What's Going On At County Hall

Update: Paul Clark's office said that his transition team meetings are open to the public.
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The first meeting of New Castle County's Comprehensive Plan Update (CPU) is set for this Thursday evening at 7PM in the Gilliam Building at 77 Reads Way in New Castle.

Comprehensive Development Plan Update 2012 - On December 2nd, 2010, New Castle County will begin the 2012 Comp Plan Update Process. Join us at the Gilliam Building Community Multi-Purpose Room from 7 to 9 p.m. to learn how you can participate in this process. Click below to view the website for the 2012 Update.

Comp Plan 2012

Paul Clark has published details about where and when his transition team committee meetings will be held and who is on the committees but it isn't completely clear whether or not the pubic is invited to observe...I plan to call about it and report back.

The Land Use Transition Team will hold meetings at noon on Tuesday, November 30, 2010, and 9 a.m. Friday, December 3, 2010, in the New Castle Room, New Castle County Government Center, 87 Reads Way, New Castle, to discuss the operations of the Department of Land Use.

The Government Operations Transition Team will hold a meeting at noon on Tuesday, November 30, in the Office of Law Conference Room, New Castle County Government Center, 87 Reads Way, New Castle, to discuss operations in the departments of Human Resources, Administrative Services, Law and others. Anyone with questions about the meeting may call 395-5130.

The Public Safety Committee will hold meetings at 4:30 p.m. on November 29, December 6 and December 13 in the New Castle Room, New Castle County Government Center, 87 Reads Way, New Castle, to discuss operations of police, paramedics, 911 communications and emergency management.

The Community Services Transition Committee will hold a meeting at 1 p.m. Thursday, December 2, in the Multi-purpose Room of the Gilliam Building, 77 Reads Way, New Castle, to discuss the operations of the Department of Community Services.

(WNJ) Harry Themal had this to say about it all today ~ County exec represents another troubling conflict of interest

WDEL sends word about the election for the President for New Castle County Council President ~ NCCo special election to be held on 1/11/11 - The Elections Department says they're expecting to use regular polling places for the special election. Absentee ballots should be available around December 13th.

But then again, DialogueDel has the correction- NCCo Dem chairman says a special election on Jan. 11 would have shut out D & R council members on election day - So the special election date was changed to Thursday, Jan. 13 so council members can work at the polls

And George Smiley is up to his old tricks - fiddling with the NCC Ethics Code: Ordinances Referred to Boards and Commissions Awaiting Return to Council -
09-072 - TO AMEND CHAPTER 2 (ADMINISTRATION) OF THE NEW CASTLE COUNTY CODE REGARDING PRELIMINARY INQUIRIES AND INVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED BY THE ETHICS COMMISSION.

Colonial Christmas At Lombardy Hall - Celebration Set For December 4th And 5th From 1-4PM In Wilmington

COLONIAL CHRISTMAS
LOMBARDY HALL CA. 1750
Home of Gunning Bedford, Jr.,
Delaware signer of the U. S. Constitution

and

Celebrate Delaware Day
and the 115th Anniversary of
Caesar Rodney Chapter
N.S. Daughters of the American Revolution

Light Refreshments

DECEMBER 4 & 5

1 - 4 pm

1611 Concord Pike
Between Independence Mall and Lombardy Cemetery
For information call: (302) 798-3828 or (302) 655-5254

No Charge

Sponsored by Lombardy Hall Foundation with decorations

by Caesar Rodney Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution

WILMAPCO Invites the Public to Participate in the Development of Several Land Use and Transportation Plans

WILMAPCO Invites the Public to Participate in the Development of Several Land Use and Transportation Plans for Delaware and Maryland at

Our Town,

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Newark, DE – The Wilmington Area Planning Council (WILMAPCO),  in partnership with  Delaware Department of Transportation, Maryland Department of Planning, New Castle County Planning, and the Delaware Office of State Planning, invite citizens and organizations from Delaware and Maryland to take part in a groundbreaking event.

Attendees will have the opportunity to share their values and ideas about the future of land use and transportation in Delaware

DelCOG's Elected Officials Reception Is Set For 6PM December 9th In Wilmington

DelCOG - Delaware Coalition for Open Government DelCOG is hosting a reception for Delaware's elected officials. Open to the Public. Come meet the people who are representing you.$3 at the Door. (Proceeds will help offset the cost of the reception.)

Elected Officials Reception
Thursday, December 9, 2010 at 6:00pm
Ed "Porky" Oliver Golf Club, 800 North Dupont Road, Wilmington

(Click on the link above to RSVP)

The Civic League For New Castle County is a co-sponsor of this event.

Delaware Coalition for Open Government (DelCOG) To Meet 12PM Nov. 8th At The Woodlawn Library In Wilmington

You are invited to the next meeting of the Delaware Coalition for Open Government (DelCOG)Board of Directors November 8, 2010, 12:00 p.m., Woodlawn Library, 8th and Bancroft Parkway,Wilmington, DE

Below is a draft agenda for the meeting.

Thanks, John Flaherty, President, Delaware Coalition for Open Government (DelCOG)

302-319-1213

==============================================================================================
Agenda

12:00 - 12:05 I. Welcome - John Flaherty

12:05 - 12:10 2) Approval of Meeting Minutes of October 4, 2010

12:10 - 12:15 3) Treasurer’s Report - Bill Pearson

12:15 - 12:45 4) ‘Delawarespends’Presentation - Shaun Fink, Caesar Rodney Inst.According to the Caesar Rodney Institute, a non-partisan and non-profit research and educational institute, DelawareSpends.com gives taxpayers an unbiased look at raw spending data, provided directly by official government sources. It is designed to be a tool to research, analyze, compare and share government spending data.

12:45 - 12:50 5) Elected Officials Reception - John Flaherty

12:50 - 12:55 6) Judicial Fairness Report - Christine Whitehead

12:55 - 1:00 7) "Fusion Video Email" - Nancy Lopez

1:00 - 1:05 8) DelCOG Facebook - Cynthia Smith

1:05 - 1:10 9) Sunshine Week 2011 - Bill Pearson

1:10 - 1:15 10) Strategic Plan, Mission Statement - Katherine Ward

1:15 - 1:20 11) Common Cause lobbyist reform effort - Flaherty

1:20 - 1:25 12) Televising Supreme Court arguments letter sign-on - Pearson

1:25 - 1:30 13) Newark Housing Authority Appointment Process - Amy Rowe

1:30 - 1:35 14) Upcoming FOIA efforts

1:35 -2:00 15) Public comment

UNDER ATTACK: Delaware's Coastal Zone Act

Delaware's ocean and bay fronts and adjacent wetlands were long overlooked by industrial developers. About 40 years ago, the builders of ever-larger marine vessels saw the Delaware Bay as the best deep-water port on the East Coast, attractive for major transportation activities and associated heavy industry.  Recognizing that refineries and steel mills are important, Russ Peterson (Governor, 1969 to 1973) and many allies insisted that the best use of Delaware's  land area would combine environmental preservation, recreation and compatible industrial and commercial  activities within the coastal zone, with heavy industry encouraged outside the coastal zone. 
      
The result was the landmark Coastal Zone Act (CZA) and Coastal Zone Regulation (the Reg) therein authorized, which have kept our CZ from following the Marcus Hook to Philadelphia pattern.  Numerous court suits challenged the CZA, in Delaware Courts and in the Federal Courts, but the CZA has been upheld.  Notably, the US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit found in 1987 that "Section 7003 of the CZA [the absolute prohibitions provision] does not violate the dormant Commerce Clause" of the US Constitution.  Thereby, the appeals court upheld a ruling by a lower Federal court that the US Congress, thru its Coastal Zone Management Act and an approval by the Secretary of Commerce, had consented to the Delaware CZA.
      
The CZA and the Reg allow permitting new manufacturing operations but absolutely prohibit new heavy industry and bulk material transfer operations except as permitted expansions or extensions of activities already ongoing in the CZ on the June 28, 1971 effective date. The CZA and the Reg allow permitting of public sewage treatment plants under the jurisdiction of "political subdivisions" and public recycling plants owned and operated by "political subdivisions."
      
There are two key permit process requirements.  The first: all negative impacts on the CZ must be more than offset by positive impacts on the CZ.  Offsets that start long after the negative impacts, and offsets outside the CZ, are of lesser value.   And the second:  the process has two steps, the Status Decision to decide whether proposed activity is lawful and whether a permit is required, and the Permit Detailing (and  offset evaluation) Procedure.  The Reg requires that public comments be solicited at the Status Decision level. The CZA and the Reg both require a public hearing at the Permitting level.
      
Perturbations that diminish the effectiveness of the permitting process have become conspicuous.  DNREC's hierarchy is no less than an accomplice in these perturbations. Most striking are:

• The ongoing Delaware River Dredging application, circa 2000:  For whatever reason, DNREC did not process this application under the CZA even though within a 24 mile stretch of the river adjacent to New Castle County, the State Line is at the Jersey shore.

• An early 2008 application for a plant in New Castle County to blend sand, polymer fibers, synthetic rubber, wax, and either polyethylene or PVC into a mixture for use as a horse racetrack surfacing material.  This resembles mixing concrete, heavy industry according to the NAICS Guide cited in NC County's UDC.  DNREC acknowledged that the use was heavy industry but granted the permit.

• A late 2008 application for galvanizing items as large as truck trailers by dipping in tanks of molten zinc (melt point 788 degF).  DNREC judged that "The proposed use would not be a 'heavy industry use' because the proposed size and manufacturing characteristics are more like a coating or painting process . . ." and granted the permit.

• A 2010 application for an investor owned sewage treatment plant south of Route 24 in Sussex County to process and infiltrate into the surface aquifer large quantities of sewage from outside the CZ. An appeal followed DNREC's grant of the permit.  See Vic Singer's report to the NC County Planning Board on the processing of the appeal posted on the Civic League for New Castle County's Website.

• A 2010 application for an investor-owned recycling plant south of Route 24 in Sussex County. This proposal is to "Construct and operate a resource recovery facility which would recover unused protein (blood, feathers and offal) and process it into hydrolyzed feather and poultry meal and feed grade fat."  The 10/20/2010 permit hearing evidently reflected a prior Status Decision that the forbidden use is somehow permissible.  

 The obvious legal question:  How can the next applicant for a CZ Permit be denied exactly the same CZA and Reg violation previously allowed for some other permittee?

By Victor Singer