Please Put Your Thoughts on the Record About the “Harmony of Glasgow” Senior Living Facility Petition and New Castle County Adjustment Board Meeting
1. Sign the Petition
2. Attend the New Castle County Board of Adjustment Meeting
Smith/Packett’s request for suburban code variances will be reviewed and put to a vote in a meeting of the New Castle County Board of Adjustment at 6:00pm on Thursday November, 21st (at The Department of Land Use conference room, NCC Government Center, 87 Reads Way New Castle, Delaware 19720).
At this meeting Smith/Packett will be requesting that the board approve its plans to build a structure that is:
--- 32% in excess of the New Castle county UDC suburban code limits for maximum building height
--- 120% in excess of the UDC suburban limits for net floor area ratio
--- and 157% in excess of the UDC suburban limits for gross floor area ratio
DNREC announces finalized Coastal Zone Conversion Permit regulations, which become effective Sept. 11
Final amendments to the Regulations Governing Delaware’s Coastal Zone, approved Aug. 26 by the Coastal Zone Industrial Control Board (CZICB), have been published in the September Register of Regulations and become effective Sept. 11, 2019, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Shawn M. Garvin announced today.
HB190, signed into law by Governor John Carney on Aug. 2, 2017, authorized the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to issue permits for construction and operation of new heavy industry uses at 14 existing heavy industry use sites within the state’s Coastal Zone. Like standard Coastal Zone permits, conversion permits require an assessment of the environmental and economic impacts of the proposed conversion.
To begin the process of developing regulations, DNREC Secretary Garvin convened a Regulatory Advisory Committee (RAC), comprising various stakeholder groups and chaired by retired Delaware Supreme Court Justice Randy Holland. The committee provided recommendations on a number of issues, including a Sea Level Rise and Coastal Storms Plan, an Environmental Remediation and Stabilization Plan, and evidence of financial assurance. DNREC then held public workshops to gather input on developing regulations for issuing permits.
The committee’s work and recommendations were presented at open houses, where public comments were received. Comments also were submitted to DNREC during a public comment period. The Secretary’s draft regulations and amendments were also presented to the CZICB for approval, as mandated by the Coastal Zone Conversion Permit Act.
“From the start of the process, DNREC has been committed to developing the regulations governing Delaware’s Coastal Zone Act Conversion Permit, consistent with the law, in a transparent manner that facilitated and encouraged public input and involvement,” Secretary Garvin said. “The new regulations incorporate recommendations from the RAC, technical experts, and the public that were received throughout the process.”
The regulations provide for Coastal Zone Conversion Permits to return industrial sites to active or more productive use while ensuring the protection of natural resources.
The new Regulations Governing Delaware’s Coastal Zone can be found online at Delaware’s Register of Regulations.
In accordance with the Coastal Zone Conversion Permit Act, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the Coastal Zone Industrial Control Board will jointly conduct a public hearing on the proposed amendments to the Regulations Governing Delaware’s Coastal Zone, 7 DE Admin. Code 101.
The public hearing will be held June 24, 2019 at 6:00 P.M. at the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control office at 391 Lukens Drive, New Castle, DE 19720.
If you wish to comment on the proposed amendments, you may do so orally or in writing at the public hearing. The hearing record will remain open for receipt of comments through close of business on July 9, 2019. Written comments may also be submitted to Lisa Vest via USPS or email at:Lisa VestRegulatory SpecialistDNREC – Office of the Secretary89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901lisa.vest@delaware.gov
Commenters should be specific and should include references to relevant parts of the regulations.
The proposed amendments are published in the June 2019 Register of Regulations.
June 2019 Register of RegulationsPDF Version of the June 2019 RegisterText Version of the June 2019 Register
At last night's Civic League meeting I briefly discussed the Final Report that has been released from the Delaware Coastal Zone Conversion Permit Act Regulatory Advisory Committee (the RAC) as to "Recommended" regulations that should be put forward to the DNREC Secretary regarding the redevelopment of 14 Industrial sites. These long-time protected and environmentally-problematic sites will be divided and could accommodate DOZENS of industrial chemical processes. Here's a few words that DO NOT appear in the body of the report; "Safety", "Interlock(s)", "System" or "Emergency"!!!
May 10----------Submit regulations to DNREC Registrar
May 30----------Submit notice of public hearing to newspapers
June 24---------Public Hearing
July 9------------Public Comment Period closes; DNREC prepares technical response memo and makes changes to the regulation in response to comments; DNREC Regulatory Specialist prepares a Hearing Officer’s Report with a recommendation to the Secretary; Secretary drafts an Order with decision on regulations; final regulations submitted to DNREC Registrar
September 15------Deadline for DNREC Registrar to submit final regulations to State Registrar
October 1------------Publication in the Register of Regulations
We need a better way to write Coastal Zone Act rules
Let community experts into Coastal Zone Act process: Delaware Voices
Coastal Zone reforms are on the way
New Coastal Zone rules clarify conditions for potential new industry
Carney signs Coastal Zone Act reform bill
June, 18 2019 is our CLNCC Annual Meeting. We will conduct business of the organization with the Election of Directors and Officers for the coming year.
Our guest speaker will be New Castle County Councilwoman Dee Durham.
Please remember to bring your dues ($25)! You can also pay online HERE
Guest Speaker: NCC Councilwoman Dee Durham
Secretary’s Report
Treasurer’s Report
Vice Presidents Report
President’s Report
Charlie Weymouth presentation on Barley Mill Plaza:
Election of 2019 – 2020 Directors and Officers:
Officers Slate for 2019-2020
Nancy Willing - President
Scot Sauer - Treasurer
Barry Shotwell - Secretary
Bill Dunn - 1st VP
Chuck Stirk - 2nd VP
Board Directors Slate for 2019-2020
Vic Singer
Donnie Shankie
Barry Shotwell
Marion Stewart
Chuck Stirk
New Business
Adjourn
County Council hopes to bring in more economic development
Ordinance 19-005 - May 28 Council Meeting
Audio Recordings - Please note there is a fulll recording, as well as shorter comments to review final comments from Council members and the vote.
The Vote was:
Kenneth R. Woods YES
Janet Kilpatrick YES
Lisa Diller YES
George Smiley YES
John Cartier YES
Timothy Sheldon YES
David Tackett YES
Bill Bell YES
Karen Hartley-Nagle NO
Jea P. Street NO
David Carter NO
Penrose Hollins NO
Dee Durham NO
Dear Neighbors,
Deeply flawed Transportation Ordinance 19-005 will come before County Council for a final vote on Tuesday, May 28. 860 residents from over 100 neighborhoods have written to oppose the ordinance [plus over a hundred more individuals signed onto the CLNCC petition]. 4 independent subject matter experts, including a former head of DelDOT, have shared their serious concerns. And the Planning Board voted 5-3 against 19-005 as currently drafted. Yet the County Administration continues to push hard for adoption.
As written, it's clear this legislation will dismantle the meaningful traffic protections present in the Code today.
-groups of projects in a geographic area could bypass current traffic congestion requirements via inclusion in a Transportation Improvement District (TID). ANY level of congestion could potentially be approved in a TID, and TIDs could be declared anywhere
-ANY method could potentially be used to measure congestion in a TID-and individual project applications could bypass current traffic congestion requirements via a new "anything goes" congestion (Level of Service) waiver clause.The list goes on. These flaws are too serious to remain unaddressed. Please come to the County Council meeting at 6:30pm Tuesday May 28 in the City/County Building, 800 French Street. If passed as is, Transportation Ordinance 19-005 will profoundly impact our county for years to come.
Thanks and best regards,
Tom Dewson
Transportation Ordinance 19-005Changes Needed
Below are the changes needed to the ordinance to address the concerns expressed by the community, independent subject matter experts and the Planning Board. All changes are based away from Substitute 1 to Ordinance 19-005.
1. Division 40.11.000 – Purpose. Reinstate “Transportation capacity is allocated to proposed land developments on a first come-first serve basis.” This is a foundational principle underpinning the transportation section of the Code and must remain unchanged.
2. Sec 40.11.120 – Need for Traffic Analysis. Reinstate 500 Average Daily Trips (the current standard) as a trigger for a Traffic Impact Study (TIS). Please note that the PLUS Review letter confirms the current standard in DelDOT’s Development Coordination Manual is 500 Average Daily Trips.
3. Sec 40.11.130 – Traffic Impact Study Requirements. Redo to properly reflect already allocated traffic capacity. Add language to include all previously approved but unbuilt projects – in incorporated or unincorporated areas - within a 5 mile radius if expected to contribute 5 or more peak hour trips to the intersections being studied.
4. Sec 40.11.210 – Level of Service Standards. Redo to require that increased road capacity be ready and available concurrent with the start of traffic from new development.
5. Sec 40.11.220 – Traffic Mitigation Measures. Reinstate requirement that traffic mitigation measures be underway before development can proceed. Also reinstate the requirement that traffic mitigation measures be recorded as a deed restriction (vs the new proposal to just list as notes on a record plan).
6. Sec 40.11.230 – Level of Service (LOS) Waivers. Remove (broad) language currently in the ordinance. Redo to codify County Council’s thoughtful and careful prior practice of limiting LOS waivers to proposals linked to high pay, high quality jobs (quantify “high pay” as ~$30/hour).
7. Sec 40.11.310 – Transportation Improvement Districts (TIDs).
-Restore uniform, County-wide level of acceptable congestion (generally LOS D in sewered areas/ C or better outside sewered areas). One LOS standard should continue to apply County-wide, even in a TID, unless modified via a new, separate review and waiver process linked to high pay/high quality jobs, time shifting of traffic and required traffic mitigation measures.
-Restore traditional/time-tested delay at intersections method to measure congestion (LOS). Other measurement approaches can provide supplemental info.
-Specifically articulate the methodology used to calculate developer contributions to road improvements in a TID.
-Specifically define economic development as high pay/high quality jobs (~$30/hour). Article 40.01.015C, the prior language, lacks specificity.
-Remove language stating “this section does not apply to any area zoned exclusively for commercial uses” and replace with “this section does not apply to any area zoned exclusively for any combination of the following districts: Commercial Regional (CR) or Commercial Neighborhood (CN).” CR and CN, though commercial, permit uses other than commercial.
-Require that-road improvements in a TID are phased coincident with project buildout-no development work in a TID can proceed without full funding of associated phased roadwork-transportation impacts outside the TID need to be specifically addressed
8. Sec 40.11.320 – Complete Community Enterprise Districts (CCEDs). Require the same changes as outlined above for TIDs.A note from civic leader RJ Miles ~
WHY is there such a rush to get ordinance 19-005 passed?
When we have a majority of NCC Council members expressing concerns regarding some of the details of this new ordinance, concerns shared by the Planning Board and major community groups, why is there no effort to work out those points of concern?
While I appreciate all of the positive goals ordinance 19-005 might accomplish, the ordiance is also repeating many mistakes of the past.
There are many people who want to make ordinance 19-005 a better piece of legislation, yet their call is going unanswered.
WHY?
What is the rush to vote on this ordinance?
May I say, for an ordinance which is explained as being "simply enabling" and that will preserve "oversight by the Planning Board and the community", the process being followed on 19-005 so far, is to the exclusion of Planning Board oversight and community feedback.
How is the community to have faith in any future process in the construction of a TID, when a balanced and responsible process is not being honored during the construction of ordinance 19-005?
The process so far, offers a bad look.
The appearance, is a process which is serving the interests of the development community, to the exclusion of meritorious concerns of long established community groups and the Planning Board.
How can the community have faith future consideration of a TID would be any different?
There needs to be a proper balancing of strategies to promote economic development and the safe guarding of community quality of life in those areas where a TID might be proposed.
The choices outlined in ordinance 19-005, choices which will trade community quality of life protections for a more expedient Land Use decision making process, will only repeat our mistakes of the past. Mistakes which contributed to the bad land use outcomes we observe in some of the most congested areas of the community.
The major contributor to those bad land use outcomes, has been inadequate funding to provide for the infrastructure improvements, to handle traffic demands associated with new development.
Can we honestly reflect on the past, and agree it was the development community which successfully advocated to avoid contributing their fair share to the costs of keeping infrastructure current?
There have been past legislative attempts to provide long term funding, but such efforts were lobbied against.
Ordinance 19-005 offers a new opportunity to not only implement innovative changes in land use policy to promote economic development, but an opportunity to establish a broad funding mechanism to help pay for needed infrastructure improvements, rather than undermining the concurrency standards which serve to protect community quality of life.
Who is responsible for the new repeat of the mistake of NOT properly funding the required infrastructure improvements associated with new development?
We have a chance to make ordinance 19-005 better legislation, yet there is an effort to avoid taking a pause, to allow amendments to be discussed.
Continuing the rush to pass ordinance 19-005 in its current form is not good public policy.
We can do better.
RJ Miles
President – McDaniel Civic Association
Vice President – CCOBH (Council of Civic Organizations of Brandywine Hundred)
Please join us in welcoming NCC Council President Karen Hartley-Nagle to our meeting this month.
June, 18 2019 is our CLNCC Annual Meeting:
Election of Officers
AGENDA May 2019Call to Order
Guest: NCC Council President Karen Hartley-Nagle
Officers Reports
Treasurer
Secretary
Vice Presidents
President
Old Business
New Business
Additional Member Comments
- Bill Dunn will be presenting on the Coastal Zone Regulations Draft
- Asbestos and Lead Sign On Letter to the General Assembly presented by Sarah Bucic;
Dear Civic League of New Castle County,Environmental, health and labor organizations are working together in Delaware to reduce the potential for community exposure to hazardous substances, including asbestos and lead paint, from demolition projects.
Demolition of industrial, commercial and multi-family housing facilities that contain asbestos, lead paint, or other hazardous materials in proximity to homes, parks and schools creates a public health risk.
To prevent community exposures, we have drafted a petition to DNREC asking for regulatory rule-making and a permit structure for demolition where hazardous substances are present. These regulations should include community notification, air monitoring, and emergency plans if something goes wrong.
We intend to submit the petition on June 1.
Please let us know if your group would like to sign on to the petition.
Sincerely, Sarah Bucic, RN
Title 16 of the Delaware Code, Chapter 78. Asbestos establishes an oversight structure by DNREC and the OMB to “ ensure the health, safety and welfare of the public by regulating the practice of asbestos abatement, particularly in locations where the general public can reasonably be expected to have access for the purpose of ensuring that such abatement is performed in such a manner as to minimize exposure to asbestos fibers and contamination.”Anyone can sign the petition as an individual. Click on the link HERE to sign this petition.
§7806 assigns DNREC with the power and duty to “promulgate rules and regulations as are necessary to implement the enforcement aspects of this chapter.”
At present, DNREC does not have an adequate oversight structure for the protection of the public. It lacks basic transparency measures (including community notification) to ensure that the public is notified of the demolition activities, data collection (including air monitoring) to ensure that air quality is not diminished, and emergency response plans on file for when something goes wrong. DNREC does not do random site visits to make sure that proper handling procedures are followed. Because DNREC does not issue permits for asbestos removal, it does not collect permit fees to cover the costs of administering the asbestos removal program.
DNREC Regulations 1102 Permits requires an air pollution permit for all “alteration” activities except those that are exempt in Appendix A. Because Appendix A does not include the demolition of any structure, demolition activities, including the removal of hazardous substances from a site, should fall under DNREC air pollution permits. Demolition activities can cause asbestos, lead paint chips, grit or dust, or other hazardous materials to become airborne in close proximity to homes, parks, schools and ecosystems where it can harm public health and the environment. Because DNREC does not presently have any air permit for the demolition of any structure, DNREC regulations and permitting are incomplete.
As stated on the DNREC website, “The mission of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is to ensure the wise management, conservation, and enhancement of the State’s natural resources, protect public health and the environment , provide quality outdoor recreation, improve the quality of life and educate the public on historic, cultural, and natural resource use, requirements and issues.”
To protect public health and the environment and to educate the public about demolition
activities, we the undersigned request the initiation of DNREC regulatory rule-making
proceedings for demolition activities where hazardous materials, including asbestos and lead paint, are removed.
We ask that new regulations and a permit structure be developed for demolition activities where hazardous materials, including asbestos and lead paint, are removed, and that these new regulations and permit structure include:
1. Community notification that includes which hazardous materials are being removed, the timeline for removal, and a public health fact sheet about the health effects of the
specific hazardous materials.
2. Air monitoring at the fenceline daily for the duration of the time period when hazardous materials are being removed from the site, with air monitoring results available to the public.
3. A Site Emergency and Release Response Plan prior to issuance of the permit, which
should include: the immediate notification of the public likely to be impacted of the risks
of exposure; a coordinated effort between property owner, DNREC, and the Delaware
Division of Public Health to protect the health of area residents; personal precautions
that can be taken by individuals; a person to contact for questions/concerns at DNREC,
and; a proposed response timeline.
Such regulations and permit structure shall entail associated permit fees to cover the costs of administering the program. Unscheduled site visits by a DNREC site inspector should be included in the provisions to ensure that all permit provisions are being followed. To ease the burden on small businesses and the public, we suggest limiting the scope of these regulations and permit structure to include commercial, industrial and multi-unit housing where the footprint of the structure exceeds 5000 square feet.
