The Costs

of Sprawl
in Delaware
Table of Contents
Why a report on the costs of sprawl? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
The purpose of this report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
The costs of sprawl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Farmland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Open space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Roads are expensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
High growth in auto trips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Public transportation provides a sustainable solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Master planning is the key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Other forms of infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Emergency and medical services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Corporate subsidies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Affects of sprawl on the environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Biodiversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Water quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Air quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Human environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Conclusions and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Acknowledgements
This report was prepared by: Chris McEvilly, Shiray Shipley, Jim Steffens and Boyd White. Special thannks to
Hope Russell for her assistance and to Deron Lovaas for his support. This brochure was funded in part by the
Sierra Club Challenge to Sprawl Campaign. Information was obtained from the State Planning Office, DELDOT,
WILMAPCO, Department of Agriculture’s Farmland Preservation, United States Geologic Survey, the Department
of Food & Resource Economics, College of Agricultural Sciences, University of Delaware.

Publication design and production assistance by Debbie Heaton, McGann Design Company. Printing provided by
Cedar Tree Press, Wilmington, DE. This report was printed on Genesis paper by the Fraser Paper Company
which is a 100 percent deinked postconsumer waste paper.

© 2000 Sierra Club

All rights reserved. Permission to reproduce any portion of this publication must be obtained from:
Delaware Chapter of the Sierra Club
1304 N. Rodney Street
Wilmington, Delaware 19806
302-425-4911

Additional copies of this report can be ordered through the Delaware Chapter office for $5 each.
This report is available on the web at http://www.sierraclub.org/chapters/de

On the cover: Aerial shot of Middletown from 1988 by the USGS, real estate sale sign photo by WILMAPCO and the road
shot was provided by DELDOT.
 Why a report The Sierra Club defines sprawl as low-density,
automobile-dependent development that occurs at
on the costs of the fringes of the urban landscape. In a recent
survey, the Pew Charitable Trust found that suburban
suburban sprawl? sprawl, tied with crime, is the local issue with which
most Americans are concerned. Those living in
Delaware are no exception. The results of a recent
questionnaire by the Delaware Chapter of the Sierra Club showed that our members feel land-use and open-
space issues deserve the utmost priority. This is no surprise as Delaware is exceptionally susceptible to the
damages caused by sprawl.
Delaware holds a unique place in the battle against sprawl. We are the “Small Wonder,” and, with 1,955
square miles, we are second only to Rhode Island in size. Therefore, the race to stop sprawl must be run
faster than in most areas around the country because we have less room in which to grow. And growing we
are. This year, Delaware’s population is expected to reach 757,325 and the Delaware Population Consortium
predicts that 184,000 more people will settle in Delaware over the next two decades. This puts our projected
population increase from 1990 to 2020 at a staggering 28 percent. The cause for alarm is that the number
of households is expected to increase by 47 percent.1 Delaware’s challenge is how to accommodate this
growth while protecting our land, water, air, biodiversity and overall quality of life.

The purpose of this report

This report identifies and discusses several negative affects of suburban sprawl in
Delaware. The first topics address the economic costs of sprawl and its effects on the lack of growth management
sprawling
land and our society’s costs for infrastructure. The second group addresses the development
environmental costs of sprawl and its effects on the human environment, or, in
other words, the day-to-day conditions of Delawareans’ lives. The term
“quality of life” is often used in this discussion. There are many ways of
defining this term. Rather than defining “quality of life,” we ask our new schools, new roads,
sewers, roads, poor water quality road widening,
readers to consider all the different ways in which our decisions fire/police expanded
regarding land use affect every aspect of the world around us. intersections

$$$
poor air quality
The report concludes with suggested solutions for Delaware’s
loss of open space, forests,
future and some ideas of what concerned citizens wildlife habitats & farmland
can do to promote smart growth. The purpose of this report is
to provide tools for those concerned about how sprawl is affect- alternate travel modes
population growth get minimal funding
ing Delaware and its future. to underdeveloped
inappropriate
in fill
areas new communities development
get funding
older communities
get left behind

longer
trips growth of
vehicle miles
traveled

The endless costs of sprawl

Sierra Club - Delaware Chapter 3
 The costs of sprawl

Development of land for residential use rarely pays its own way, and the suburban
sprawl model for growth is an expensive alternative to the economic efficiency of
planned development. The American Farmland Trust (AFT) developed a method that
communities across the nation have used to assess the costs associated with different
forms of land use. The method involves calculating the total costs of infrastructure
and comparing these costs to revenues received in the form of taxes. Categories of
infrastructure include general government expenditures, public safety, fire protection,
sheriff’s department, public works, libraries, and community development.

“From 1992 to The results are consistent in every study conducted

to date. Residential land use costs more in services than
1997 we lost over is generated in revenues. For example, in the Northeast,
six AFT studies conducted in Connecticut, Massachusetts,
18,000 acres of and New York showed that $1.15 was spent on commu-
nity services in residential areas, compared with $1.00
farmland, or over of tax revenues generated by that land, a ratio of 1.15:1.
Meanwhile, commercial/industry areas was 0.36:1 and

Photo courtesy of St. Andrew’s School, Middletown, DE

3,000 acres a for farmland was 0.34:1.
Results in Delaware are comparable. A recent study
year.” of the Middletown-Odessa-Townsend area estimated that
the ratio of expenses to revenue for residential land use
is 1.2:1, while the ratios for business and farming areas
are 0.7:1 and 0.5:1, respectively. These are fully in line
with costs in other areas of the country.2 This study did
not attempt to estimate the costs of transportation
improvements in the area, since these costs are paid for
out of state income taxes. Clearly in more settled areas
where transportation upgrades have been carried out,
the costs including state taxes, would be even greater.
Farmland
Agriculture is Delaware’s number one industry,
bringing in over $800 million to the state’s economy.
Although agricultural use of fertilizer and pesticides
receives a lot of press, chemical inputs into farming are,
with the exception of the heavy use of animal manure
in southern Delaware, one-tenth the levels used by
residential homeowners. With the proper employment
of vegetated buffers along waterways to prevent these
substances from entering streams, farming as a land use
has impacts on water quality second only to undeveloped
land. The low cost associated with maintaining this form
of land use increases its value to our state. Unfortunately,
due to sprawl, Delaware’s farmland is disappearing.
From 1992 to 1997 we lost over 18,000 acres of farm-
land, or over 3,000 acres a year.3 Losses during this
period were 5,261 in New Castle, 6,366 in Kent, and
Farmland in the Middletown/Odessa area.
6,656 acres in Sussex. With the projected population
growth, this trend will continue, if not increase, during
the next twenty years.
The state’s method of preserving farmland is a
program for purchasing the development rights (PDR),
that is, paying the farmer the difference between of the
value of the land as developed property and land main-
tained in agricultural production. To date the PDR pro-
gram has preserved 54,000 acres at a cost of $56 mil-
lion. It is funded by money from the 21st Century Fund,
which was established through funds received from
the financial settlement of a law suit by the state of
Delaware. Currently 204 farms, representing approxi-
mately 45,000 additional acres, have applied for the
PDR program, but only $7 million remains in the fund.
When farmers are admitted to the PDR program,
they must maintain their land as farmland for ten years
before they may voluntarily withdraw from the program.
A bill currently under consideration in the General
Assembly (HB516) would reduce the time restrictions

4 The Costs of Sprawl in Delaware

imposed by the Delaware Agricultural Land Preservation
Act from ten years to four, an action that would signifi-
cantly jeopardize the integrity of the program.
Maintaining farmland also reduces spending on
new infrastructure. “For every dollar we spend on
agland preservation, we are going to save $10 in highway
and road construction costs,” said Michael McGrath,
Director of the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation
Foundation.
Open space
Open space, or “green infrastructure,” should be
considered of equal significance to roads and sewers.
Across the nation, parks and protected open space are
increasingly recognized as vital to the quality of life that
fuels economic health. In the long term, economic
advancement will go to communities that are able to
guide growth through land conservation and other
growth management measures.4
And yet, urban sprawl in the U.S. is consuming 160
acres of land every hour.5 Delaware is experiencing a
similar rate of land consumption: in New Castle County
59 developments have already been approved outside
the state’s designated investment areas, and plans for a
$170 million sewer system could open up 70 miles of
development between the C&D Canal and Odessa.6 In
Kent County, development south of Dover has the poten-
tial to adversely affect the operational effectiveness of
Dover Air Force Base. Sussex County is one of the fastest
growing markets in the Mid-Atlantic States. County offi-
cials are issuing building permits at a rate of nearly
2,000 annually, and potential development could take
up more than 37,200 acres over the next two decades.7
Open space has many benefits beyond scenic
beauty. It is habitat for our native plants and animals,
providing refuge for our threatened and endangered
species. It protects waterways from sediments and pol-
lutants. Instead of using unsightly stormwater retention
ponds, properly conserved open space can serve as
flood control areas. It provides sports and recreational
space for our citizens, hunting and fishing opportuni-
ties, and a place of solitude away from the bustle of
daily life.
Although one sometimes hears criticism of money
spent on wetlands protection, wetlands are an extremely
valuable resource, serving as nursery grounds for a
number of fish, nesting sites for resident waterfowl,
and feeding and stopping-off areas for migratory water
birds. Wetlands are nature’s number one and most
effective pollutant filtration system. Unfortunately, they
are disappearing from Delaware’s landscape at an
alarming rate. Between 1951 and 1992, at least 44,000
Sierra Club - Delaware Chapter
acres of wetlands were destroyed.8 Since 1938, urban The costs
development has been the primary cause of tidal wet- of different types
land loss.9 Removal of wetlands increases the amount of land use
of contamination that reaches our water supplies and For every $1 in tax
destroys critical habitat for numerous plant and wildlife revenue generated by
species that need wetlands to survive. land, $X is spent on
community services
Open space protection is a clear example of the to support this
lack of concurrence between county and state land-use development.
planning because the selection and funding for open
space acquisition must come from the state. For several Residential
years, Delaware provided funding from the 21st Century $1.15
Fund. More recently, the funding has come from annual
appropriations in the General Assembly’s Bond Bill. $1.20
Currently, $10 million is allocated in the budget for 2001,
Commercial/Industrial
$5 million of which is already committed. No permanent,
ongoing funding mechanism has been established. In $0.36
contrast, last year New Jersey enacted legislation for a $0.70
$1 billion dollar open space acquisition program.
Based on land area alone, Delaware would have to set Farmland
up a program of over $260 million to be comparable. $0.34
Transportation $0.50
Roads are the lifeblood of sprawl. When
development is spread thinly over a wide area of land, American Farmland
an extensive system of roads is required to serve it. Trust Study
Keeping pace with sprawl has become Delaware’s Delaware - Middletown/
Odessa/Townsend
major transportation challenge. New roads are built. area study
Intersections are widened. New development moves
in. Traffic increases and fills up road capacity.
Transportation resources are sapped. By not taking the
steps to curb sprawl, we are creating an endless cycle of
demand for new and improved roadway infrastructure
and more taxes to pay for it.
Current draft estimates show Delaware’s road sys-
tem has grown to 12,264.8 miles of road lanes.10 That’s
almost two-tenths of a mile of road lane per registered
driver in the state. In the past five years, 329.3 new lane
miles have been constructed, a 2.7 percent increase.10
Much of the increase can be attributed to sprawl pat-
terns of new housing development in New Castle County,
where SR 1 is the only major roadway that has added
a significant increase in lane miles.11
Expanding road capacity attracts unplanned
growth. Route 1 entering the beach resorts in Sussex
County was widened in the 1980’s to accommodate
growing traffic. It also became a magnet for develop-
ment. Instead of becoming an attractive “gateway to the
beaches,” the landscape became cluttered with trip-
inducing commercial strip malls and marked by grid-
lock, driver frustration, and a lack of travel alternatives.
On a busy summer Saturday, this section of Route 1 is
plagued by stifling daily traffic volumes that have
5
“Had land
use and trans-
portation been
thoughtfully inte-
Photo courtesy of DELDOT
grated through
comprehensive
planning, we Traffic on Route 13 in Dover
might enjoy reached 61,258 vehicles.11 Even on weekdays during
July and August, an average of 54,709 vehicles traverse
today a more this section of road. Had land use and transportation
been thoughtfully integrated through comprehensive
appealing planning, we might enjoy today a more appealing
entrance to our beach resorts and a better quality of
entrance to our life for local residents.
The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), which
beach resorts has studied road congestion in major U.S. metropolitan
areas for the last 16 years, describes this phenomenon
and a better
as “induced travel”.12 It occurs when drivers flock to
quality of new or expanded roads, hoping to save time. TTI has
also found that new roadways tend to encourage addi-
life for local tional development, leading to even more traffic. Without
long-term solutions, the cycle of sprawl is endless.
residents.” Roads are expensive
Despite the pace of growth and the miles of new
roadways, Delaware has taken a sensible approach by
emphasizing a “maintenance first” policy to refurbish
existing aging roadways. One-shot windfalls of federal
highway dollars have helped states achieve that goal.
A recent report of the Surface Transportation Policy
Project (STPP) in Washington, D.C., on federal trans-
portation spending practices noted that Delaware is sec-
ond of all the states in the increase of federal highway
funds spent on repairing roads and bridges.13 However,
while Delaware will continue to grow, we will not always
be able to count on extra federal funds to pay for main-
tenance of the state’s ever-growing system of roads.
Taxpayers already pay a high cost to build the
roads needed to support sprawl. Over the next six
years, taking care of transportation needs will cost $1.6
billion, or approximately $2,100 per capita.14 Building
more roads puts a squeeze on budgets for maintenance
and repair, which costs taxpayers tens of millions of
dollars per mile.
As part of the six-year budget, Delawareans will
spend $59 million to improve secondary roads and
6 The Costs of Sprawl in Delaware
60
Vehicle Miles Traveled
50
Population Growth Rate
PERCENTAGE
40
30
20
Data courtesy of DELDOT
10
0
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Population growth and vehicle miles travelled
add transit, pedestrian, and biking facilities throughout
the growth area in southern New Castle County.14 The
spending plan will also help pay for an environmental
impact statement for possible major road expansion in
the future and for economic development efforts to
bring jobs south of the C&D Canal.
Widespread growth along Route 40 in New Castle
County has gotten ahead of the area’s transportation
needs. By 2020, 13,000 additional new households
are expected to add to the corridor’s current traffic
congestion. Transportation improvements to support
continued sprawl along Route 40 could cost Delaware
taxpayers up to $360 million over the next 20 years.15
High growth in auto trips
Adding to the wear and tear of our roads is the sky-
rocketing vehicle miles (VMT) we travel. Fragmented
suburban development requires an automobile trip for
every errand. Studies have shown that residents of
sprawling communities drive three to four times as
much as those living in planned mixed-use communi-
ties.16 Most of this increase comes not from new drivers,
but from more driving by the people already on the
road. Auto traffic in Delaware is increasing faster than
the population.11 In 1999, area residents drove
8,165,000 miles, a 93 percent increase in miles traveled
on state roadways over the past 20 years.10 In the past
10 years, the VMT increased 27 percent while the state’s
population grew approximately 13 percent10 (ten cars
per hour on one mile of a one-lane road are equal to a
VMT of 10).
The geographical mismatch between workers,
jobs, and places to do errands adds to the level of VMT.
Most of Delaware’s commuters drive to work alone.
The last available numbers were from the 1990 census,
which showed over 258,000 workers fell into this
category.10 Organizations such as Transportation
Management Association (TMA) are providing successful
alternatives by implementing carpool, ride sharing,

Photo courtesy of WILMAPCO
Fairplay Station at Churchman’s Crossing
and other commute options to help reduce the VMT.
Some Delaware corporations provide jitney service to
employees.
In the fast-growing area of southern New Castle
County, traffic levels will be compounded by large lot
suburban reserve land-use standards. In this region,
bounded by the Maryland line and US 13 and from I-95
to just south of Middletown, new homes sitting on large
lots away from services, jobs, and schools are forecast-
ed to grow 76 percent to over 70,000 by 2020.17 The
majority of jobs and shopping will remain to the north,
forcing people to drive more miles between home,
work, and services. The growth of these homes will
occur incrementally, which will make it all the more
difficult to keep up with transportation needs.
Total traffic volume south of I-95 on Route 896,
Route 7, and Route 1 is projected to increase from just
fewer than 88,000 vehicles per day to almost 176,000
vehicles by 2020.17 Despite plans to improve transporta-
tion in this area, commuting time from south of the
canal toward Wilmington is expected to increase about
3 to 5 percent. Noise levels are also expected to worsen.
The benefit of road improvements could be negligible
because of the increased population and back and forth
commuter traffic.
Public transportation
provides a sustainable solution
The sheer volume of vehicular travel diminishes
the value of transit. In 1995, vehicles represented
90.8 percent of personal travel in the United States.18
However, public transportation consumes less land
and provides a long-term solution for congestion and
sprawl. One full bus takes 45 single-passenger vehicles
off the road.19
Delaware’s transit system has demonstrated a clear
ability to help reduce vehicular trips and has provided
a viable choice for Delaware commuters. Total public
transportation ridership has increased by 44 percent over
Sierra Club - Delaware Chapter
the last 10 years, even though it has decreased as a per-
centage of overall mode choice due to the tremendous
increase in VMT.11 Use of the SEPTA R2 commuter rail
service grew from 475,040 in 1995 to 645,808 in 1999.20
And yet, in a recent study by the STPP Delaware
was ranked in the “Offering Few Options” category, and
among the lowest average annual spending per capita
for transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities. Delaware
spent only 0.3 percent of flexible federal funds for alter-
native modes between 1992 and 1999.13
Delaware’s transportation challenge is its land-
use policies. Decentralization of activities hamper our
ability to build community centers where public trans-
portation and walking are convenient options.
Churchmans Crossing has the potential to become
Delaware’s first suburban model for mixed use develop-
ment where vital transportation options intermingle
with retail, restaurants, and other convenience services.
New mixed use transit-oriented development models
could be possible if Delaware adopted statewide
community design standards for pedestrians and public
transportation and provided incentives for the develop-
er. In established communities such as the Route 40
area, it would then be possible to pull together frag-
mented development through comprehensive master
planning, and future growth and transportation could
be jointly designed to enhance the existing community.
Master planning is the key
A growing number of communities and developers
around the country are looking at new arrangements of
development that emphasize making access by proximity
rather than mobility by transportation. This can work
for both established and new communities. National
developer Post Properties Inc. is shifting toward mixed-
use residential communities serviced by commuter
rail.21 To attract buyers, Post is employ-
ing a combination of good design,
Graphic courtesy of DELDOT
7
“By shifting open space, lighting, trees, landscaping, and close
proximity to transit stations.
community Neighborhood centers that combine homes, shops,
restaurants, banks, libraries, and parks with pedestrian,
design models biking, and transit links are able to serve large segments
of population that include the very young and the elderly
toward mixed-use who cannot drive. Delaware’s new neighborhood school
initiative will depend on safe walking and biking facili-
development and

Photo courtesy of Debbie Heaton

ties. This also offers an opportunity for communities to
work together to reduce the VMT.
cluster housing, The state’s wealth of on-grade parking lots lining
wide roadways surrounded by strip centers are a source
Delaware can of raw land for new housing and attractive walkable
mixed-use neighborhood centers served by public Septic fields, water supply and the burgeoning development in
make a pre- transit. Focusing on use of vacant lands and redevelop- southern New Castle County.
ment within existing urban service boundaries are a
emptive strike means to reduce traffic and create more affordable
transportation solutions. Other forms of infrastructure
against the Other innovative programs are helping to reduce
Schools
auto traffic: Maryland created a “Live Near Your Work”
continuing climb Our children experience the same traffic
program that provides a cash incentive for employees to
congestion and long rides on their way to school that
in auto traffic. live near their work in targeted neighborhoods.22 The
adults experience going to work. Schools are also strug-
City of Chicago set up a pilot project with four banks for
gling with the burden that sprawl has placed on their
This will take a location-efficient mortgages for people
shoulders. Money that should be spent to provide our
to capture the financial benefits of living in a neighbor-
children with the best education possible goes instead
statewide effort – hood that offers easy access to public transportation,
to cover the effects of sprawl. Enrollment in Delaware’s
pedestrian, and bicycle facilities, and is close to shops,
public school system increased by almost 8,000
up to 25 years – stores, and cultural amenities.23 Seattle’s Key Bank, with
students in the four-year period from 1994 to 1998.
30 branches in the area, lowered the VMT of its employ-
Schools in some areas have filled beyond capacity,
to plan for ees by allowing them to switch their place of employ-
forcing students to learn in the atmosphere of cramped
ment to bank branches closer to home.24
trailer classrooms. For example, at the end of the
growth and Policies for “least-cost” capital facilities have been
2000 spring term, Redding Middle School, in the
crafted by the state of Washington so that local govern-
transportation.” Appoquinimink School District, added six classroom
ments can give priority to investing in areas already
trailers to those already in use. Middletown Middle
developed where growth can be supported most efficient-
School is also adding trailer classrooms to handle the
ly.24 Funding goes toward high-quality “livability infra-
increasing number of students being bussed there.
structure” including street trees, sidewalk improvements,
While the middle schools are currently bearing the
transit stops, greenways, traffic calming (i.e., means of
brunt of this problem, these children soon will be going
reducing the average speed of traffic), neighborhood
to the local high schools. This creates an awkward
parks, public art, landscaping, and other neighborhood
situation of deciding which age group will receive
level improvements. Fees are waived or reduced for
money from the districts’ budgets to handle the influx
development that enhances already developed areas.
of students. At the same time, older schools in existing
Sprawl is at the heart of the Delaware’s transporta-
communities will suffer or close down as money is
tion dilemma. By shifting community design models
spent to build new schools on the outskirts of these
toward mixed-use development and cluster housing,
communities. Just as with transportation, sprawl has
Delaware can make a pre-emptive strike against the
created an endless cycle of spending for new schools.
continuing climb in auto traffic. Furthermore, new
In Maryland, the exodus of residents from urban cen-
infrastructure investments should be directed toward
ters has caused one county to close over 60 existing
existing communities. This will take a statewide effort –
schools, only to build the same number in outlying
up to 25 years – to plan for growth and transportation.
areas, at a cost of $500 million over a 20-year period.25
It is difficult to pay teachers what they deserve
and provide students with up-to-date materials when a

8 The Costs of Sprawl in Delaware


Photo courtesy of Dan Soeder
St. Jones River dam at Silver Lake.
district must focus on constantly building facilities and
paying the added costs associated with bussing children
further distances. Planned development can make a dif-
ference in providing our children a quality education.
Using our sister small state as an example, a study
produced for “Grow Smart Rhode Island” mapped out
two different scenarios: the first, sprawling development,
the second, revitalization of existing cities and towns.
The study showed that if communities opted for smart
growth development, they would save $31 million for
school facility expansion during the next 20 years.
The money saved can then be spent on improving the
current educational system instead of playing catch-up
with the increasing population.
Utilities
Development of land outside existing urban bound-
aries requires the extension or installation of sewer and
water utilities. Much of the residential construction on
large lots throughout Delaware uses wells for water sup-
ply and septic systems for water and waste disposal.
Essentially all of the public and private drinking water
supply south and east of I-95 is ground water, and most
private wells are relatively shallow.
In southern Delaware, where soils are sandy and
aquifers are thin and shallow the heavy use of septic
systems is having detrimental effects on water quality.26
Septic systems in the same aquifer can contaminate the
water supply. Although bacteria are filtered out after rela-
tively short travel distances through the ground, recent
studies in the coastal plain of Maryland indicate that
viruses can travel much further. Over half of the fresh
water supply to the Inland Bays originates as ground
water from seeps or springs. Nitrogen and phosphates
from septic systems, agricultural application of animal
manure, and nitrogen oxides from the atmosphere are
Sierra Club - Delaware Chapter
the three major factors contributing to the nutrient load
affecting water quality in our Inland Bays. Runoff from
fields travels to the bays fairly quickly via surface water,
but nutrients and pesticides in ground water take a long
time to work their way out of the system.27 Even if all
inputs stopped today, it would still take decades for the
high levels of nutrients to flush from the ground water
in southern Delaware.
New housing development requires the extension
of sewer and water lines. Making these utilities avail-
able, however, is a two-edged sword. Although sewer
systems help protect ground water and ultimately sur-
face water quality, their construction necessitates a
significant infrastructure cost, both for the lines and
for the water treatment facility. Their availability acts
as a magnet for greatly increased rates of residential
construction. As an example, a project is currently
being planned for the town of Kenton, which is located
4 miles from the closest existing infrastructure. The cost
to provide the needed sewer system will run close to
$2.5 million dollars and service only 100 homes.
Drinking water supply is another resource issue
affected by sprawl. Municipal water supplies in
Delaware are obtained from surface intakes on White
Clay Creek (City of Newark), Brandywine Creek and Red
Clay Creek (City of Wilmington), and the Christina River
(United Water Delaware). The City of Wilmington uses
Hoopes Reservoir as a reserve; it takes water from
Brandywine Creek, stores it, and releases it into Red
Clay Creek. All of the remaining municipal water sup-
plies in Delaware are ground water. One issue raised
during the drought in 1999 was the possibility of
expanding the capacity of Hoopes Reservoir, but it is
surrounded by country estates, which would be flooded
by raising water levels in the reservoir.
The City of Dover recently developed a new well “Development of
field in the unconfined aquifer to relieve some of their
dependence on the deep Piney Point aquifer, the city’s land outside
main water supply. Excessive water withdrawal from the
Piney Point aquifer has lowered the pressure head by as
existing urban
much as 140 feet at the city’s main wells.28 The effect of
boundaries
this water drawdown in the Piney Point extends under
the Delaware Bay into New Jersey. Water from the uncon- requires the
fined aquifer, however, is of lower quality and must be
treated for iron and acidity and must be disinfected extension or
before being introduced into the city’s water supply.
Yet new developments and an increased demand for installation of
water continue unabated around the periphery of Dover.
The situation in northern Delaware is even worse. sewer and water
Here, extensive ground water withdrawal from the
Potomac aquifer has sparked complaints from the utilities.”
State of New Jersey to the Delaware River Basin
9
“The size and Commission. Water purveyors in New Castle County
were supplying over 20 million gallons per day (mgd)
placement of in 1995, pumped from the Potomac Group
aquifers.29 This volume has increased over the past five
emergency years. The New Jersey complaint alleges that ground
water levels in the P-R-M aquifer units (equivalent to
services are the Potomac aquifer) in Salem and Gloucester Counties
have been lowered by pumping in Delaware to the point
driven by the where New Jersey has placed a moratorium on water
permits for new construction in these counties.30
need for short Continued rural residential development in New Jersey,
Delaware, and Maryland strains the system even further.
response times, Ground water supplies in southern Delaware are
hampered by a thin unconfined aquifer at the surface
but spread-out
and a lack of thick, productive confined aquifers at
community depth. At present, ground water has been sufficient for
the needs of the public water supply, industry, and agri-
design makes culture, with withdrawals in Sussex County averaging
93 mgd in 1995. However, the lion’s share of this water
access difficult.” is used by agriculture and industry, with only 11 mgd
going for public supply. Increased residential, commer-
cial, and resort developments planned for Sussex County
will have to compete with agriculture and industry for
water supplies. Because it is in the southern part of
the state and the main confined aquifers dip to the
south, wells in Sussex County must be drilled deeper
to tap into these aquifers. But this leads to another con-
cern: the quality of the water in these aquifers degrades
with depth. Dissolved minerals and salts are present in
greater abundance in the aquifers at lower depths.
To add to the problem, wells tapping into these aquifers
further north tend to draw the mineralized water up
from depth due to the pumping, thus degrading the
water quality in the southern part of the state even
further. The Piney Point aquifer, for example, cannot be
used for drinking water south of Milford, because heavy
pumping in Dover has brought salinities at the EPA
drinking water limit of 250 parts per million northward
to the Kent-Sussex line.31 Coastal areas of Sussex County
also have to be aware that over pumping the unconfined
aquifer can cause saltwater intrusion from the
ocean. This is a problem in Ocean City, Maryland and
Wildwood, New Jersey, and will happen in Delaware if
coastal areas are over developed.
Emergency and medical services
Unrelenting sprawl can also have negative impacts
on Delaware’s police, fire, and emergency medical
services. No one knowingly wishes to place his or her
safety in jeopardy, but far-flung development does just
that. In order to meet demands, resources for emer-
gency services must extend over wider service areas.
Although police and fire stations place smaller
demands on land consumption, they entail sizable
operating costs. They require personnel to be on call 24
hours a day, seven days a week. The size and placement
of emergency services are driven by the need for short
response times, but spread-out community design
makes access difficult. Many communities have had
to raise taxes to add emergency stations.
While New Castle County and municipalities have
their own police departments, the Delaware State Police
provide security for Kent and Sussex Counties and the
major highways in New Castle County. The size of the
state police force is fixed by the General Assembly and

To understand groundwater…
one needs a brief description of the geology of the state. Northern Delaware consists of
fractured, metamorphic bedrock of the piedmont, overlain by thin soils. On a line roughly
parallel to I-95, the ancient rocks of the piedmont plunge to great depth, and are overlain
with sediments deposited by rivers and by coastal processes. These sediments consist of
sands and gravels, interlayered with fine sediments like silt, mud, and clay. The sands and
gravels produce water readily, and are known as “aquifers.” It is much more difficult for
water to move through the impermeable, fine-grained silts and muds, which are known as
“confining units.” From central New Castle County to southern Sussex, the geology consists
of these alternating layers of coarse and fine sediments, with the layers dipping gently
toward the south-southeast. The entire sediment column is thousands of feet thick. At the
ground surface, a younger layer of sediments is present, which sits horizontally on the dip-
ping layers like a cap. These sediments were deposited during the ice ages when the great
glaciers to the north periodically melted and huge volumes of melt water came down the
Delaware and Susquehanna River valleys. This upper unit ranges from 50 to 100 feet thick
in Kent and New Castle counties and 30 to 50 feet thick in Sussex County. It is known as
the “unconfined aquifer” or “surficial aquifer,” and it is a major source of ground water in
all three counties.

10 The Costs of Sprawl in Delaware

Cycle of Subsidies
Company asks state, county or city for a tax break,
subsidy or land grant to either encourage it to relocate
or to build a new facility. Many times this involves
moving an established business from an existing
development to the fringe.
is not indexed to population increases or rising crime
and accident statistics. Sprawl has created a need for
a larger police force. Between 1995 and 1998, the
Delaware State Police reported a 130 percent increase
in the number of complaints they received.32 Coupled
with the increased traffic along our roadways, this
means longer delays in response time to reach those
in need of assistance. Also, building new roadways,
specifically the opening of new sections of Route 1,
requires additional police patrol, further straining the
personnel resources.
According to Captain Joseph Papili, State Police
Director of Planning, putting one officer on patrol over
a 24-hour period requires the hiring of five full-time
police officers. The costs associated with the first year
of a single officer’s employment total around $88,451.
This cost is higher the first year because of the training
and equipment costs that are not repeated until the
fourth year of employment. During the intermittent
years, the costs are around $50,668. Thus, the needs
of the community are not the sole factor in increasing
Delaware’s police force; it is also a question of obtaining
the necessary funding.
Corporate subsidies
Ending sprawl is not about stopping development
and growth, but rather about what direction economic
development should take. Explosive growth at the exur-
ban fringe coupled with slow growth in older urban
centers leads to traffic problems and evaporation of
sense of community. Growing numbers of metropolitan
areas throughout the country are beginning to address
these challenges by thinking and acting more like coop-
erative metropolitan regions. They are also developing
more integrated approaches and practical solutions than
in the past. To achieve balance, transit and mixing land
uses are tools used to encourage an environment where
Sierra Club - Delaware Chapter
State, county or city to build its tax base and attract jobs, grants
the company major tax breaks and subsidies. They often also
provide infrastructure – like new roads, water lines and sewage
service – to the new development. Since it’s easier to build on
undeveloped land, many states also often offer open space to
entice business to move.
The cost of providing the infrastructure and subsidies to the
new business turns out to be greater than the economic benefit
provided. To make up for the revenue shortfall, the city, county
or state feels compelled to bring more business to the area
and develop more open space.
activities and centers of interest are closely located,
easily accessed, and provide the workforce and resi-
dents broader housing options.
As more and more people are attracted to Delaware
as a place to live and work, further strain is placed on
the infrastructure. States and metropolitan areas create a
cycle of corporate subsidies by feverishly competing to
lure corporations and development projects that create
jobs. At the expense of taxpayers, companies are offered
a host of enticements, from undeveloped land to tax dis-
counts, utility deals, massive road projects, and, in some
cases, straight cash. Companies shop around for the best
deal, and states grant the subsidy package, build local
tax bases, and provide new jobs. Because it is easier to
build on undeveloped land, open space is offered as a
bonus. Unfortunately, the cost of providing the infrastruc-
ture and subsidies to the new business turns out to be
greater than the economic benefits provided. Despite the
push to attract new business, there is no guarantee
a company will stay. When traffic congestion takes over
and little open space is left, the overall quality of life is
seriously compromised. That is when corporations think
about moving. Abandoned by business, the community is
left shouldering the high costs of services and salvaging
the job market. The cycle of sprawl starts over as impact-
ed local communities must find ways to compensate for
tax revenue shortfalls in order to pay for additional infra-
structure and services to serve the growth.
Subsidies only play a marginal role in where
companies choose to locate. A survey was conducted
of chief executives and top managers at 118 foreign-
owned companies with operations in North Carolina.33
The survey showed that when corporations decide to
move, they tend to look more at factors like the quality
and availability of labor and transportation, the overall
quality of life, and general business climate as the
critical factors in their decisions.
11
 Affects of sprawl on the environment

Delaware’s size makes the issue of open space an important one. While we spend
many billions of dollars to plan and build our infrastructure, our failure to plan for
and protect our “green infrastructure” condemns it to inevitable destruction. The
importance of open space to our environment and balance of life cannot be over
emphasized. It is necessary to preserve our state’s environmental health and biologi-
cal diversity, which in turn protects the health of our citizens. Preserving open space
provides local communities retreats for physical and spiritual recreation and at the
same time preserves the natural heritage of our land.

“Delaware leads Biodiversity
Delaware has lost prime farmland, forests, and
the nation in the wetlands to sprawl. It is difficult to imagine that the land
we now call Delaware was once almost entirely forested
loss of native with immense stands of hardwoods, bald cypress, and
white cedar. Even 20 years ago, at most 3.5 percent of
plant and animal the land remained in anything like its original state.36 We
will never return to the original condition of our land.
species…” Yet we have a duty to ourselves and our children to pre-
serve what diversity we have inherited. Sadly, Delaware
leads the nation in the loss of native plant and animal
species,35 and 41 percent of its existing plant species are
considered rare or endangered.36 The remaining undis-
turbed land is comprised of scattered, isolated areas of
open space where their small size does little to help
preserve Delaware’s native species.
In order to survive, Delaware’s native plant and
animal life require somewhat large undisturbed areas.
Of Delaware’s more than 1,600 native plant species,
more than 10 percent are believed to be extinct; anoth-
er 10 percent are extremely rare; and another 20 per-
cent are uncommon.37 These percentages are likely to
rise as fragmentation allows exotic species to take a
firmer hold, further closing out and preventing the
continued survival of native species. Delaware’s native
animal population is not fairing much better. According
to the Division of Fish and Wildlife, 84 percent of our
native freshwater mussel species are either extinct or
extremely rare; 50 percent of our native reptiles and
amphibians are extremely rare; 31 percent of our
native fish species are uncommon; and nearly 20
percent of bird species naturally nesting here are
considered rare or extinct.38
Water quality
In addition to providing drinking water, Delaware’s
waterways provide recreation and sources of income
from fishing. In fact, the recreation and fishing
industries are major sources of income in our state.
However, the resource on which this industry is based is
in a perilous state. While the EPA has classified 41 per-
cent of our nation’s waterways on average as being
drinkable, fishable, and swimmable, Delaware is much
worse: only 14 percent of our waters receive a favorable
rating.39 As of 2000, with regard to Delaware’s rivers
and streams, an estimated 71 percent cannot fully sup-
port fish and wildlife, and 96 percent do not support
swimming.40 In northern New Castle County, only the
White Clay Creek receives an acceptable rating for
consumption of unlimited quantities of fish. All other
streams are rated either as unacceptable for any fish
consumption or for a maximum of one 8-ounce serving
a year. The problems of the Inland Bays have received
considerable attention; excess nitrogen and phosphorus
have produced massive blooms of an alga known as sea
lettuce, previously rare in the bays.
Sources of pollution in Delaware’s waters vary
greatly. The Delaware, Brandywine, and Christina Rivers
were once used as industrial sewers. The Clean Water
Act has done much to eliminate point source pollution
from industries, to the extent that water quality in the
Delaware has improved greatly in the last 10 to 15
years. Evidence of past practices remains in the form of
heavy metal and persistent organic residues in river silt
and mud. Many older cities were built with connected
systems of storm water and sewage systems to handle
runoff from major storm events. This situation persists
in Wilmington, where even 0.1 inch of rain in a limited
period can lead to raw sewage running into the
Brandywine and Christina Rivers. Other water bodies
receive bacterial contamination, nitrogen, phosphorus,
and pesticide residues from agricultural activity, particu-
larly because forested strips along stream banks –
which act as buffers to filter out these contaminants –
have been removed. Population growth, leading to

12 The Costs of Sprawl in Delaware


Wetlands along Roy Creek to be developed by the proposed Americana Bayside Project.
increasing number of dwellings and paved roads,
driveways, and parking lots, has resulted in greatly
increased levels of stormwater runoff with attendant
sediment in the streams as well as contamination from
petroleum products.
It is known that, over the years, waste from
National Priority List Superfund sites leaches into the
soil and ends up in our groundwater; Delaware is home
to 17 of these sites.40 Construction within flood plains
and the channelization of streams have exacerbated
these problems. For example, a one-acre parking lot
generates 16 times more polluted runoff than a mead-
ow, washing toxic chemicals and hydrocarbon pollutants
into our streams, lakes, and coastal areas.
Population growth has major impacts on water
quality in a number of ways. In addition to the effects
already noted for northern New Castle and eastern
Sussex Counties, the projected growth in southern New
Castle and northern Kent Counties in the next ten years
will have major impacts on the waterways. Because of a
suit brought by the American Littoral Society and the
Delaware Sierra Club against the EPA in 1997, the state
of Delaware is required to produce assessments of
water quality for each of the major river systems in the
state and then to propose implementation plans for
water quality improvement. Already the assessments are
provoking resistance, particularly from communities
faced with water treatment issues. The implementation
plans will likely be at least as contentious. However, the
water quality assessments that DNREC is providing are
merely snapshots in time of the condition of state waters
now. Increases in population – for example, large pro-
jected increases in single-family home construction
within the Appoquinimink watershed – will have major
Sierra Club - Delaware Chapter
Photo courtesy of Terri Usuki
implications on the quality of this river. Older residents “…a one-acre
around Middletown and Odessa have already noted a
significant increase in sediment in the streams and trib- parking lot gen-
utaries. DNREC recently completed water quality data
collection for the Inland Bays watershed and is erates 16 times
currently implementing similar data collection in the
Appoquinimink and Nanticoke watersheds. Data more polluted
collection points are located in areas with different
types of land use: agricultural, forested, residential, runoff than a
and urban. The hope is that the data will eventually
reveal how differences in land-use practices contribute meadow, washing
toward the preservation or decline of a watershed.
toxic chemicals
Air quality
The EPA has ranked Delaware as having the second and hydrocarbon
worst level of air quality in the nation. According to
DNREC, Delaware meets all National Ambient Air Quality pollutants into
Standards for toxic pollutants set by the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990 except for ground level ozone. our streams,
Delaware exceeds the national standard for this pollu-
tant, resulting in public health risks and potential lakes, and
threats to continued economic development and future
coastal areas.”
transportation investments. New Castle and Kent coun-
ties are classified as “severe” ozone non-attainment
areas, one class lower than Los Angeles, which is in
the “extreme” category. Sussex County currently has
marginal non-attainment area status. Any lapse in
meeting conformance requirements could pose serious
consequences to the state.
Motor vehicles traveling on Delaware roads con-
tribute over 24 percent of the total emissions that make
up ozone, according to the Delaware Department of
Transportation. In New Castle County, emissions of
smog-producing nitrogen oxides exceed the allotted
budget for transportation conformity by 1.5 tons. This is
13
“In New Castle equal to approximately 150,000 one-mile trips per day.
Contributing to the state’s non-conformity status
County, are recent changes of lower mobile source emission
budgets for 2002 and 2005, speed limit increases to
emissions of 65 miles per hour on SR 1 and I-495, and projections
of continued growth of suburban sprawl in New Castle
smog-producing and Kent counties. Delaware is now under pressure to
establish a program to demonstrate its ability to meet
nitrogen oxides compliance by 2005, with deadlines for solutions by
each county falling in 2001. Judy Katz, Director, Air
exceed the Protection Division, EPA, Region III, recently provided
a warning to the Air Quality Mobile Source Committee
allotted budget that Delaware must now make the hard decisions or
funding for major transportation expansion projects
for transportation may be held up.
Ground level ozone is the major component of
conformity by smog. While ozone in the upper atmosphere occurs nat-
urally and protects life on earth from harmful ultraviolet
1.5 tons. This radiation, ozone at ground level is a noxious pollutant.
Ground level ozone is formed by the reaction of
is equal to
oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic com-
pounds (VOC) in the presence of sunlight. Ozone is a
approximately
severe irritant, responsible for choking, coughing, and
150,000 stinging eyes associated with smog. It can damage lung
tissue, aggravates respiratory disease, and makes people
one-mile trips more susceptible to respiratory infections. Children and
senior citizens are especially vulnerable to ozone’s
per day.” harmful effects, as are people with existing disease.
Besides health problems, ozone harms vegetation,
resulting in crop loss, increased tree and plant suscepti-
bility to disease, and potential long-term effects on
forests and ecosystems.
The connection between suburban sprawl and air
quality has long been recognized. The American Lung
Association declared as early as 1974 that land use
policy is crucial to controlling air pollution. As subur-
ban sprawl increases the number of roads, the vehicles
on them, and the length of time spent driving, our air
quality will only get worse. The EPA estimates that the
tremendous growth in driving throughout the United
States will begin to overtake all the gains we have made
reducing air pollution through applications of cleaner
fuels. “Americans are driving their cars almost 60 per-
cent more than in 1990,” according to the EPA’s Livable
Communities Initiative.
With inadequate options for transit, biking
and pedestrian connections, Delaware has limited its
ability to comply with Clean Air Act requirements. A
long term vision of bold new transportation and land
use strategies is needed to improve our air quality
and keep ahead of future projected increases in auto
emissions. The only real solution is reducing vehicle
miles traveled, which can only be done by shifting
14
the sprawl paradigm toward more centered growth.
Human environment
In order to achieve their suburban dream,
Delaware citizens have abandoned their once vibrant
cities and towns. Fleeing our urban centers leaves us
with failing urban economies, diminished quality of life,
and the financial burden of social services to serve the
needy. Hardest hit are the poor and the elderly. This is
a long-term trend in Delaware. In 1920, one out of two
Delawareans resided in Wilmington. Today, one in ten
does.43 Wilmington’s population was stable between
1920 and 1950 but had already begun to decline
noticeably by 1960, prior to the city’s racial problems.
As people move away from urban locations, local
employers and service providers follow. Urban dwellers
are left with fewer employment options and must travel
further distances to jobs. Insufficient transit routes and
poor transit connections penalize those without person-
al transportation and may even preclude them from
entering the workforce. Additional time spent commut-
ing adds another layer of expense on before- and after-
work childcare, an expense that some families may not
be able to afford. These are ways that sprawl contributes
to economic and racial segregation.
Sprawl puts the elderly at risk, often leaving
them isolated and unable to be self-sufficient. Many
of the businesses and services on which they depend
have relocated to suburban areas and are no longer
accessible from their communities.
Abandoned neighborhoods not only affect those
that remain behind, they also affect Delaware’s cultural
history. About 90 percent of the historical buildings in
Delaware are found within town limits.44 As people
continue their flight from these areas, historic proper-
ties often become derelict. Delaware can become more
aggressive in saving buildings with historic significance
by listing them on the National Register and providing
incentives for their revitalization.
Sprawl also affects the quality of life for those in
the suburbs. Parents with long commutes to work and
the need to do errands after work leave children in
daycare or at home alone for long periods of time.
Lack of transportation alternatives, and an ever-increas-
ing distance to parks and schools, leave children
dependent on parents for outdoor activities. Young
adults lacking community centers or areas for organized
programs have too much free time and little opportunity
for exposure to positive activities and role models. As a
result, we have generations of children who spend more
time indoors watching TV and playing video games
rather than engaging in constructive activities with other
children and adults.
The Costs of Sprawl in Delaware
 Conclusions and recommendations

“Instead of debating whether growth will occur, communities should be discussing the
patterns of development: where we put it, how we arrange it, and what it looks like,”
said Edward T. McMahon, Director of the American Greenways Program of The
Conservation Fund. Because of the pressures of projected population growth over the
next 20 years, the history of Delaware’s land use decisions, and the nature of our
physical environment, Delaware confronts enormous challenges that require novel
approaches for preventing continued haphazard development and destruction of our
natural resources. The problems are statewide and in all three counties. Any solution
to growth management must face the overriding issue in our state – the discrepancy
between county and municipal decision-making and state control of major elements
of the planning matrix, namely transportation, natural resources, and agriculture.

“Insanity can be The following are recommendations for a more
rational and integrated approach to land use planning.
defined as doing The governor must provide clear and
decisive leadership to reshape Delaware’s
the same thing thinking on land use
As a summary of the Delaware Land Use Summit
over and over held in the spring of 1997, the Choices for Delaware
Study Committee produced a document containing a
and expecting a number of recommendations for changes in the way
our state approaches land use and infrastructure deci-
different result.” sion-making.45 After nearly three-and- a-half years, very
few of these recommendations have been acted upon.
It is clear that leadership at the highest state level must
be present to encourage changes in state, county, and
municipal responsibility for planning. Since each gover-
nor can practically select only one or two areas for
emphasis during his or her administration, we strongly
encourage the future governor to adopt land use plan-
ning as the key issue in the next 4 to 8 years.
Effective land use planning will necessarily include
economic growth and natural resource conservation.
Studies have repeatedly shown that an attractive physical
environment and adequate infrastructure are key
inducements for companies to locate in a particular
area. Thus, effective land use planning will reap impor-
tant benefits in the state’s efforts to attract new business.
Instead of attempting to attract computer chip fabricat-
ing facilities, which consume millions of gallons of pre-
cious water a day, Delaware should adopt the strategy of
neighboring Pennsylvania in seeking out new businesses
aligned with computer software, biotechnology, and
pharmaceuticals. By locating these companies in attrac-
tive destination parks where shared services and com-
muter travel options are available, these new businesses
Sierra Club - Delaware Chapter
will provide tax revenues to counties and at the same
time reduce trip miles in areas already over capacity.
Establish concurrence in planning between
different levels of government.
Delaware must solve its core problem of growth
management: the split between municipal and county
land use planning and state resource planning. The jeal-
ousy with which the counties guard their decision-making
prerogative is palpable; yet the counties will never have
the resources to deal effectively with transportation, open
space, and farmland preservation. A solution must be
found if we are to achieve truly comprehensive planning.
Establishing concurrence has many
elements. The following are all important.
■ Re-establish the Office of State Planning Coordination
as a cabinet-level function, adequately staffed and
funded.
■ Establish mechanisms of achieving concurrence
between the Delaware Conservation, Development
and Redevelopment Plan (DCDRP) and the county
comprehensive plans along the lines recommended
in the Choices for Delaware Study Committee
Recommendations. Key elements in this will be to
ensure that adequately funded open space acquisition
and farmland preservation (see below) be coordinat-
ed across state and county jurisdictions, that plans
for transportation infrastructure be harmonized with
county development plans, and that growth areas
within counties be coordinated with school districts.
■ Require municipalities to have comprehensive
growth plans. Provide planning expertise to the cities
and towns as dictated by the financial burden of the
planning function.
15
 ■ Establish mechanisms for achieving intergovernmen-
tal coordination between counties and municipali-
ties, such that plans for annexation do not conflict
with county growth plans and that comprehensive
plans in the border regions are coordinated.
■ Through the agency of the Delaware Office of State
Planning Coordination, establish mechanisms of
coordination between the Departments of Agriculture
and of Natural Resources for preservation of farm-
land and open space. This is particularly important
with regard to the preservation of critical natural
areas not yet under state or county control.
■ Bring the Delaware Economic Development Office
under the umbrella of the Delaware Office of State
Planning Coordination. While economic development
is important to the state, this program must be coor-
dinated with state and county land use planning.
Provide long-term funding for open space
acquisition and farmland preservation.
A meaningful open space program will require
$250 million dollars over ten years. This number is
derived from scaling the program recently developed
in New Jersey to the land area of Delaware. No effort
has been made to correct differences in land values.
While the value of land in northern New Castle County
approximates that of land in the developed sections of
New Jersey, land values in southern Delaware are lower.
A program for purchase of farmland development rights
will need $200 million over 20 years.
We must be creative in thinking of ways to fund
open space acquisition and farmland preservation. One
solution is to create a large bond bill specifically for
these purposes. But other means exist. Pennsylvania is
obtaining $40 to $50 million a year from a 2¢ cigarette
tax. Currently, the cigarette sales tax difference between
Maryland and Delaware is 26¢. Using half the difference
for land acquisition would provide an adequate program.
Establish county comprehensive
plans as true planning documents
The state legislation that instituted the system of
county comprehensive plans imbued them with the
force of law. Yet, if Delaware is to achieve true land use
planning, then additional elements will be required.
We shall need to:
■ Identify centers within designated growth areas (e.g.,
Rehoboth Beach-Lewes, Milford, suburban Dover,
southern New Castle County, Bear-Glasgow,
Hockessin) and establish for each a 25-year build-out
plan. Such plans should include maps of open space
and farmland targeted for acquisition or preservation,
16
Photo courtesy of WILMAPCO
SEPTA R2 commuter rail at the Wilmington Train Station.
placement of infrastructure, necessary highway
improvements prior to development, plans for public
transportation and alternative transportation, and
areas for commercial and industrial designation.
■ Provide incentives for new forms of development.
The assumption is that all people living in a subur-
ban environment demand at least a quarter acre. Yet,
there are examples of successful cluster housing that
preserve open space in a setting that fosters commu-
nity spirit. At the Land Use Summit in 1997, promot-
ers of the Whitehall development in southern New
Castle County (a large development involving multi-
ple housing types, areas for commercial establish-
ments and considerable open space preservation)
asked the question of environmentalists at the meet-
ing, “What do you find objectionable in the Whitehall
plan?” There is nothing inherently wrong with the
Whitehall concept if watersheds and sensitive areas
are preserved. In fact, a strong argument can be
made for this concept’s being the preferred form of
development. But if Whitehall is an island in a sea of
tract housing, then we have achieved no truly com-
prehensive development plan for the region.
■ Within the framework of 25-year build-out plans,
coordinate the preservation of open space, forests,
and stream corridors. By doing so, larger areas of
open space can be preserved, providing beneficial
habitat protection and making possible systems of
walking and biking trails. In some cases this kind of
coordination will allow the use of existing terrain fea-
tures for stormwater control, rather than relying
almost exclusively on stormwater retention basins.
■ Develop zoning as a mechanism for achieving smart
manageable growth, rather than for promoting sprawl.
Zoning should be used to direct growth into urban
centers with established urban growth boundaries. By
creating zoning and design standards for mixed use
and by using zoning to curtail the spread of commer-
The Costs of Sprawl in Delaware
 cial strip malls along major transportation arteries,
commercial development can be directed into more
esthetically pleasing commercial parks that may also
serve as transportation hubs providing transit.
■ Effective statewide sunsetting laws must be estab-
lished. Sunsetting is a program of time limits follow-
ing approval of a subdivision plan for development
to begin. If the development is not started within the
designated time, it must be resubmitted for approval
to insure that the subdivision complies with existing
code and zoning laws. However, current legislation
will not affect most developments that have been
applied for or where construction has begun and has
remained uncompleted, even for years.46 This is a
statewide problem. Effective land use planning
requires that planners have control over dormant
plans and subdivisions.
It is not too late for smart growth planning for
northern New Castle County. The county has an abun-
dance of shopping malls that have lost out to the even
larger shopping malls in the area. A successful idea in
California has been to convert these older malls into con-
dominium developments, reserving enough space for
public transportation hubs and commuter parking, and
commercial space for many of the needs of commuters
(e.g., childcare facility, drugstore, dry cleaner). To be
successful, the counties must work proactively, to retool
these underutilized existing resources.
Urban renewal and redevelopment must be
elements in overall land use planning.
At the Land Use Summit in 1997, the City of
Wilmington gave an impassioned plea for redevelopment
of the city as an element in Delaware’s growth strategy.
Wilmington already has in place most of the needed infra-
structure and yet its population decline is approximately
equal to the projected growth in the state over the next 20
years. The location of major banks and corporate offices
in Wilmington has marginal impact, since these buildings
tend to be self-contained islands that have little affect on
the city as a whole. Ideally, businesses attracted to the city
should provide employment opportunities to residents of
the city. For renewal to be successful, an alliance of city,
county, state, and federal interests must be formed.
Neighborhoods must be reclaimed, involving community
input at all stages, to provide a mix of low- and middle-
income housing in a safe and attractive environment. An
aggressive brownfields program is needed that will help
revitalize existing neighborhoods and industrial areas,
preventing unnecessary sprawl, and providing new eco-
nomic development opportunities. The combined sewer
overflow problems, resulting in raw sewage entering the
Sierra Club - Delaware Chapter
Brandywine and Christina Rivers during even minor rain
events, will require money from state and federal sources
to be solved quickly and completely.
In other cities and towns, such as Dover,
Middletown and Milford, careful design of housing
options within the existing municipal boundaries will
preserve these town centers and help keep the surround-
ing areas from development. Rather than municipal
annexation of county land, we should consider establish-
ing green belts as ways to preserve and enhance the
urban environments.
Delaware’s Inland Bays
and coastal areas must be protected.
■ Delaware’s Inland Bays are an incomparable
economic resource for tourism, recreation, and
commercial fishing. We risk squandering this
resource if we do not act promptly to conserve it
from the effects of excessive and unmanaged devel-
opment. The state should assume some responsibility
for the protection of its Inland Bays as one of its
most important resources.
■ Improving the water quality in the Inland Bays will not
happen overnight. It will demand more resources than
Sussex County alone can muster, particularly with
regard to wastewater treatment and discharge. The
dilemma of how to deal with residential sewage con-
tinues to plague us. Proliferating septic systems threat-
en shallow aquifers in sandy soils and ultimately the
Inland Bays themselves. Once installed, sewer systems
act as magnets for increased development. One alter-
native is a contained residential sewage system that is
pumped at regular intervals. Rather than pay a sewer
fee, homeowners would pay a periodic pumping fee.
■ The Senate and House of the General Assembly are
currently considering bills SB273 and HB 446, which
would regulate housing developments in the Coastal
Zone. These bills would provide an uncommon level
of state oversight of county land use decisions.
Without a clear and timely county plan for coastal
land protection and voluntary coordination between
the county and the Department of Natural Resources,
such legislation will be necessary.
■ Delaware is unique among states in having in place
the Coastal Zone Act regulating industrial activity. The
danger today is excessive residential development that
threatens air and water quality and wetland destruc-
tion in the same way that industrial activity did in the
past. Unmanaged, Delaware’s coastal resources will
disappear.
17
Notes 23 Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chicago, IL, 1999-2000 Location Efficient
Mortgage Partnership, and on their website at http://www.cnt.org/lem.
1 These population statistics were taken from D. A. Ames & R. Dean, Projected
24 Redevelopment for Livable Communities Program. Energy Outreach Center,
Population Growth and New Arithmetic of Development in Delaware 1990-
Olympia, WA, 1997.
2020, 1999; citing various U.S. Census publications and the Delaware
25 Robert. W. Burchell, Maryland Department of Planning, Impact Assessment
Population Consortium, Annual Population Projections. Version 1998.0,
Study of Maryland Schools, 1999.
January 1998, Dover, Delaware.
26 Judith M. Denver, Effects of Agricultural Practices and Septic-System Effluent on
2 T. C. Thomas and J. Mackenzie, “Farmland Preservation in the Middletown-
the Quality of Water in the Unconfined Aquifer in Parts of Eastern Sussex
Odessa-Townsend Area of Delaware.” Department of Food & Resource
County, Delaware Geological Survey, Report of Investigations, 66 pp, 1989.
Economics, College of Agricultural Sciences, University of Delaware, 1996.
27 Robert J. Shedlock et al., Water-Quality Assessment of the Delmarva Peninsula,
3 Delaware Office of State Planning Coordination, “Gross Land Use Changes in
Delaware, Maryland and Virginia: Results of Investigations, 1987-1991. U. S.
Delaware, 1992 to 1997.” http://www.state.de.us/planning/info/lulcdata/
Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 2355-A, 41pp, Reston, VA, 1999.
change/lulcchng.htm (1999).
28 Pierre J. Lacombe and Robert Rosman, Water Levels in, Extent of Fresh Water
4 “The Economic Benefits of Parks and Open Space”, The Trust for Public Land,
in, and Water Withdrawals from Eight Major Confined Aquifers, New Jersey
1999.
Coastal Plain, 1993. U. S. Geological Survey Water Resources Investigation
5 Eben Fodor, “Better Not Bigger”, New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, B.C.,
Report 96-4206, Reston, VA, 1996.
Canada, 1999.
29 Judith C. Wheeler, Freshwater Use in Delaware, 1995, U.S. Geological Survey
6 “As Delaware dawdles, farms fade away. Other states move to preserve farm-
Fact Sheet FS-126-99, Reston, VA, 1999.
land as First State’s efforts lose momentum,” News Journal, 6/6/99, reported by
30 Erika Hobbs, “Rural growth putting NJ in hot water,” Philadelphia Inquirer,
John Long.
August 21, 2000.
7 “Southern Delaware Changing With Rush of Development”, AP Wire Service
31 Pierre J. Lacombe and Robert Rosman, Water Levels in, Extent of Fresh Water
story by Christopher Thorne, as picked up in the May 11, 2000 issue of the
in, and Water Withdrawals from Eight Major Confined Aquifers, New Jersey
Smart Growth News (www.smartgrowthnews), the electronic newsletter of the
Coastal Plain, 1993. U. S. Geological Survey Water Resources. Investigation
Urban Land Institute.
Report 96-4206, Reston, VA, 1996.
8 Delaware Office of State Planning Coordination, Shaping Delaware’s Future:
32 Delaware Office of State Planning Coordination, Shaping Delaware’s Future:
Managing Growth in 21st Century Delaware, Strategies for State Policies and
Managing Growth in 21st Century Delaware, Strategies for State Policies and
Spending, 1999; citing U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Status and Recent Trends
Spending, 1999.
of Wetlands in Five Mid-Atlantic States, 1986; and an updated U.S. Fish and
33 Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise Survey, as noted in the News and Observer
Wildlife Service inventory.
(Raleigh, North Carolina), November 5, 1999.
9 Environmental Law Institute, Protecting Delaware’s Natural Heritage: Tools for
34 L. M. Fleming, Delaware’s Outstanding Natural Areas and Their Preservation.
Biodiversity Conservation, Washington, DC: ELI, 1999.
Delaware Nature Society, Forward, 1978.
10 “Delaware Transportation Facts”, State of Delaware, Department of
35 DNREC, State of Delaware: 1998 Watershed Assessment Report (305(b)),
Transportation, Office of External Affairs, Dover, DE, 1999.
DNREC: Dover, DE. III 4-6, 1998.
11 Information from Ralph Reeb, Deputy Director, Delaware Department of
36 W. A. McAvoy, Rare Native Plants of Delaware, DNHP, DNREC: Smyrna, DE,
Transportation Office of Planning.
1998.
12 1999 Urban Mobility Study, Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), Texas A&M
37 Delaware Office of State Planning Coordination, Shaping Delaware’s Future:
University, College Station, TX; the 16th annual study is available at http://
Managing Growth in 21st Century Delaware, Strategies for State Policies and
mobility.tamu.edu.
Spending, 1999.
13 March 2000 Report: Changing Direction, Federal Transportation Spending in
38 Ibid. For a thorough discussion of the threats to Delaware’s plants and animals,
the 1990’s and 1999 Tools of the Month. Surface Transportation Policy Project,
see Environmental Law Institute, Protecting Delaware’s Natural Heritage: Tools
Washington, D.C.
for Biodiversity Conservation, Washington, DC: Environmental Law Institute,
14 Capital Improvement Program, Fiscal Years 2001-2006, Delaware Department
1999.
of Transportation, Dover, DE.
39 Environmental Law Institute, Protecting Delaware’s Natural Heritage: Tools for
15 Route 40 Corridor 20-Year Transportation Plan, Delaware Department of
Biodiversity Conservation, Executive Summary, Washington, DC: ELI, 1999; cit-
Transportation, Dover, DE, June 19, 2000.
ing DNREC, Division of Water Resources, 1998 (305(b)) Watershed
16 Eben Fodor, Better Not Bigger, New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, British
Assessment Report, p. I-4.
Columbia, Canada, 1999.
40 DNREC, Division of Water Resources, 2000 (305(b)) Watershed Assessment
17 Greater Route 301 Major Investment Study Final Report, Delaware Department
Report, p. 3 and 123-126.
of Transportation and the Wilmington Area Planning Council, prepared by
41 Delaware Office of State Planning Coordination, Shaping Delaware’s Future:
Vanesse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., Boston, MA, January 21, 2000.
Managing Growth in 21st Century Delaware, Strategies for State Policies and
18 Part of a presentation by Robert Cervero, Professor, Department of City and
Spending, 1999; citing Delaware Department of Transportation Plan, 1996.
Regional Planning, University of California, Berkeley, at “Moving People:
42 Wilmington Area Planning Council, WILMAPCO Emissions Calculations
Transportation Options for Delaware,” sponsored by the University of Delaware,
Summary, July Scenarios, August 14, 2000.
March 17, 2000.
43 Statistics from the Delaware State Data Center.
19 I-95 Is Closing Planning and Survival Guide, Delaware Department of
44 Ibid.; citing State Historical Preservation Office.
Transportation, Dover, DE, March, 2000.
45 Choices for Delaware Study Committee, Program Recommendations, prepared
20 Profile, Delaware Transit Corporation, Delaware Department of Transportation,
by Siemon, Larsen & Marsh, May 19, 1997.
Dover, DE, 1999. The Corporation’s website is http://www.DartFirstState.com.
46 “Under wide open spaces, suburbia may reside.” Wilmington News Journal,
21 Information about Post Properties, Inc. was obtained through the Urban Land
August 7, 2000.
Institute, Washington, D.C., and through their website, http://www.
postproperties.org.
22 State of Maryland, Department of Housing and Community Development,
Annapolis, MD, Live Near Your Work Program Legislative Initiatives, January
15, 1997, session of the Maryland General Assembly.

18 The Costs of Sprawl in Delaware

 Resources

For years, Delawareans have exercised their civic responsibility by
commenting on zoning changes and development plans in their areas.
But, the adopted system of incremental decision making stifles our abil-
ity to achieve sustainable and cost effective solutions. Thus, the multiple
layers of government structures that we have inherited have resulted in
continuous cycles of poor land use decisions and expensive infrastruc-
ture upgrades. This has lead to areas of congestion such as Concord
Pike and Kirkwood Highway in the Wilmington area, Route 40 in Bear-
Glasgow, Route 13 in Dover, and Route 1 in the Rehoboth Beach-Lewes
area. Collaboration and building relationships across city, county, and
state boundaries is essential to resolving the dysfunction and high cost
of sprawl through effective land use management programs.
The proposals in this brochure are aimed at an entirely different
approach, one that is both regional and predictive, where suburbs and
cities are not at odds but are part of an integral plan. Population growth
and development will occur; the future of Delaware depends on how they
occur. We must establish a large and vocal constituency for effective land
use management.
Make known to this year’s candidates for governor your concern
for smarter ways to manage growth. Request that they share their plans
for land use planning and the degree to which they are prepared to
provide leadership for change. Make their views part of your criteria
for choosing a governor. Hold the successful candidate accountable for
his or her proposals.
Address your concerns to state and county candidates for office.
Demand that effective land use legislation be part of their agenda in the
coming years. Monitor their commitment to this agenda.
Citizens are most powerful when organized. Ask your neighbor-
hood association to take a stand on effective land use management. If
your association is not part of, or active in, a coalition of neighborhood
associations and maintenance corporations, ask that it designate a rep-
resentative who will carry your views to that group. Ask that your state
senator or representative, and County Council or Levy Court representa-
tive meet with your organization to hear your views. Elected officials
will respond to a clear voice for change.
Become knowledgeable about state and local land use policies.
Attend at least one County Council and County Land Use Planning
Committee meeting, in order to understand how decisions are made.
Members of the Sierra Club are available to meet with your
organization to discuss land use planning issues.

Telephone numbers and contact information:

New Castle County www.co.new-castle.de.us Smart Growth Network www.smartgrowth.org
Information 302.395.5555 Maryland Smart Growth Initiative www.op.state.md.us/smartgrowth
Kent County www.co.kent.de.us Trust for Public Land www.tpl.org
Levy Court 302.744.2305 Sierra Club reports on sprawl: www.sierraclub.org
Planning Dept. 302.744.2471 The Dark Side of the American Dream. The Costs and
Sussex County www.sussex.de.us Consequences of Suburban Sprawl., 1998
County Council 302.855.7743 www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/report98/
Planning Dept. 302.855.7878 Solving Sprawl. The Sierra Club Rates the States, 1999
Wilmington Area Planning Council www.wilmapco.org www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/report99/
State Planning Office www.state.de.us/planning/ Sprawl Costs Us All. How Your Taxes Fuel Suburban Sprawl, 2000
302.739.3090 www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/report00/
DE Economic Development Office www.state.de.us/dedo/ Surface Transportation Policy Project www.transact.org
302.739.4271 Other phone numbers:
DelDOT www.state.de.us/deldot/index.html Wilmington Area Planning Council: 302.737.6205
Information 302.760.2080
Senate Democrats (Receptionist) 302.739.5086
DNREC www.dnrec.state.de.us/frame1.htm
Senate Republicans(Receptionist) 302.739.5048
State of Delaware www.state.de.us
House Republicans (Receptionist) 302.739.4171
Delaware elected officials www.state.de.us/contacts.htm
House Democrats (Receptionist) 302.739.4077
Tracking legislation www.aosta.state.de.us
Governor’s office in Wilmington 302.577.3210
EPA Green Communities Program www.epa.gov/greenkit
Governor’s office in Dover 302.739.4101
American Farmland Trust www.farmland.org
Dover/Kent Metropolitan Planning Office 302.739.5359
202.331.7300
Urban Land Institute Smart Growth News www.uli.org

Sierra Club - Delaware Chapter 19