Development Impact Fee Hybrid Public Workshop - 6:30PM Monday, December 12th In New Castle And Via ZOOM (RSVP)

From Councilman Dave Carter - 

Development Impact Fee Public Workshop

6:30 - 8 p.m. Monday, December 12th

HYBRID Program

NCC Gilliam Building - Multi Purpose Conference Room 

67 Reads Way New Castle, DE 19720

REGISTER HERE 

REMINDER: Impact Fee Study Pubic Hearing - New Castle County Government contracted the Rossi Group to conduct a study of its Development Impact Fee practices and to develop considerations for future implementation.  Impact fees are needed to help pay for infrastructure capital costs to meet the new needs from development such as: parks, libraries, public safety buildings, and other county facilities.

The Department of Land Use will host a Public Workshop on December 12, 2022 at 6:30pm to present the findings of the Development Impact Fee Study and receive public feedback.
 
This event will be held in-person at the Gilliam Building (67 Reads Way) and live-streamed via Zoom.  For those attending in-person, the presentation will be followed by an Open House styled workshop where the public may engage with, ask questions, and share comments with the County and consultant. Those participating virtually are asked to submit any questions or comments via email to LandUse@newcastlede.gov

If you are interested, you can register for the event here.  If you would like to participate virtually, the ZOOM link will be distributed to registrants on the morning of the event.

Contact Us
 

Councilman David Carter
800 N French Street - 8th Floor
Wilmington, DE 19801
david.carter@newcastlede.gov
302.395.8346

Rachel Zara
Legislative Aide
rachel.zara@newcastlede.gov
302.395.8366

NCC2050: PLANNING BOARD PUBLIC HEARING, 7PM Tuesday, May 3rd In New Castle

 VERY IMPORTANT - come out and support communities who want growth done correctly and want to see their expectations reflected in the county's future growth document:

NCC2050 Public Comment -

Hybrid PLANNING BOARD PUBLIC HEARING

7 p.m. Tuesday, May 3rd

NCC Gilliam Building

67 Reads Way, New Castle, DE 19720

JOIN ZOOM HERE

Only in person comments allowed so plan to attend in person (zoom will not have audio join option; chat feature of Zoom will be turned off.)

App. 2022-0095-T. *Draft New Castle County 2022 Comprehensive Plan Update.  Ord. 22-024 will amend New Castle County Code Chapter 28 (“Planning”) and Chapter 40 (“Unified Development Code or UDC”) regarding comprehensive planning.  The purpose of this amendment is to update the New Castle County Comprehensive Development Plan as required by the State of Delaware Quality of Life Act. 

Updated: NCC Comp Plan Update Hybrid Public Meetings: 7PM April 21st And 27th (RSVP) With Scott Run Petition And MOT Alliance

 

Update: FYI Attending via ZOOM precludes participants from joining the Q&A portion of the meetings [Find links to materials HERE] 

New Castle County Deptartment of Land Use:

NCC2050 Meeting with Land Use

7 - 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 27th

NCC Gilliam Building

Multi Purpose Conference Room

67 Reads Way, New Castle, DE 19720

REGISTER HERE

The April 27 Information Session will feature the following topics:

• Historic Preservation
• Conservation
• Open Space and Recreation​
• Climate Change and Hazard Mitigation​
• Utilities, Water, and Sewer

For the best experience, please plan to attend this event in person where you will be able to interact with Land Use Staff who will answer questions and receive your feedback on the specific topics presented.

This event will also be broadcast live on Zoom. The Zoom meeting link will be posted to the Dept. of Land Use website on the day of the event. Those watching online are asked to submit any feedback via email to: NCC2050@newcastlede.gov.  

Also, if you haven't heard about this issue, you will want to. I am posting more on it soon.

READ AND SIGN THIS PETITION: Scott Run Commerce Center Warehouses Petition Letter

CALL TO ACTION! The Scott Run Commerce Center plans for the 301/Jameson Corner Road area now include larger warehousing with more 18-wheeler bays than initially communicated to the public years ago. This will negatively impact pedestrian safety, traffic, and community character in MOT for years to come. BY THE END OF APRIL please submit your concerns to LandUse@newcastlede.gov and members of the NCC Council (https://nccde.org/226/County-Council). Not sure what concerns to write about? You can either watch this 27 minute overview from our neighbors Erin Kaplan Ari Kaplan and Kevin Caneco , or you can read more information about the plans on the NCC website for project #20200066 http://www3.nccde.org/project/details/default.aspx...

Note: this is a separate plan from the logistics center in the same Bayberry vicinity, which is project #20210470 which you can read about http://www3.nccde.org/project/details/default.aspx...

NCC2050 Meeting with Land Use

7 - 9 p.m. Thursday, April 21st

NCC Gilliam Building

Multi Purpose Conference Room

67 Reads Way, New Castle, DE 19720

REGISTER HERE

Join us to learn what's in the NCC2050 Comprehensive Plan!

Tonight's Information Session will feature the following topics:

• Mobility
• Housing​
• Community Planning and Design​
• Economic and Community Development​
• Environmental and Social Justice​
• Intergovernmental Coordination

For the best experience, please plan to attend this event in person where you will be able to interact with Land Use Staff who will answer questions and receive your feedback on the specific topics presented.

This event will also be broadcast live on Zoom. The Zoom meeting link will be posted to the Dept. of Land Use website on the day of the event. Those watching online are asked to submit any feedback via email to: NCC2050@newcastlede.gov.

If you are not able to attend this meeting, no worries! The video recording will be posted on the NCC2050 website.

A second Information Session will be held on April 27 and will feature the following topics:

• Historic Preservation
• Conservation
• Open Space and Recreation
• Climate Change and Hazard Mitigation
• Utilities, Water, and Sewer

Please register for the April 27 event here. 

And from the MOT Alliance, the citizens' group representing the area under NCC's  "future growth zone"  

Dept of Land Use formal response to MOT Alliance requests for change to the NCC2050 comprehensive plan.

From Rich Hall, manager of Dept of Land Use: FYI – we posted a “save the date” notice today for two sessions on the NCC2050. The dates are April 21st and 27th. They will be in the Multipurpose Room at the Gilliam Building and will be in the evening.

Just 3 thoughts (this is Melissa writing her own thoughts, not necessarily representing all 1,100 of us), interested to hear what others think:

(1) They have added a "recommendation" to "consider" changes to S zoning.

Melissa's Response: I would like a plan and a commitment to execute upon it that is more definitive than a recommendation to “consider”. Given our area has been identified as the growth area for the last 20 years, and given that NCC2050 establishes a plan for the next 30 years, any zoning changes should be concurrent with or prior to enacting a 30-year plan that sets policy for such zoned areas.

(2) Our preference for development style (from our 777 person survey representing more than 1% of MOT) is categorized as "growing pains" and assumed that we are "supporting segregation of housing types" which will result in an "exacerbation of existing inequity".

Melissa's Response: MOT Alliance represents RESPONSIBLE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, with our #1 principle being COMMUNITY. I believe community is not only fellowship, but also a physical place where ALL residents can gather that is respectful of ALL residents. Therefore:

1 - Housing for residents that have restricted mobility (e.g. seniors, students, underserved populations) should enable the best ease of access to those places of gathering. I'd like to see that planned (i.e. S zoning changes).

2 - Affordable housing should be proximal to support services to enable underserved populations to have an equitable quality of life. I'd like to see that planned (i.e. S zoning changes).

3 - It is irresponsible to build residential homes – regardless of style – in places with insufficient infrastructure. The Dept of Land Use response on the insufficient infrastructure is that they will continue to “work with” other governing bodies (re: our school concerns), “monitor” (re: our EMS/Fire/Police concerns), and defer to addressing additional concerns legislatively (i.e. not do anything). I believe this approach is contrary to the mission of MOT Alliance, and I'd like to see better planning than "work with" "monitor" and defer.

4 - Lastly, I personally am disheartened that they misinterpreted our survey to mean we want segregation of housing types. I think the fact we prefer single family homes over multifamily could also mean we want more single family homes that are affordable, more mixed use developments with a larger percentage of single family than multifamily, or any other possible interpretation. I encourage the Land Use department to better understand our position before making inflammatory accusations.

(3) Our request to reduce residential growth until infrastructure increases is denied, and misinterpreted as a request to stop development.

Melissa's response: We represent Responsible Growth and Development; even the terms "growth" and "development" are in our mission statement. Some residents may want to stop growth altogether, but we -- the majority of our group, and the MOT Alliance committee -- believe in our unifying mission FOR RESPONSIBLE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. I'd like Land Use to respond to our request to REDUCE residential growth. 

MOT Alliance Public Zoom Meeting With NCC Officials: 6PM January 12th; NCC Comp Plan Draft Comments Due January 30th

 

MOT Alliance ~

IMPORTANT - VIRTUAL Public Forum - Southern New Castle County

6 - 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 12th

ZOOM Meeting

REGISTER HERE

You are welcome to pre-register at:

https://tinyurl.com/SNCCJan12

TOP PRIORITY TO ATTEND!

Reason for meeting: New Castle County government has been directing a master planning process for Southern New Castle County (SNCC) over the last several years. To date, that process has yielded the draft SNCC Master Plan. This virtual public forum has been organized with the County Land Use Department, the MOT Alliance, and local public officials in an effort to continue building on the work of the southern NCC master planning effort and to further engage the community on important planning issues to support modifications as the draft countywide comprehensive plan gets updated.

On January 12th, after brief introductions from elected panelists and guests, we will spend time on each of the following 5 topics, including time for audience participation and questions.
Topic #1: Economy / Jobs
Topic #2: Environment
Topic #3: Quality of Life and Community Services (this includes schools, public safety, and other)
Topic #4: Community Design / Character
Topic #5: Transportation

There will be some time at the end of the meeting for general public comments and questions. Please keep statements to less than 1 minute. The chat feature of the meeting will be open so you may also submit comments and questions there.

With more from the MOT Alliance ~

The Middletown Odessa Townsend (MOT) Alliance is a grassroots, community run organization whose mission is to promote responsible growth and development in the MOT region.  The community members have been working with our office, the New Castle County (NCC) Department of Land Use, as well as state representatives to provide feedback on the Southern New Castle County Master Plan, as well as the overall NCC Comprehensive Plan. In addition to comments on the land use plans, the MOT Alliance is gathering information to share with the Department of Land Use on how residents of the MOT region would like to see growth and development in the community.  The Alliance has developed a thoughtful survey to better understand what residents throughout Southern NCC desire for our future.  The survey takes about 10-15 minutes to complete.  If you have a few minutes, please give your feedback by completing the survey at http://www.motalliance.com/survey Additionally, the MOT Alliance has been working with the Department of Land Use to schedule a MOT focused workshop on future planning for the region.  This workshop will take place on January 12 at 6:00PM at the Volunteer Hose of Middletown (28 W Green St) we hope that you can attend to give your feedback on what you hope to see in the future for our community.

NCC@2050 Draft Plan 

The NCC@2050 Comprehensive Plan draft is now available for review and public comment.  Public comment on the draft plan will be accepted until January 30, 2022*.  You can view and download the draft plan here.  In each section of the plan there is a link to leave a comment, you can also provide feedback by emailing NCC2050@newcastlede.gov

*Note: The county had set January 12th as the end of the Comp Plan Draft comment period to great objection from residents, especially from this group, as this meeting had already been scheduled for the same day and that would have prevented meaningful dialogue and direct information from the county from being included in the draft commentary. 4

As I understand it, for those reasons, Dave Carter was able to persuade Rich Hall to agree to extend the comment period to January 30th. Thanks Dave! 

The US 301 Public Workshop Set For 3PM - Stoltz At Planning Board At 7PM - All On Sept. 6th!

Upcoming Project Workshop Rt 301 Workshop The US 301 Public Workshop has been rescheduled for Tuesday, September 6 between 3:00pm and 8:00pm. The location remains the Middletown Fire Hall at 27 W. Green Street. There will be a PowerPoint presentation at 3:15, to be repeated at 4:15, 5:15, 6:15 and 7:15pm. Please let your friends, neighbors and anyone else who may have an interest in the US 301 project know of this rescheduled date.

This a a project that the Civic League has opposed due to the misguided alignment that appears to be designed to promote sprawling new development, such as the Bayberry North and South Developments, rather than interstate transportation.

Of even more critical concern is the highly questionable need and deeply concerning debt financing for this road. The project does not appear to have any potential to be self sustaining due to inadequate traffic volumes and limited toll revenues.

Anyone in NCC should be concerned with this project and its questionable funding scheme. The initial phase was funded with GARVEE Bonds, which are a sort of a federally authorized Ponzi scheme where States borrow large sums of money, but must repay it using federal funds "expected "to be received in the future. There is no guarantee that the federal funds will be available. (But perhaps congress may consider cuts to things like social security, medicare, or education to fund GARVEE debts!!!). At present, the risk to Delaware tax payers of having to pay these debts is pretty high due to the imminent risks of federal budget cuts, an expected delay in extending the gasoline tax, and a likely stalemate over a new transportation bill in the U.S. Congress.

If federal funds are not sufficient, the State taxpayers will have to pay the bill directly. Even if federal funds are available, the GARVEE commitment will severely limit options for future road projects that may actually be much higher priorities throughout NCC than the Proposed Rt. 301.

Thursday, we learned that the US 301 project did not get the targeted federal aide. Someone at the federal level appears to have done their homework and concluded that this project is not sustainable due to low traffic demand. They realize that the traffic volume will not produce enough toll revenue to pay the debt service in the bonds proposed for financing its construction. It is unsustainable unless the Delaware tax payers decide to heavily subsidize this sprawl promoting effort. There is a pretty good overview of the problem by Jeff Montgomery of the News Journal in today's paper. You can read it at: http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110903/NEWS02/109030324/US-301-project-loses-out-aid?odyssey=tabtopnewstextHome
Please come out to ask questions, learn what is happening, and let your views be known on this massive project. After all, no matter what, you will be paying for it.

A few potential questions to consider:

• If we must subsidize this small area with hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue, should we be building this highway, or considering other alternatives such as improved bus service or train service to get local traffic off 301?


• Do you have other pressing transportation issues that should be made a higher priority in NCC?


• Do we want to continue to claim we support Smart Growth in the New Castle County Development Plan, and then build sprawling communities dependent on interstate highways in areas with no employment base such as SNCC?


• Is this project really needed, or just a misguided effort by self serving politicians to try to create some unsustainable jobs in the short term that will make employment conditions even worse in the future due to the long term debt incurred with no clear revenue stream to pay it back?


• Do you think it is fine to subsidize this road, and want to support it?

Please come out to ask questions, learn what is happening, and let your views be known on this massive project. After all, no matter what, you will be paying for it.

I recognize that this meeting conflicts with another critical project meeting with serious transportation implications when NCC Planning Board will review the Stoltz plan (at 7PM in New Castle at 77 Reads Way). http://www2.nccde.org/landuse/PlanningBoard/PublicHearingAgenda/Default.aspx?MeetingDate=2011-09-06T04:00:00Z

For those that can make it down to Middletown, you may be able to attend early and then still get up for the 7 PM Stoltz meeting. If not, you can at least comment on the DelDOT webpage. Thank you for your consideration of this critical public issue and hope you will let Del DOT know your thoughts and views on this project.

Dave Carter

Urgent - Save Our County - Stoltz Proposal Meeting At 6:30PM April 13th At The Tatnall School

SAVE OUR COUNTY COMMUNITY MEETING ON TRAFFIC ISSUES WITH BARLEY MILL PLAZA PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT APRIL 13, 2011 - 6:30 PM TATNALL SCHOOL – Lower School (Located in the original house at the West entrance to the school) Come hear the issues we all face with the CRG/STOLTZ compromise plan for Barley Mill Plaza. "Stoltz's proposal--which links four developments in a single package that requests an approval 'of the whole' -- is an unacceptable tactic. Each of the four development proposals--Greenville Center, 3704 Kennett Pike, Montchanin Corporate Center, and Barley Mill Plaza--should, and will be, treated as separate applications. There will also be presentations from representatives of WILMAPCO, and Civic organizations (GHADA & Civic League). DelDot and NC County Land Use have also been invited. Please distribute this notice to your neighbors and all of your friends in New Castle County. This will impact the county with traffic congestion spreading throughout the entire region.

New Castle County Comprehensive Plan Update Meeting Schedule With Some Notes

New Castle County Comprehensive Plan Update
Public Involvement Meeting Schedule: Date - Topic

Thursday, December 2, 2010 - Kickoff meeting

Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - Land Use

Wednesday, January 26, 2011 - Land Use

Wednesday, February 9, 2011 - Mobility & Transportation

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 - Water and Sewer

Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - Conservation and Natural Resources

Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - Historic Preservation and Housing

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 - Economic Development

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 - Community Design

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 - Inter-governmental Coordination

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - Inter-governmental Coordination

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 - Future Land Use and Implementation Strategies

All meetings are to be held from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose room at the New Castle County Government Center - Gillian Building, 77 Reads Way, New Castle, DE 19720.
Dates and/or topics are subject to change. This schedule will be updated on the project web site: http://projects.jmt.com/new-castle-county-comprehensive-plan/Default.aspx

Interested persons may sign up at this web site for automatic updates and newsletters
Interested persons may also “follow us” on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NewCastle_2012 to receive the fastest updates, including any last minute meeting changes which may occur due to weather emergencies.

Questions may be sent by email to: CompPlan12@nccde.org

~*~

`

From my notes: Paul Clark kicked off the Comprehensive Plan Update saying that...

WDEL's Coverage Of The NCC Council's Smart Growth Forum Last Night - Get Ready For The Comp Plan Update!

(WDEL) LeAnne Matlach reports ~ Community members expressed their concern over projects by the Stoltz development company at a forum Thursday night.

Audio Here New Castle County is getting ready update the comprehensive plan and Councilman Bob Weiner wants to incorporate Smart Growth into new development.
Audio Here Smart Growth development reduces costs for development, public scenes and public transportation. Erik Aulestia says neighborhoods need to be walk able in smart growth because the average person will only walk about a quarter mile before deciding to drive.
Audio Here Aulestia says residents are often hesitant of new developers because they have had problems with over promised under delivered plans in the past.

(reprinted here in full with permission)

The NCC Council Is Hosting A Forum On The "The 10 Principles Of Smart Growth" At 7PM Thursday In The Gilliam Building, 77 Reads Way, New Castle

This is a reminder that a special meeting of the NCC Council's Economic Development Sub-Committee is scheduled for 7PM on Thursday evening in the Gilliam Building at 77 Reads Way.

The meeting is being touted as a forum to discuss "Smart Growth" with Erik Aulestia of the land planning firm, Torti Gallas. The agenda includes a question and answer session with the speaker as well as an opportunity for general public comment. This will be an excellent chance for the community to solicit the expert's opinion on how far our county government has strayed from Smart Growth by uncoupling mass transit from density and (Workforce Housing and Redevelopment) allowing for high density in rural lands devoid of infrastructure.

This sub-committee has had a very sporadic meeting schedule over the last few years (rather odd in this dire economic climate, don't you think?). Right now, there are no minutes available for this committee posted on the county's web site. I received the minutes for Oct. 2009 and April 2010 by email today. The June 2010 minutes are not available to the public since they have yet to be approved.

The October minutes' items included a BRAC update by Karl Kalbacher, a presentation by Mark Kleinschmidt of the NCC Chamber of Commerce recommending changes to the UDC to foster economic growth and development, Dave Culver's prepared response to these suggestions and Marian Stewart stating her "continued opposition to development and the feeling of being unheard on balance of busines"s/development vs. the public sentiment".

The April minutes noted that zoning maps were distributed by Lisa Diller (probably Federal Stimulus Recovery Zone maps but it is not at all clear). Dave Culver and Karl Kalbacher were on hand to answer questions about the comprehensive plan, zoning and economic development goals. Richard Beck represented the Citizens for Responsible Growth in expressing concern about the manipulation by developers of ordinances passed by council such as mixed use and redevelopment.

Betsy Gardner said that it was a goal for the office to put an archive of all council minutes online. GOOD!