SB237 Summary

• Requires county comprehensive plans in Sussex, Kent, and New Castle Counties to include strategies that consider community resiliency and reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts, including sea level rise, rainfall changes, and extreme weather events, informed by the Delaware Climate Action Plan.

• Adds "walking trails" to mobility element requirements and mandates consideration of alternatives to auto-centric development patterns, including transit services where applicable, and requires consistency with State Implementation Plan and designated evacuation routes.

• Expands conservation element requirements to explicitly include forests, habitat areas, and wildlife corridors as natural area classifications.

• Requires housing elements in county and municipal comprehensive plans to encourage development of new housing away from areas vulnerable to inland and coastal flooding and to align with future land use plan strategies.

• Amends municipal comprehensive plan provisions for municipalities over 2,000 population to include "climate change and resiliency" as a required planning component; takes effect November 15, 2026.