Schaeffer: Thanks for help with opposition to Royal Farms
I asked the people of the 3rd District of Sussex County Council three-and-a-half years ago to send me to Georgetown to fight sprawl and inappropriate development in our community. I asked to be your representative because I, like many of you, felt that development was occurring in the wrong place and without adequate roads, schools and other infrastructure.
We recently learned that Royal Farms had withdrawn its application to seek permission to develop a large convenience store with gas pumps at the corner of Del. 24 and Angola Road. This is a big win for the residents of this area and the county.
I opposed this application because the roads and other infrastructure could not support this type of commercial use. There are also a number of compelling environmental impact concerns with this proposal.
Groups formed in the area to oppose this application, along with many individuals who voluntarily put together real substantive data to support the argument that the environmental and traffic concerns were real. Many people from the Angola area devoted time and personal funds to gather this information, and made a real and compelling case in opposition.
These citizens deserve enormous credit for their work. They deserve our thanks and gratitude. As a public servant, I have always welcomed and supported active engaged homeowners associations and civic groups. They are a tremendous help in the appropriate management of our communities.
As always, I look forward to working with groups and individuals who truly care about our collective quality of life and will continue my fight against sprawl.
Mark G. Schaeffer
3rd District Sussex County councilman
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
