Sussex P&Z Director Whitehouse resigns
After working in the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Office for seven years, and serving four years as director, Jamie Whitehouse announced April 24 that he is resigning effective mid-May.
He said he is taking a new planning & zoning position that will offer new challenges and allow him to spend more time with his family. He did not disclose where the new job would be.
Whitehouse, who was born and raised in Walsall, United Kingdom, moved to the area in 2016 with his wife and children. He was hired as a staff planner by the county in 2017.
“I will miss working with council, commission and staff all the great people of Sussex County,” he said following the April 24 planning & zoning commission meeting.
“I am grateful for the excellent professional relationships that I have formed over the past seven years and the contributions we have all made together. We have achieved a lot such as implementation of our document management system and working to modernize the county’s land-use codes while working on the day-to-day details of the office,” he said.
“It would be fitting to end my remarks with some dry humor from across the pond when I say, cheerio, chaps,” he said.
His final commission meeting will be Wednesday, May 8.
County Administrator Todd Lawson offered the following statement: “I can speak for the county council, county administration and the planning & zoning commission in saying we are sorry to lose Jamie, both professionally and personally, but we all respect the choice he has made as he charts a new course in his career path. The county appreciates Mr. Whitehouse for his service to the people of Sussex County, for his professionalism and his expertise over the last several years, and we wish him all the best in his new endeavor.”
The county is now working actively and aggressively to fill the position of director of planning & zoning as soon as possible, said Chip Guy, communications director.
Before his tenure with the county, Whitehouse worked for the Delaware Department of Transportation as an engineering-planning-surveying technician. Prior to that, while in his native England, Whitehouse worked for Birmingham City Council as a senior planner, and operated his own consulting company, which provided land-use services to local communities.
Whitehouse is the third high-profile county director to step down this year, along with retiring head county engineer Hans Medlarz and Director of Emergency Operations Center Joe Thomas.
