Route 24 Alliance

Why Another Group?

A small number of residents realized that Route 24 has become a poster child of a bad traffic situation in Sussex County and felt the need of a local group to defend our areas together. 

Yes, there are some countywide organizations, such as Sussex Preservation Coalition or Sussex2030, but they cannot take on or tackle all bad land use applications in the county. Nearby residents have the best understanding of the area's issues and have vested interests to fight bad land use cases. Only when local residents are engaged in the opposition, the countywide organizations can help effectively. We hope Route 24 Alliance will inspire other local groups to form.

Our Reactive and Proactive Work

Route 24 Alliance is not meant to be an ongoing active group, but rather a group that will be awakened when the need arises - in a reactive way. Having said that, we need a group of people who are actively engaged in assessing overall issues and proactively pave ways so that the bad actors cannot set foot in the area. I am talking about zoning ordinance changes. Would you be interested in being a part of that group?

For instance, we are well aware that 2 units/acre will not be the norm anymore in the area, but up to 12 units or more may fill up some of the vacant lands around Route 24. The easy way for the developers to do that is by using the Sussex County Rental Program (SCRP). AR-1 zones in the Coastal Area can build 12 units/acre 'by right' - without a public hearing or public comments. There are already 2 approved off Rt 24. It is not that we do not need workforce housing, but there is no way for the County to reject SCRP programs as long as they are in the AR-1 Zone in Coastal Area or Developing Area of the County's Future Land Use Map (FLUM).

Why Picking on SCRP?

The SCRP ordinance was not well thought out and hugely favors developers and landowners.

• For the SCRP to be effective, there must be public transportation available within walking or biking distance and there must be a safe way for the riders to get to the bus stop, unless there is a big parking space near the bus stop. There are not required for SCRP.

• SCRP requires only 25% of all units to be set aside for affordable housing, but the developers are treated favorably with accelerated approval process.

Your Eyes and Ears are Essential Part of Our Group's Work

As you may have found from our website, we are trying to collect and disseminate information about what is going on along the Route 24 areas. To do this, we observe the County's hearing notices and the State's land use reviews. However, the eyes and ears of the community - the rumor mill - is often the best source of information we can get, sometimes years before any application is submitted. So, we ask you to open your ears and eyes and share with us what you notice.

HOAs, Too!

We are also trying to engage HOAs and get their contact information. If there is any need to inform the area residents for emergency situations or land use applications, the HOAs may be the best first line of contact.

Your Ideas and Concerns, Please!

Our website is still evolving. We do not have a vision or mission statement. Let us know if you could help us with the website or have ideas of how we should organize our website.

Please feel free to send your ideas or concerns through emails or via the 'Comment' form on our website.