subdivision ordinance.”
“What we’re saying is state policies are not important,” Cole said. “The implication is that these are county council’s findings. That is what I’m concerned about. An attorney in the future could pull this out. There is wording in there that could adversely impact decisions we make in the future.”
Cole’s motion to draft county findings before considering approval was defeated, with only Councilman Lynn Rogers (D-3rd) in support. Vance Phillips (R-5th) agreed with the findings that state policies should not hold much merit when making decisions on plans that follow county code in Georgetown.
“State policies should not be used for a basis of decision,” Phillips said. “I don’t believe state politics should mandate what we can or can’t do. We need to make the approval based on the law. We have a roadmap. We need to follow the roadmap.”
“I detest pushing anything through this long,” added Council President Dale Dukes (D-1st). “We need to clean up our agenda.”.