Just like in the movies, it’s time for the villagers of Lewes and Rehoboth to band together, light our torches and climb to the voting booth at the top of the mountain to rid ourselves of a collective nightmare.
For almost four years, Mark Schaeffer has enraged Sussex County residents with double-talk, a duplicitous agenda and the constant erosion of our quality of life. Who hasn’t driven along New Road in Lewes, Robinsonville Road or Route 24 and despaired at what we have allowed to happen to the farmlands of our beautiful county? The election for Sussex County Council District 3 has only one issue. Are we going to continue down our current path of unrestricted and indiscriminate development, or are we going to say “enough is enough?”
All guilt lies with Sussex County Council and the way it has conspired with developers, builders and the real estate sector. That conspiracy, although elaborate, is simple to explain. Use limitless developer money to elect and pack a development-friendly county council. Have that council appoint members with similar intentions to the planning & zoning commission. Then pass ordinances, regulations and zoning that leave the planning & zoning commission no alternative but to approve every development project. Finally, to ensure county council bears no responsibility or accountability, delegate the authority to approve development requests to that same P&Z body. That’s exactly the situation we have today. Council isn’t responsible because planning & zoning approved the project, and planning & zoning isn’t accountable because they can only work within council’s regulations and ordinances. Regardless where the finger points, no one is accountable and every project gets approved.
Can anyone doubt developers have colluded to this end? Their hubris is breathtaking. Even the name of the developer-funded political action committee backing Schaeffer (Preserve Sussex) is an affront to Sussex voters. Who can doubt it was named to confuse and obfuscate what is simply another smokescreen to hide their true intentions? Where does all the money for Schaeffer’s ubiquitous roadside signs and television campaign ads come from? The same place as Keller Hopkins’ tractor-trailer signs and TV ads during his county council campaign in 2022 – developer deep pockets.
Nothing could be more revealing than Schaeffer’s refusal to take on the VSA proposal at last January’s county council meeting. The VSA is a sensible, universally backed proposal requiring developers to provide a minimal amount directly to Cape Henlopen School District for each new house they build within the district. Schaeffer refused to even discuss it as he “will not allow any new taxes on homeowners.” Huh?
Sussex County voters in District 1 defeated Michael Vincent, and District 2 sent Cynthia Green home. Now it’s our turn in District 3 to stop Mark Schaeffer. Enough is enough. Jane Gruenebaum gives us an opportunity to build a better county and enjoy a higher quality of life. Stand with Jane and end our ridiculous overdevelopment nightmare. Or stay the course with Mark Schaeffer and watch Northstar bring 13,000 new vehicle trips to Five Points every day.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.
