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MORNING STAR • MAY 1 - 7, 2008
Residents tell the council to pay attention to Nanticoke watershed By Ronald MacArthur County officials are now even more aware there are two sides to Sussex County. Even though three of the five council members are from the western side, outspoken activists from the eastern side tend to dominate public hearings. Even the updated comprehensive land-use plan has a slight tilt to the eastern side. During the final hearing on the land-use plan Tuesday, April 22, council members got an earful from several western Sussex residents. Nearly 30 people took the podium to address the council. Dave Hillegas, a Bethel Planning Commission member, commended the council for its attention to the Inland Bays, but wondered why the same attention was
not paid to the Nanticoke watershed in western Sussex, which drains into the Chesapeake Bay. He said there are eight waterways in the watershed with increased development encroaching on the Broad Creek in the Laurel area and the Nanticoke River in the Seaford area. He said those areas should also be given an environmental sensitive developing district designation, as are lands around the Inland Bays. He also said the planned transfer of development rights program is a step in the right direction, but limiting the transfer to less than 10 miles, which council has discussed, would hurt western Sussex landowners, particularly farmers. He said the limit should be up to 30 miles to allow farmers in rural areas a chance to participate
in the program. A transfer of development rights program is one of 23 proposed ordinances in the new plan. Holly Conaway, who lives on her family’s farm on the Nanticoke River, talked about the importance of communication between government agencies and the people they serve. Conaway said she found out by accident that the 200-year-old farm, comprised of more than 185 acres, had been designated as a state resource area (SRA). The areas were selected by the state as prime natural areas where development should be discouraged. Originally, the state’s SRA map was part of the Sussex County plan. A recent court case in Kent County questioned the legality of SRAs and they have been pulled
out of the county plan. “With these kind of regulations and the public not involved, all I could think is there goes the family farm,” she said. She worked to get a bill in the state legislature that would require notification if a property was selected to be placed on the SRA map. Gov. Ruth Ann Minner vetoed it. Dan Kramer of Greenwood didn’t have many kind words for the plan. “It’s just a land grab,” he said. “It’s a thick book that reminds me of the Sears catalogue that I used in the back shack – and that’s about what it’s worth.” Kramer said he lives in a state-designated Level 4 area, an area where the state wants no growth and will provide only limited infrastructure funding.
Most of rural Sussex is designated as Level 4. “I live in Level 4 and the state won’t fix my roads, so why should I pay taxes?” he asked. “Let’s double or triple the taxes of people in Levels 2 and 3.” County officials have run out of time to approve the more than 200 pages of the plan. County Administrator David Baker said officials will ask the state for a 60-day extension. “But our goal is to wrap this up in May,” he said. The deadline, originally Dec. 31, 2007, was moved to April 30. If approved by the state, it will be moved again – this time to June 30. Members of planning and zoning are scheduled for a possible vote on the plan Wednesday, April 30 – the day it was supposed to be adopted.
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A container for recycling electronics has been added to six locations around the state with one in Bridgeville. There will be a total of 15 sites to drop off old electronics.
DSWA offers electronics recycling The Delaware Solid Waste Authority (DSWA) announces the addition of six new electronic goods recycling containers in Kent and Sussex Counties. Locations include the Sheraton Hotel in Dover, Bowers Beach, Del-Tech Owens Campus in Georgetown, and three DSWA facilities - the Longneck Collection Station, the Bridgeville Collection Station, and the Omar Collection Station. Each container is an addition to an already existing Recycling Drop-off Center. The containers are just six of the planned 15 that DSWA plans to put in place throughout Delaware. DSWA’s Electronic Goods Re-
cycling program allows residents to conveniently drop off their unwanted electronic items for free. The drop-off program is designed to accept electronic goods, telecommunications equipment, toys, radio, television, and electroacoustic equipment such as calculators, computers and their parts, keyboards, printers, cables, phones, fax machines, answering machines, and VCRs. Since the inception of DSWA Electronic Goods Recycling Program, there have been almost 15 million pounds of electronic material kept out of andfills. For more information, call the Citizens’ Response Line at 800404-7080 or visit www.dswa.com.
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