NCC Land Use Virtual Public Meeting On Proposed Heavy Industry Changes - 5PM Wednesday, June 24th

Delaware Chapter of the Sierra Club:

Virtual: Meeting with Land Use on Heavy Industry Changes

5 - 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jun 24th

(Sierra Club RSVP HERE)

For far too long, residents in New Castle, especially along the Route Nine Corridor, have been plagued by air and water pollution due to the effects of heavy industry. 

Last year, due to the passage of the landfill ordinance 19-046, all heavy industry was forced to go through a more extensive process with increased public engagement in order to obtain a permit. 

This year, Ordinance 20-008 was put forward by the lone council member who refused to vote on the landfill ordinance to go back to allowing all Heavy Industry to move forward with very little public engagement. This ordinance, which would take all heavy industry back to a By-Right standing, would strip the council of the important ability to refuse permits from heavy industry applicant. 

The Department of Land Use, at the last planning board meeting, introduced an alternative to 20-008 that would still remove the public hearing through the special use process but included other provisions such as a 500-foot buffer, requiring an environmental impact review, and other disclosures for certain heavy industry applications, and the ability of Council to deny a permit. That alternative was tabled until a meeting could take place to review stakeholder opinions from all sides. 

This is that meeting. Now we have heard that heavy industry representatives are planning to flood this call with opposition to any alternative to 20-008 and demands to return to By-Right. We CANNOT allow that to happen unchecked. 

Join the call to protect impacted communities and demand public engagement and strong environmental protections. Sierra Club will send the meeting links to participants and more!

And from the NCC Department of Land Use ~

Updates on the Heavy Industrial District Virtual Public Meeting

5 - 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jun 24th

(Register with NCC DLU HERE)

The New Castle County Department of Land Use invites you to a virtual meeting to update the public on the Heavy Industrial Zoning District and the environmental protections existing in the Unified Development Code. The discussion will bring focus to environmental concerns, economic growth and aligning best practices in the regulations. The meeting will include time for a question and answer session at the end of the presentations.

New Castle County Department Of Land UseOrganizer of Updates on the Heavy Industrial Zone Virtual Public Meeting 

The Department of Land Use is committed to promoting responsible development throughout New Castle County that is consistent, environmentally-sustainable, and meets the present and future needs of our residents. The Department accomplishes this by regulating planning for all new and existing development in unincorporated New Castle County, fairly enforcing laws governing building codes, zoning codes and property maintenance, and by preserving our unique heritage while simultaneously charting a course for the future.

Also see ~

Where NCC Council shows you some of the details of  Ordinance 20-008 but does not actually link to the text however their LEGISLATION SEARCH page does give you the date of Introduction, 1/14/2020, which you can then search for on their Meeting Agenda, Minutes and Audio page HERE

The link to 20-008 can be found on the NCC Council regular meeting agenda for January 14, 2020 HERE 

Read the Ordinance HERE 

20-008: TO AMEND NEW CASTLE COUNTY CODE CHAPTER 40 (“UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE”), ARTICLE 3 (“USE REGULATIONS”) AND ARTICLE 33 (“DEFINITIONS”) REGARDING INDUSTRIAL USES. Introduced by: Ms. Kilpatrick