Sussex County Planning and Zoning Director Jamie Whitehouse announces departure

Sussex County Planning and Zoning Director Jamie Whitehouse has announced he will leave his position in May.

"I was recently approached, unexpectedly, to consider a new planning and zoning director opportunity," Whitehouse said at a regularly scheduled Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on Wednesday. "A position like this one is exciting and offers new challenges that align with my professional interests and is located as such that will allow me to spend more time with my family."

Whitehouse, a native of England, will officially leave the county in mid-May, he said.

"We have achieved a lot, such as the implementation of our document management system and working to modernize the county's land use code," he said as he thanked staff members.

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As of 2023, Whitehouse's salary was a little over $122,000 a year. He served four years as county planning and zoning director, beginning with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in America and through the residential building boom that followed in Sussex. Prior to that, he served as a county staff planner for about three years.

Janelle Cornwell was Whitehouse's predecessor, beginning in 2017 and in leaving in late 2019 for a job with the city of Lewes. Prior to Cornell, Lawrence Lank served as Sussex's Planning and Zoning Director for over 30 years.

Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on southern Delaware and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught.