Sussex has No Recourse after State Overturns Retail Pot Shop Rules

County administrator: May ruling in US Wind case gives state final say

July 10, 2026

Kevin T. Conlon, Cape Gazette

Sussex County will abide by state rules for cannabis retail sales following a July 1 vote by the House of Representatives that settled the issue, County Administrator Todd Lawson said July 8. SOURCE: ADOBE STOCK/KYLE

Sussex County will abide by state rules for cannabis retail sales following a July 1 vote by the House of Representatives that settled the issue, County Administrator Todd Lawson said July 8.

After the state made retail sales of cannabis legal in Delaware, Sussex County Council in May 2024 adopted a law setting guidelines for such businesses.

The law only allowed retail marijuana shops in C-3, heavy commercial, districts with approval of a conditional use by county council. It also set a three-mile minimum distance between a marijuana retail shop and another similar shop, municipal boundaries, and churches, schools, colleges and substance abuse treatment facilities.

The state concluded the original county law essentially outlawed retail cannabis shops and thwarted the intent of the state law making retail sales legal.

County officials have disagreed with that assessment.

The Senate in April 2025 passed Senate Bill 75 to void the county law. The House followed suit in June.

Gov. Matt Meyer then vetoed SB 75, saying counties, not the state, should make local land-use decisions.

Fearing the General Assembly would override the governor’s veto, Sussex County Council revised its retail cannabis sales law Nov. 18, 2025.

The county reduced to a half-mile the buffers between retail cannabis shops and municipal boundaries, but it left in place three-mile buffers from institutions such as churches and schools.

The amendments made such businesses a permitted use in C-3 and C-2, medium commercial, districts. Few of those districts exist in the county.

“There is concern that they didn’t go far enough,” Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall, D-Rehoboth Beach, said July 7. “It was still very restrictive and still preventing retail cannabis distributors from opening.”

According to SB 75, in areas zoned for commercial or industrial use, retail marijuana stores may be prohibited from operating only within a half-mile of another retail marijuana store and within 500 feet of a place of worship, school, licensed child care, residential treatment facility, park or library.

The Senate voted to override Meyer’s veto in January, but no action was taken by the House until July 1, during the final day of the session.

Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, said July 8 that there should be discussions among the governor, state legislators and county leaders on which has what authority and how to work together. Huxtable did not vote to override Meyer's veto, but he voted against the bill that overturned the county retail cannabis sales rules.

Jamie Whitehouse, director of the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Department, said there have been no applications for retail marijuana stores made since May 2024, when county council adopted its initial ordinance.

“The General Assembly made it a priority and took action to override the governor’s veto, and we will comply,” Lawson said.

Lawson said a May decision by the Delaware Supreme Court in a separate case involving Sussex County made clear the state ultimately has authority over local land-use decisions.

County council in July 2024 voted 4-1 to deny a conditional-use permit for Renewable Redevelopment LLC, a subsidiary of US Wind. The company plans to build an electrical substation on 140 acres it owns outside Millsboro near the Indian River power plant. It would receive power from an offshore wind project in the Atlantic Ocean off the coasts of Delaware and Maryland.

After Renewable Redevelopment appealed to the Superior Court, the Delaware General Assembly adopted a statute in July 2025 authorizing conditional-use permits for electrical substations. It overrode the county’s decision.

The county and the Town of Fenwick Island filed a claim against the state and Renewable Redevelopment. The Supreme Court in May upheld an earlier decision by the Court of Chancery, concluding the state has delegated zoning authority to county and municipal governments, but it may revoke those powers.

The court pointed out that the General Assembly’s decision to overturn the county permit denial was made for the greater good, as the state supports increased power production for its residents.