Three of the UDC Revision Ordinances were formally introduced by Council, passed through the state PLUS process and are scheduled for a NCC Planning Board Public Hearing on December 1st.WORKSHOP TO DEBATE ORDINANCES REVISING THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE
Individual and non-profit organizations, $25
Business -
- 99 employees or less, $25
- More than 100 employees, $50
- Mail your payment to:
Civic League for NCC
P.O. Box 5562
Marshallton, DE 19808
Or pay online HERE
Update: Draft of Standards and Criteria for State Resource Areas (SRAs)
In accordance with the Land Protection Act, 7 Del. C., Ch. 75, to be considered for inclusion in a map/listing of SRAs, land and/or water areas must exhibit one or more of the following:
- Property that contains endangered, threatened, or ecologically significant species , Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) as defined in the Delaware Wildlife Action Plan , or natural ecosystems;
- Property with a significant potential to support endangered, thre atened, or e cologically significant species, SGCN, or natural systems;
- Property that is important because of its historical or cultural value or its proximity to an historically significant area;
- Property that includes or enhances important wildlife habita t or migration corridors, as well as potential wildlife habitat or migration corridors;
- Property with forest resources that are significant;
- Property with wetlands, flood plains, or other lands necessary for the protection of water resources;
- Property that contains significant or unique ecosystems, natural features, or geological features;
- Property which is an inholding or contiguous to or nearby lands already preserved by federal, state, local, or other conservation agencies;
- Property that will provide pu blic outdoor recreation;
- Property that will allow natural systems or plants and animals to accommodate or adapt to climate change or other large - scale changes in ecosystem processes ; or
- Property that would otherwise further or satisfy any of the purposes of the Act.
Please join us on September 26, 2015 from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM, for a workshop for HOA board members and residents. The information will be helpful whether you live in a condominium, a deed restricted subdivision, or a cooperative, if you have a mandatory annual assessment to support your community’s common areas.The Delaware Department of Justice, Common Interest Community Ombudsman, and the Community Associations Institute are teaming up for this workshop. It is the first workshop offering in Delaware for both. A specially reduced fee is offered because of a generous donation. The fee covers the cost of food, a book and other materials available to attendees.
App. 2015-0505-D. West side Paper Mill Road (SR 72), north side Corner Ketch Road. To Amend a Declaration of Restrictions dated April 28, 1998 by Gladys W. LaFountain/Dempsey Corporation in association with a rezoning from NC21 (Neighborhood Conservation) to CR (Commercial Regional) by Ordinance 97-173. The proposed amendment will expand Paragraph 1 of the declaration by adding drug store and pharmacy to the list of permitted uses on the premises. CR (Commercial Regional) zoning district. CD 3.
Glasgow Avenue Planning Study - Community MeetingPlus, from the NCC Department of Land Use -
SR 141 Transportation and Land Use Plan - Public Information Session
Delmarva Freight Summit
Fourth Street Walkable Community Workshop
Save the Date for the New Castle County Unified Development Code (UDC) Workshop!
The NCC Land Use Department will host the 2nd UDC Public Workshop on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 from 7:00pm – 9:00pm at the Christiana Fire Hall!!We hope you will mark your calendar to attend! We will be providing an update briefing regarding actions taken since the 1st workshop which was held on March 26, 2015.Information regarding the UDC update project can be found at: http://www.nccde.org/1067/UDC-Revisions The exact location and address for the site will be forthcoming until then, please save the date and refer back to our UDC project web site.
Claymont Public Meeting Wednesday
There is a serious proposal on the table to redevelop the 425 acre Claymont Steel site. Join the CRDC and your elected officials to see the plans and a short video presentation of what this area of North Claymont could become and the project's potential to become the largest job creator the State of Delaware has seen for a while.
May 20th, 7:00 p.m.
Crowne Plaza (630 Naamans Road)
Representatives of Commercial Development Corporation of St. Louis, MO will be present to take questions from those who attend. We welcome non-Claymont residents to this public meeting because the effects of this project could be felt well beyond Claymont's borders.
The NCC Land Use Department will host the 2nd UDC Public Workshop on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 from 7:00pm – 9:00pm!!We hope you will mark your calendar to attend! We will be providing an update briefing regarding actions taken since the 1st workshop which was held on March 26, 2015.Information regarding the UDC update project can be found at: http://www.nccde.org/1067/UDC-Revisions The exact location and address for the site will be forthcoming until then, please save the date and refer back to our UDC project web site.
A BRAINSTORMING SESSION:
. . . . . . . . . (A Panel Discussion with Attendee Participation)
CAN WE IMPROVE REGULATORY PRACTICES FOR DEALING WITH TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IMPACTS WHILE REGULATING LAND USE INTENSIFICATIONS?
Sponsor: . . . CIVIC LEAGUE for NEW CASTLE COUNTY
Where: . . . . The BEAR Library, Meeting Room #2
. . . . . . .. . . . Corner of Routes 7 and 40
. . . . . . . . . . 101 Governor's Place, Bear DE 19701
When: . . . . .Saturday May 30, 2015 10:15am - 1pm
Panelists:
Professionals . . . . . Dan Blevins (WILMAPCO)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Troy Brestel (DelDOT)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bill Brockenbrough (DelDOT)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jerry Heisler (Reybold). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .John Janowski (retired NCC Land Use)
Amateur . . . . . . . . . Vic Singer (Civic League for NCC)
Brainstorming pinpoints diverse ideas that can fit with one another usefully. It aims at producing a total bigger than the sum of the pieces - - more than any individual participant can achieve by himself. Like solving jig saw puzzles, some ideas need to be turned to find a useful fit and other ideas fit over there rather than right here. This brainstorming session will start with introductory brief remarks about the focal point and some potentially useful facts.
The Civic League for New Castle County is very pleased to host this event and hope for a robust civic and development industry turnout.
This is an exciting opportunity to come and participate in a discussion with transportation professionals from DelDOT and Wilmapco plus representatives from the development industry and the civic arena to hash out what is what with traffic in our county and where we go from here!
| Monday May 11, 2015 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM |
| The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) announces
a public workshop for proposed improvements to the SR 273 and Harmony
Road intersection. The workshop will be held on Monday, May 11 at the
Gallaher Elementary School at 800 N. Brownleaf Road, Newark. The public
is invited to attend any time between 4:30 pm and 7:30 pm. The purpose of this project is to improve the safety and operational function of the SR 273 corridor in the vicinity of Harmony Road and the I-95 Interchange, including the weave condition along the I-95 southbound off-ramp onto SR 273. A variety of alternatives of varying scope will be presented for public comment. |
|
This location is accessible to persons having disabilities. Any person having special needs or requiring special aid, such as an interpreter for the hearing impaired, is requested to contact DelDOT by phone or mail one week in advance. |
|
Interested persons are invited to express their views in
writing, giving reasons for support of or in opposition to, the proposed
project. Comments will be received during the workshop or can be mailed
to DelDOT Public Relations, P.O. Box 778, Dover, DE 19903. When
applicable, we offer the opportunity to fill out a questionnaire online
which will automatically get emailed to Public Relations. For further information contact Public Relations at 1-800-652-5600 (in DE) or 302-760-2080 or write to the above address. |
State transportation officials have set a Monday public workshop as they start to tackle a major road hazard in Ogletown, with 12 plans and some extreme ideas for solutions. Some of those ideas would dramatically alter the area, even eliminate some homes and businesses. Depending on how massive the final plan is, the project could cost tens of millions of dollars and take six years or more to finish. Like the problems, the plans focus on the Del. 273-Harmony Road intersection, but reach out into the surrounding area that covers thousands of homes and more than 450 businesses. “We’re hoping to get a large crowd at the workshop,” DelDOT spokesman Bud Freel said. The drop-in style workshop is 4:30-7:30 p.m. at Gallaher Elementary School, 800 N. Brownleaf Road, with overview presentations at 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.
........Harmony Road has become heavily used by commuters to Christiana Hospital and the Kirkwood Highway (Del.2), complicated by southbound I-95 off-ramp’s location snug to the Del. 273-Harmony Road intersection. “When it was designed, it met the needs of the area,” Vincent said. Now, he said, it’s a highcrash zone of heavy-volume, cross-merging traffic, identified as so dangerous a spot, improvements to reduce hazards there qualify for 90 percent federal funding instead of the normal 80 percent. In a distance of just 475 feet before the intersection, substantial traffic merges left from I-95’s exit ramp in a lane that becomes right-turn only for Harmony Road. At the same time, much of the heavy traffic along Del. 273 merges right to turn onto Harmony Road. There were 175 crashes at the intersection between 2011-14, with 31 involving injuries, DelDOT engineer Joseph A. Hofstee said. Most were rearenders and side-swipes, he said.
DelDOT’s traffic study found that, in the morning when traffic peaks at about 1,425 vehicles per hour, more than 70 percent of the traffic taking Harmony Road from Del. 273 is going to Christiana Hospital, along Ogletown-Stanton Road (Del. 4) or to Kirkwood Highway, Hofstee said. The broader area of the project includes the I-95 off-ramp’s crash-prone split for east and westbound Del. 273 and covers I-95’s entire Del. 273 interchange, running east of Chestnut Hill/Ogletown-Stanton Road (Del.4), the DelDOT officials said. Some of the most dramatic options in the plans are:
Eliminating right turns onto Harmony Road, making the road one-way or closing it at Del. 273,
Totally rebuilding I-95’s Del. 273 interchange or adding lights to slow westbound traffic from the Christiana area,
Creating a new I-95 exit that would tie into the dead end of Samoset Drive between the Bank of America and Christiana Hospital sites,
Widening Del. 273, which would require DelDOT to buy properties abutting the road in the densely populated area.
DelDOT, having recognized the area’s problems for many years, has made changes aimed to ease traffic, even testing closure of Harmony Road. In 2001, to slow traffic on Harmony Road, islands and other trafficcalming devices were added, which officials say reduced vehicles’ speed 17 percent. DelDOT also installed red-light cameras on Del. 273, cutting crashes with cars running red lights, and lengthened the stacking lane for left turns from westbound Del. 273 to South Gerald Drive opposite Harmony Road, pulling more of that traffic out of the cross-merge area earlier. Last year, DelDOT added a concrete median on Harmony Road, reducing cut-across traffic of motorists on northbound Harmony Road to a gas station on the southbound side, also reducing crashes and back-ups of traffic turning onto Harmony Road.
There has been increasing public interest in Delaware on the issue of Fast Track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
At this community forum, Delawareans can learn more about this issue, share their thoughts and questions, and learn what they can do about it.
County Executive Thomas Gordon will open the forum.
We also have a panel discussion, represented by faith, labor, and good government groups.
Co-sponsors include: Delaware Coalition for Open Government (DelCOG), Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) of Delaware, and Pacem in TerrisTo RSVP just click here or email Drew Serres at Drew@DelawareADA.org
Edward William Hinton
AGE: 85 • Wilmington
Edward was born New Castle, DE, 1929, the eldest of five children of the late James L. Hinton, Sr. and Frances Mae Alfree Hinton, died on Monday, April 6, 2015 from acute reparatory failure. He suffered from "bird fanciers lung" as a result of an allergy to poultry protein. Ed attended public schools in New Castle, graduating with the 1948 Class of old William Penn High School. He immediately joined the U.S. Marines, serving honorably for 11 years, attaining the rank of Gunny Sergeant. He was active duty for four years and served in the reserves for an additional six years. Upon his return to civilian life, he attended the University of Delaware, majoring in engineering while working at The Wilmington City water department. He subsequently worked at Hercules, Inc, All American Engineering, and spent the last 30 years of his engineering career at Thiokol (ATK) in Elkton, MD, as an aerospace engineer in the rocket division. He was a long time member of "Men of Malvern".
Ed was raised by his beloved grandparents, Bessie and Edward Samuel Hinton, on their New Castle chicken farm where he was introduced to his-live ling avocation of buying and selling early American antiques. His interest in antiques was sparked and nurtured by Bessie, who often traded her nursing services, chickens and eggs for antiques during the Great Depression. In the 1960's he apprenticed in the evening after work with a master cabinetmaker, Clifford Baylis, for seven years. He was will know for his skills in appraising and restoring valuable 18th and 19th century furniture for private collectors. He and his wife of 30 years, Frances West, Traveled throughout the east coast of the U. S. buying antiques and after his retirement from Thiokol, he maintained a showroom and work in this nearby colonial-replica workshop.
Ed was a Phillies fan, rarely missing a game, first on the radio, later on television, and in person when he could. He was looking forward to the Phillies opening game on the day of his death. He loved convertible automobiles and upon his return to Delaware after his service in the Marines, his grandmother, Bessie, bought him a convertible, the first of many he owned, including a series of Mercedes convertibles, which he drove in parades and at political events with Frances at his side. He love to dance and met Frances when he asked her to dance at a family wedding. He raised racing pigeons for a period of time but had to give it up because of his allergy
In addition to his wife; Frances, Ed is survived by three children, and two stepsons: Michael A. Hinton (Carolynn), of Milford, DE, Marie (Snookie) Cox (Bob) of NC, Angela Hogan (Ron) of MO, Alex DeDominicis (Darlene) of DE and Phillip DeDominicis of MD. He has 10 grandchildren and several great grandchildren. The grandchildren include, Alex, Joseph and Sean Hinton, Rachel Lewis Chavis and Rob Lewis, Curtis, Claude Lee and Jack Thompson, Evan and Elise DeDominicis. He is also survived by his sister, Abbie Bromwell, his brothers, James (Bucky) Hinton, Jr., and Willard Hinton. He was predeceased by his brother Robert (Tic) Hinton. His is also survived by numerous nephews, nieces and cousins from the Delaware Hinton, Alfree and Campanella families.
A viewing will be held on Thursday, April 9, from 6pm-8pm, at the McCrery and Harra Funeral Homes, 3924 Concord Pike, Wilmington, (Talleyville). A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, April 10, at 10:30am, at St. Joseph on the Brandywine, 10 Old Church Road, Greenville, DE 19807. Burial will be in the adjoining cemetery.
Any donations may be made in Ed's name to Men of Malvern, 315 S Warren Ave, Malvern, PA 19355 or Marine Corp Foundation, 715 Broadway Street, P.O. Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134
For online condolences visit: www.mccreryandharra.com 302-478-2204 - See more at: http://m.legacy.com/obituaries/DelawareOnline/obituary.aspx?n=Edward-William-Hinton&pid=174581126&referrer=2869&preview=True#sthash.QPQjC9xl.dpuf
CIVIC LEAGUE FOR NEW CASTLE COUNTY7-9 PM Tuesday April 21, 2015
Charles Stirk, President
Guest Speaker
NCC Workshop on Shaping NCC's Future Land Use and Unified Development Code - March 26 - Christiana Fire Hall at 7 p.m.NCC Public Workshop Scheduled - 7PM March 26, 2015
Shining a "spotlight on the often invisible, behind-the-scenes work" of cycling advocacyVote today!
http://bit.ly/BicyclingPeoplesChoice
Civic League for New Castle County
AGENDA February 2015
Meeting Date: Tuesday , February 17, 2015
Meeting time: 7:00 pm- 9:00 pm
Meeting Location:
Public Meeting Room, Paul J. Sweeney Public Safety Building
3601 N. DuPont Highway, New Castle, DE 19720
- Common Interest Community Advisory Council
Christopher J. Curtin Common Interest Community Ombudsman
Deputy Attorney General
- Consumer Protection Unit of the DE Attorney General’s Office
Jennifer Smolko, Deputy Attorney General, specializes in housing and fraud matters; was the former Administrator of the DE Foreclosure Mediation Program
Lisa Spellman, Administrator, Office of Foreclosure Prevention
- Carrcroft water runoff issues.
Comprehensive development, the key to expansion of the economy at minimum public cost, is essential when the public money supply is scarce and not easily expanded. The Unified Development Code, UDC, is NC County's key to comprehensive development. Development is comprehensive when necessary public infrastructure supporting land use intensifications appear concurrently with the intensifications. If too soon, tax rates must increase to pay the fare. If too late, infrastructure must be built on an interference basis with prior development, increasing costs. Too soon and too late both diminish the sustainability of economic expansion, which must occur with expanding population if reduced quality of life isn't acceptable...The comprehensive development concept is firmly embedded in Delaware's Quality of Life Act of 1988, part of NC County's enabling legislation. But the teeth in the land use regulatory process appear in law established at subsidiary levels, the UDC in NC County..Before and early after the 2012 election, we heard a lot about the need to update the UDC to re-sharpen its teeth after mischief enacted during the prior eight years following leadership by the former LU General Manager, who has been replaced. But it's been a year since we've heard much more about the activity than that a consulting firm is under contract, For that reason, I announced at the January CLNCC Board Meeting my intent to ask for a "data dump" to gain visibility. In particular, I targeted four focal points. The first three are instructions for the consultant that should be in the Statement of Work within the Request for Proposal for consultant services. ..<> POINT ONE: CONCURRENCY: The consultant should be directed that the Concurrency provisions already in the UDC are to be preserved or even strengthened. There are two types of concurrency requirements - - external and internal..Within the UDC (Chapter 40 of the New Castle County Code) Article 5 focuses intensely on Site Capacity and Concurrency. The underlying philosophy expressed there and in other sections of the UDC, for instance at Article 5 Section D "Public Infrastructure,". is, in effect, to assure that if the public facilities and services necessary to properly serve the needs of any intensification of land use will not be in place when those needs present, the intensification of land use won't be in place either. That's an EXTERNAL concurrency requirement..Internal concurrency applies to Mixed Use developments. A Mixed Use development is usually a combination of commercial (sales), office, and residential uses on the same parcel. Occasionally, there could also be light industrial use. Though not usually categorized as mixed use, residential land uses that mix "market price" dwelling units with "affordable housing" dwelling units present the same concurrency issue - - the need for a control scheme to assure that for instance all the box stores don't get built and occupied before any of the office or residential space is even started..<> POINT TWO: LIMITS ON TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IMPACT: The consultant should be directed that transportation system impact requirements of the UDC are to be preserved. Article 11 of the UDC says that without a showing via a Traffic Impact Study (TIS) that the Level of Service (LOS) on affected elements of the transportation system will be no worse than the "D" LOS, building permits for any part of new major development (with or without a rezoning) must not be issued..Effectively this is another Concurrency requirement but it is separately imposed for several reasons: 1) Relevant State law speaks to the issue (Title 9 Del. C. Section 2662 and related provisions); 2) County law with essentially that effect was already in place before the UDC became law; and 3) Since traffic congestion is more readily related to public safety (via personal injury and collision frequency) than, say, library service, the requirement can be more forceful..<> POINT THREE: RESTORE AN EARLY PUBLIC HEARING OPPORTUNITY DURING THE LAND USE REGULATORY PROCESS: The consultant should be directed that a public hearing opportunity is to be created - - resurrected, actually - - very early in the land use regulatory process. Until nearly a decade ago, we did indeed have an early public hearing, before the County Planning Board, which hosts its hearings in the evening. In a developer-advocated effort to "streamline" the regulatory process, the early hearing was eliminated so that by the time the public gets its first official view of a development proposal, it is already so far along that it's practically chiseled into marble and the public's involvement is vastly diminished....Long before the Sept 2013 arrival of the present General Manager, I suggested to the County Executive (and others) that a Planning Board Hearing be established to review the results of the "Scoping Meeting" required under UDC Section 11.122 to define the scope of the Traffic Impact Study for every major development application. The PB should be authorized to recommend increasing the scope if it so chooses, but not reducing it. Such a formal requirement could be established by Executive Order since the PB's enabling legislation (at the state level) authorizes PB investigation of any aspect of Land Use regulatory practices that the PB chooses to examine. The Executive deferred that thought to the new General Manager, who chose to deal with the UDC in one fell swoop rather than piecemeal. So we're still waiting. ..<> POINT FOUR: DESCRIPTION OF PROGRESS SINCE AWARD OF CONTRACT: There should be convincing evidence - - draft work products - - indicating that something already exists beyond the SOW..My remarks at the Jan 21 CLNCC Board Meeting were purposely incendiary to assure that they would reach the LU General Manager. ,It wasn't a surprise that she telephoned before the end of the same week. The surprise was her reason for calling: she asked me to arrange a meeting for her with people interested in Route 141, at very short notice - - at some point between Jan 26 to Jan 30. Perhaps she had NOT heard of my remarks at the CLNCC meeting, or perhaps she was initiating a diversionary maneuver..Via a Jan 26 e-mail, I advised that I had referred the request to Charles Stirk, who has been involved with Route 141 for decades and knows EVERYBODY who shares that passion. And I conveyed his finding that a Jan 26 to Jan 30 meeting isn't possible, but that Feb 2 or Feb 9 are workable alternatives. Via a 9 am Jan 27 e-mail, she accepted the Feb 2 date but then, in a conversation with Charles Stirk, she backed out, suggesting a long postponement..Having been subjected to a run-around, I responded with an e-mail on Feb 5 contemplating my visit to Land Use on Feb 10 to look at a data dump itemized as follows:.
<> The RFP (request for proposal) sent to candidate
. . . . consultants for updating the UDC
<> A list of candidate consultants that the RFP was sent to
<> SOW (statement of work) contemplated in RFP
<> Selected Consultant's response to RFP, including
. . . . exceptions (if any) to SOW in RFP
<> Contract and performance schedule
. . . . for UDC update consultant's activity
<> Correspondence (or other documentation, including telecon
. . . . summaries) between LU and the UDC update consultant
. . . . regarding features of the present UDC to be preserved in
. . . . the update.
<> Same regarding features of present UDC to be changed
. . . . in the update, and description(s) of the change(s)
<> Correspondence (or other documentation, including telecon
. . . . summaries) between LU and the public (individuals,
. . . . organizations, companies, etc.) suggesting changes
. . . . to the present UDC to be considered in the update..During the Feb 10 visit, only the RFP SOW and the successful bidder's response was available, and confirmation that nothing else on the list would be offered for my examination. Nothing in either the RFP SOW or the successful bidder's response addresses anything in the above four points. Indeed, several statements in the SOW suggest an effort to WEAKEN the controls already in place in the UDC..Therefore, I completed a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request form including the above itemized data dump, and submitted it formally on Feb 10..
Entering a period of expansion, New Castle County needs to consider how to insure we will be able to sustain a good quality of life in the future. Congestion is one of the factors which can make us feel our quality of life is poor—whether it is the congestion on our roads or the density of buildings which destroy our lovely landscapes. In the midst of a new phase of planning, the County needs feedback on what you consider unacceptable levels of congestion. Let's start with traffic congestion.
Levels of Service (LOS) measure the time it takes vehicles to pass through intersections or road segments. Intersections are graded in letters. A- 10 sec, B- 10-20 , C- 20-35 sec, D- 35–55 sec, E- 55-80, and F is anything over 80 seconds. Each lane in an intersection may be assigned a different grade as more cars may turn one way than another or go straight through the signal.Lest you decide seconds do not matter, count the number of lights you must go through to get to work. If you encounter 20 lights that take 80seconds for you to pass through, your trip time will be extended by 27 minutes in addition to the time it takes to simply drive the distance.Many of our highways are plagued by intersections rated F or D already.
Please respond online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/STK2WF3
Help us reach more people by sharing this survey .
Thank you for participating.
