Civic League For New Castle County
April Meeting
Date: Tuesday April 17th , 2018
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Guest Speakers:
- Eileen Butler, Natural Areas Program Manager, DNREC
- RJ Miles, Vice President, CCOBH
- Matthew Morris, Claymont Revitalization Project
Location: Christiana Presbyterian Church
15 North Old Baltimore PikeChristiana, DE 19702
Community Alert -- Transportation Improvement Districts
By: Tom Dewson
In a recent forum on traffic requirements related to new development, there was discussion about the "benefits" of Transportation Improvement Districts (TIDs). Citizens need to be watchful. Typically, a traffic impact study (TIS) looks at an individual development project and its impact on nearbyroads. TIDs, on the other hand, look more broadly. They consider all land use plans and traffic impacts within a defined geographic area.
Conceptually, TIDs – properly constructed --may be appropriate in selected situations. As is usually the case, though, the devil is in the details.
When DelDOT was changing their regulations (re traffic studies and TIDs) in late 2012, major civic organizations wrote to DelDOT to express their serious concerns with TIDs. We made the points that
1. The TID Infrastructure Program is Fundamentally Flawed. As proposed, developers would pay an assessment to DelDOTand then be free to proceed with development. This sets up a situation where developers can pay pennies on the dollar for improvements, the improvements never get made, and the public is left with a traffic nightmare that the taxpayer ends up eventually funding out of our own pockets.
There needs to be Direct Linkage – needed improvements are identified up front, and developers make (and fully pay for) the required upgrades concurrent with the build-out of their projects. DelDOT can apportion the work across the responsible parties, but the developers must fully fund and implement the work as a condition of occupancy. This is the only way to protect the public.
2. The TID Default Contribution Formula is a Major Subsidy to the Developers. As proposed, in situations in which a TID exists and no formula for developer contributions has been defined, the default formula for contributions is proposed to be based on % of total traffic (vs % of increased traffic). By definition, this math shifts a large portion of the cost of needed upgrades to the taxpayer, a major subsidy for the developers.
In most situations in northern New Castle County, traditional Traffic Impact Studies – properlydefined and implemented – may be the best approach. In those (selected) situations where TIDs may be appropriate, the TIDs must be constructed such that needed improvements are fully funded by the developers and implemented concurrent with the build-out of their projects.
May Annual Meeting Speakers
We are pleased to announce that two current elected officials will be presenting on issues important to our
communities.
State Treasurer Ken Simpler will be presenting on the state of our finances, sharing different initiatives he
is involved in, and taking your questions.
County Councilman Tim Sheldon will be presenting on the status of delinquent sewer tax bills, and how it
is affecting the fiscal year 2019 budget.
