LAND USE REFORM WORKING GROUP

THE CHALLENGE

Sussex County, Delaware is one of the fastest-growing regions in the Mid-Atlantic, balancing rapid residential expansion, a vital but increasingly pressured agricultural economy, and sensitive environmental resources. The County’s growth has created tension between development demand and infrastructure capacity, housing affordability, and farmland preservation. In response, Sussex County convened a Land Use Reform Working Group in 2025 to recommend policy and code changes to better align land use, housing, infrastructure, and preservation objectives.

HOW WE HELPED

McCormick Taylor has held the On-Call Planning Contract with Sussex County for the past three contract periods. Through a task order under the current contract, McCormick Taylor has supported the facilitation, technical analysis, and documentation for the Land Use Reform Working Group. The effort brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including representatives from the agricultural, environmental, development, housing, and engineering communities, as well as state and county agencies, to identify shared challenges and opportunities.

 

Through ten in-person group meetings, one-on-one interviews, and targeted technical analysis, McCormick Taylor helped the Working Group explore zoning modernization, housing expansion and diversity, infrastructure coordination, and farmland and resource protection. The discussions often brought competing priorities to the table—between growth and preservation, affordability and infrastructure capacity—but emphasized a process of collaboration and practical compromise. The team synthesized extensive feedback into a set of 20 actionable recommendations and grounded each in planning best practices and relevant implementation mechanisms.