By Brian Gilliland

GEORGETOWN — It remains to be seen if any comments provided by conservationists, developer associates and others during a Tuesday public hearing about rules for development boundaries in Sussex County will end up in the final regulations.

County Council voted to defer action on a proposed perimeter buffer ordinance without further comment, after hearing hours of presentations from interest groups.

In general, there has been little resistance to the idea of proposed rules. But the disagreements come down to the details.

“This whole initiative came out of multiple issues County Council had been hearing for quite some time,” said Vince Robertson, the attorney presenting the issue to council. “We hear about the insufficiency about the buffers that are installed or planned, or that are required by code. We often hear about tree removal within the buffers, and there are multiple categories for that.”

He added that council has been informed about the timing of the installation of buffers and about inconsistent requirements for buffers in the proposed ordinance.

“We’ve heard about what to do (and) how to remedy damage done during site work and construction to the perimeter buffers,” he continued.

Stormwater management was also addressed because allowing for the clearing of existing trees as part of mitigation could defeat the purpose of establishing the buffers, in Mr. Robertson’s view.

“That was something that at least staff felt strongly about because that could theoretically undermine the whole purpose, if the whole thing went away for stormwater management reasons,” he said.

After these and other issues like tree mitigation strategies, penalties and changes offered by the Planning & Zoning Commission were explored during Tuesday’s meeting, council moved to the public hearing phase, where different issues were explained.

“Our team assessment is (that) it’s a good step forward and the low-hanging fruit. We don’t think it’s too late,” Rick Borrasso of the Sussex Preservation Coalition told council.

Members of the coalition then spent 35 minutes detailing changes it would like in specific ordinance requirements — from the dimensions to the composition to permitted activities.

In addition, Joe Conaway of the Sussex Economic Development Action Committee requested that council form a committee, as it has in the past with regard to wetlands regulations, to come up with numbers “everyone can live with.”

And Jon Horner, representing the Home Builders Association of Delaware, laid out concerns with some of the timelines being debated, explaining that builders often have practical questions about purchasing, preparing and undertaking development activities. Install a buffer too soon, he explained, and a developer could end up having to replace the entire thing. Attempt to install it too late and run the risk of not having the proper vegetation, he said.

Following council’s deferral Tuesday, the ordinance will appear on a to-be-determined agenda.