NEW CASTLE COUNTY COUNCIL EXECUTIVE/PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MEETING

  The New Castle County Council Executive Committee meeting scheduled for this Tuesday, February 22, 2011 has several several critical issues on it that impact all county residents.   These issue address the underhanded action by Council to sneak the controversial removal of the dead restrictions for the Governor's Square project without public discussion or input, an effort to improve transparency by web streaming of public meetings, and a resolution urging council to follow the spirit of their own rules.  

 

     The specific agenda items include: 

    Agenda Item 4.  The deed restriction was underhandedly removed as part of the consent calendar without even naming the project.    If you are not familiar with this issue, please check the News Journal Article Links at:

Only the Public was hurt by Councils Hidden Vote (Click Here)

Councilman Smiley Deceived his Colleagues and Constituents (Click Here)

     Agenda Item 5.  There is an effort to start exploration of Internet streaming of council meeting, providing access to the public to keep track of what they are doing.  This would help us ensure accountability, which is currently lacking.

     Agenda Item 6.  There is an resolution urging council to follow the rules and not sneak things through with listing the name such as was done for Governors Square.

      All three of these items are good government actions, but they will likely be opposed by many on council. 

      If we want to help urge and ethical, honest, and accountable County Government, we need to show support to  those council members courageous enough to push for these improvements.

      IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, PLEASE ATTEND THIS MEETING, SPEAK OUT IN SUPPORT OF THIS ACTIONS, AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR ETHICAL BEHAVIOR AND GOOD GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES BY NEW CASTLE COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBERS.

      A detailed agenda can be found at the link below: 
   

NEW CASTLE COUNTY COUNCIL EXECUTIVE/PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MEETING

Councilman Smiley deceived his colleagues, constituents

The editorial below appeared in the News Journal on February 16,2011.   Great read and a call to action for all civic minded people in New Castle County, Delaware.


 _______________________________________________________________________________________

A consent calendar means an agreement exists among the members that no one will put anything on it that needs debate. The purpose of it is to relieve a busy council from the necessity of reading everything.

Our council serves part time. By putting a resolution on it that did need debate, Councilman George Smiley deceived his colleagues and hundreds of his constituents for the benefit of a developer.

If Smiley was acting in his role as a committee chairman, he was ethically obligated to see that legislation assigned to his committee was handled properly. He has been dishonorable and he should be censured for his conduct.
But the council does not have to live with this mistake. Unlawfully enacted legislation does not become law.
The vote on lifting a deed restriction is a discretionary vote; therefore, it must be preceded by a fact-finding hearing. First error.

The citizens are entitled to testify regarding the lifting of a deed restriction to which they are essentially a party. It was a violation of their due process rights not to allow that, hence the resolution is unconstitutional. Second error.

Resolutions govern only the internal matters of a legislative body. State law specifically requires that anything done by County Council that has the force and effect of law must be done by ordinance. Third error.

Enough of the council did not cast a knowing vote – instead one based on fraud – therefore the vote was not legitimate. Fourth error.

The resolution is void ab initio. The council president can declare it that and require the sponsor to have it redrafted as an ordinance and reintroduced.

This is a test. Do we have a government of laws or not?

Christine Whitehead, Mill Creek

New Castle County Government FOIA And Ethics Are Topics For Tomorrow's DECOG Meeting In Wilmington

Delaware Coalition for Open Government (DelCOG)Board of Directors meeting
February 14, 2011 - 12:00 p.m.Woodlawn Library, Wilmington
Agenda
12:00 - 12:05 I. Welcome - John Flaherty
12:05 - 12:10 2) Approval of Meeting Minutes of December 6, 2010
12:10 - 12:15 3) Treasurer’s Report - Bill Pearson
12:15 - 12:20 4) By-Law Review and Disposition of Absent Board members
12:20 - 12:45 5) New Delaware state web site highlights social media - Bill Pearson
12: 45 - 12:50 6) New Castle County FOIA Issues - Coralie Pryde
12:50 - 12:55 7) New Castle County Ethics Issues - Chris Whitehead
12:55 - 1:00 8) Open Court Testimony - Bonnie Corwin
1:00 - 1:05 9) Highmark/Blue Cross Blue Shield proposed affiliation
1:05 - 1:10 10) Public testimony

Plus, Vic Singer is on the agenda for the NCC Council's Land Use Committee meeting on Tuesday at 3PM to discuss FOIA as well. This meeting is on the 8th floor conference room in the City/County Building at 800 French Street in Wilmington.

Comp Plan Update Tonight And A Message From Vic Singer: "Planning board stands by oversight power"

(cross posted at DE Way - New Castle County In The News)
There's a Comp Plan Update meeting tonight at 6:30 at the Gilliam Building in the New Castle complex. The general public might take an interest. Paul Clark thinks that those who show up to meetings don't represent the public. I know that civic leaders, conservation and environmental leaders are participating in these planning activities along with the usual suspects (found on Clark's infamous memo [Paul Clark is dumb, not unethical?] with the Saul Ewing confidentiality tag). Meanwhile, those of us attending the process are still waiting for access to a report on the current Comprehensive Plan (2007).
(WNJ Delaware Voice) Vic Singer, president of the New Castle County Planning Commission writes ~ Planning board stands by oversight power
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UNEXPURGATED TEXT OF OP ED ESSAY:
State and County law give the New Castle County Planning Board a large role in New Castle County's 2012 Comprehensive Plan Update (CPU) now ongoing. As PB Chairman, I must assure intense examination of facts and laws relevant to this and other assigned responsibilities, to prevent arbitrary or capricious decisions. At our 12/21 Meeting, I requested a summary of the Land Use Department (LUD) staff views on which features of the 2007 CPU need fixing, and which are fine as is.

The County's request for proposals (RFP) for Professional Planning Services for the 2012 CPU announces that "The County is currently in the process of reviewing and planning for the 2012 update. The review of accomplishments of the goals set forth in the 2007 update and an evaluation of recent economic trends are being analyzed." Further, the RFP defines as the first deliverable Consultant work product, an "Analysis of Current plan and data" due 9/1/2010 after two months of work. I requested a copy of that also.

We didn't get the LUD's staff work product, clearly public property. Nor did we get the Consultant's work product, which according to the RFP needn't be disclosed until the end of the consulting contract. Nor were we advised how to find them. Instead, the LUD General Manager (GM) said that nothing is in writing. Reacting, I called a 1/4/2010 Special Meeting (following our Public Hearing) where the LUD GM stonewalled again. Since the State's Quality of Life Act of 1988 requires an ANNUAL report presenting "an assessment and evaluation of the success or failure of the comprehensive plan or element or portion thereof," I demanded copies of the most recent version.

Incidentally, the Quality of Life Act defines "Local Planning Agency" as "the agency designated to prepare the comprehensive plan required by this subchapter," and requires County Council to "designate and by ordinance establish a 'local planning agency.' " Further, it assigns to the local planning agency "the GENERAL responsibility for the conduct of the comprehensive planning program." County Council's response: direction in the UDC requiring the Planning Board "to prepare or cause to be prepared the Comprehensive Development Plan, or any element or portion thereof" and requiring the LUD to "assist the Planning Board in its current and long range comprehensive planning responsibilities."

Instead of releasing documents that are public property, the LUD argued with the incidental issue. It interpreted other parts of State law as contradictions and thus invalidations of Council's authority to designate the local planning agency, and declared that "The contract was secured by the Department on behalf of the Department and is solely responsible for overseeing the contract and its provisions."

Clearly, the LUD GM regards the LUD as the "Local Planning Agency" for the CPU, and the Planning Board's role as subordinate. It's a nice theory but it's not what was given the force of law by the General Assembly and County Council. Contradictions among the relevant provisions of Delaware law can be found when they are isolated rather than considered cumulatively. The Delaware Supreme Court addressed precisely that issue in a 1984 case, declaring that:

"The golden rule of statutory interpretation . . . is that unreasonableness of the result
produced by one among alternative possible interpretations of a statute is reason for
rejecting that interpretation in favor of another which produces a reasonable result."

Cumulatively, the relevant provisions clearly express the General Assembly's intent for the bulk of the work of preparing and updating the Comprehensive Plan to be performed by the Land Use Department and for a separate entity to have GENERAL oversight responsibility. That shows insight into human nature. Working on complicated matters, we're often so close to the trees that we don't see the forest. The General Assembly sought to avoid that by assigning oversight responsibility to folks far away enough to see forest and trees together.

In summary, the LUD GM is concealing public information not exempted from public disclosure by Delaware's Freedom of Information Act. Concealing it from the public prompts suspicions of undetectable schemes too nefarious for sniff testing. The LUD GM is under notice that the in-house review must be exposed. Yet he stonewalls. A formal FOIA demand is now timely.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TEXT OF BOTH Feb 2, 2011 FOIA REQUESTS:
FIRST FOIA REQUEST: By this Information Request, I ask for an opportunity during usual business hours to examine in the Land Use Department facilities the following documents:
<> The review and evaluation described in the two sentences in the indented quotation below,which appear in two places: !) The General Information section in the 4/13/2010 solicitation for proposals for "PROFESSIONAL PLANNING SERVICES BID #10PP-012"; and 2):NC County's contract with JMT, the CPU Consultant engaged pursuant to BID #10PP-012, in the first two sentences of Section I.A.1.of Exhibit "A" therein.

"The County is currently in the process of reviewing and planning for the
2012 update. The review of accomplishments of the goals set forth in the
2007 update and an evaluation of recent economic trends are being analyzed."

<> The ANNUAL REPORT for the years 2008, 2009, and 2010 required by 9 Del. C 2658(c) and (d) of the Quality of Life Act of 1988 to be submitted to the Governor's Advisory Council on Planning Coordination, which "shall present an assessment and evaluation of the success or failure of the comprehensive plan or element or portion thereof . . .".

SECOND INFORMATION REQUEST:
By this Information Request, I ask for an opportunity during usual business hours to examine in the Land Use Department facilities the CPU Consultant's response to the DELIVERABLES SECTION of the 4/13/2010 solicitation for proposals for "PROFESSIONAL PLANNING SERVICES BID #10PP-012" which cites as the first "deliverable" the Consultant's "ANALYSIS OF CURRENT PLAN AND DATA" covering the period between 7/1/2010 and 9/1/2010.
That response is further described in the resulting contract, with Johnston, Mirmiran & Thompson, JMT, dated 6/30/2010, wherein Section 1 binds JMT to perform all services necessary and appropriate to complete the tasks defined and set out in JMT's 6/17/2010 proposal responding to the #10PP-012 solicitation and incorporates the proposal into the contract as Exhibit A. Within Exhibit A, Section I.A.1 repeats the following two key "Project Background" sentences from the County's solicitation, therein termed "Background," with an added third sentence, the underlined portion of which describes what I seek to examine:
"The County is currently in the process of reviewing and planning for the 2012 update. The review of accomplishments of the goals set forth in the 2007 update and an evaluation of recent economic trends are being analyzed. JMT's Comprehensive Plan Team will conduct a review of the current plan, analyze data, conduct public workshops and other means to actively engage input on (sic) from the community on various elements of the Plan, assist in drafting Plan goals, and objectives and draft the 2012 Plan. . ."
At this point, the requests are from me as an individual rather than me as Planning Board Chairman, for several obvious reasons.

Reminder: 2012 Comprehensive Plan Update Meeting Tonight In New Castle

Read more about the saga of the missing 2007 Comp Plan report:
NCC Comp Plan: A Blueprint For Legislation Relating To Zoning, Community Design And Redevelopment

John Flaherty Sends Along Good News From The State House - Unanimous Passage Of The FOIA Bill!

BENNETT FOIA BILL UNANIMOUSLY PASSES HOUSE
HB 5 sets deadline for governments to respond to requests
DOVER – Legislation setting a deadline for government entities and other public bodies to respond to a Freedom of Information request unanimously passed the House Tuesday.
Under House Bill 5, sponsored by Rep. E. Bradford “Brad” Bennett, any FOIA request for a public record must be granted within 15 business days from the receipt of the request. However, the public entity can extend that deadline if the request is for “voluminous records, requires legal advice” or if the record is in storage. In those situations, the agency or entity must inform the person making the request within 15 business days of the need for additional time.
Currently, state law does not include any time limit for public bodies to respond to or fulfill FOIA requests.
“A request can sit for months without a response,” said Rep. Bennett, D-Dover South. “Public information should be readily accessible to any citizen, and any person who makes a FOIA request for public records deserves a prompt response. This bill further improves the FOIA legislation passed last session. It makes us a more transparent and open state. By adding these provisions, we will go from being one of the least transparent states to one of the more transparent.”
HB 5 is similar to legislation that passed the House last session, with a couple small changes. Rep. Bennett said he extended the deadline – it was 10 business days in the previous measure – after hearing some concerns raised last session.

Milltown-Limestone Civic Alliance And Civic League For NCC Both Meet This Week

The MLCA monthly meeting is THIS Thursday, January 20th at the Mill Creek Fire Hall, starting at 7pm. Civic Leaders in organizations between Wilmington and Newark are always welcome.
MLCA TOPICS include:
- Council President Election (Tom Kovach will be invited)
- Missing annual land use comprehensive plan reports (Ref: State Law 9 Del. C. 2658(c) and (d)
‏- Proposed changes to Redevelopment Ordinance
- Update on Development projects at Limestone/Milltown Rds, Little Falls Village and Barley Mill Plaza
- Rejection of proposed change to Little Falls entrance by DelDOT
- No update on DNREC HSCA Plan for Little Falls area development
- Newark Area Hospice's changes to their Development Plan
- DelDOT stance on road improvements regarding Greenville Overlook I (original Hercules effort)
- Feedback from this month’s Civic League for New Castle County (CLNCC) on Jan 18th. Read the Newsletter at http://www.civicleagueforncc.org/.

You are also encouraged to attend monthly meetings of the Civic League for New Castle County Next Meeting: January 18th at 7 PM, Delaware State Police Troop 2 Building, 100 La Grange Ave, Newark, DE.
Agenda: Legislative Proposals.
Get info and directions at http://www.civicleagueforncc.org/

Bill Franey, President, Milltown-Limestone Civic Alliance (MLCA)

Planning Ahead For NCC Comprehensive Plan Update Meeting # 1 - Land Use

[Cross-posted - Is NCC Going Into 2012 Planning Without Any Discussion Of Whether, Or How Successfully, The Goals And Objectives Of The 2007 Planning Update Were Met? ]

Jan. 26th 2011 (6:30PM at 77 Reads Way) - NCC Comprehensive Plan Update Meeting ~ Public Meeting #1 Land Use Agenda pdf

1). Welcome / Introductions
2). Overview of the Comprehensive Planning process: Register Email/Twitter and Process Flow Diagram
3). Update on accomplishments from 2007 Comprehensive Plan (the following list of 2007 accomplishments was taken from the Kick-Off Meeting Summary pdf ~)

• Accessory Dwelling Unit code amendment.
• Drafting of the Water Management Code.
• Implementation of the two-step development process.
• Cooperating with DelDOT - prioritizing of transportation projects.
• Affordable Housing code amendment.
• Improved Village/Hamlet provisions.
• Updates to the Building and Property Maintenance Codes.
• SNCC Master Plan process, ongoing.
• MOU for preservation of Red Clay Scenic Byway.

4). Discussion on Land Use: This meeting: Where we've been and where we are. Jan 26 2011 Vision for the future: Review and Refinement of Vision Statement, Goals and Objectives and Vision Mapping activity

5). Facilitated Activities /Public Participation Round 1
- Mapping Activity: Community Assets
- Mapping Activity: Issues and Concerns
6). Facilitated Activities /Public Participation Round 2
- Mapping Activity: Issues and Concerns
- Mapping Activity: Community Assets
7). Visual Preference Survey
8). Closing / Next Step
9). Reminder: Comment Cards and Email Registration

Plus the Summary Kick-Off Meeting pdf - activity outcomes

A. Identification of Community Issues and Concerns:

Population Density
Unincorporated land
Space for new high-paying jobs
Parks near future development areas
Development/Redevelopment regulations
Transportation standards
Attract young people/recent graduates
Preserve agriculture and open space
Mixed use walkable communities
New housing only where infrastructure exists
Avoid "fad" planning
Community interconnectivity
Community character
Promote redevelopment

B. Assess/Prioritize Delaware Community Design Core Values:

1). Land features before land design
2). Land design before yield
3). Cluster before sprawl
4). Scale before statement
5). Pedestrian before vehicle
6). Context before application
7). Sensibility before fad
8). Neighborhood before individual ownership
9). Community inclusion before site exclusion
10). Community character before ordinance
11). Land planning and architectural design before engineering

C. Reactions to 2007 Comprehensive Plan Vision Statements:

List of vision statements is too lengthy
Eliminate redundancy in vision
Add remediation of brownfields as a priority
Is development pattern economically viable?
How much development is too much?
Vision statements are too vague
Need to plan for future population and employment
Should articulate where we want the community to go
Infrastructure vs development
Need for multi-modal mobility for seniors
Consistent "Community character"
Consistency from Land Use Dept.
Need consistent County codes
Desire for form-based codes
We should care how the County looks
Communicate with the cities

According To The Cape Gazette, So Far, CLNCC Working Group Gets Some Press, Some Supporters But No Sponsors For Their Redistricting Bill

Updated Feb. 2011: Good to report that there is currently a lineup of support and interested sponsors of this bill. Stay tuned!
~~~~~
(Cape Gazette) Kara Nuzback reports ~ Activist calls for transparency in redistricting - Senate leader expects change to come slowly

[Frank] Sims said legislators on both sides of the aisle have already pledged support for the resolution, including Rep. Earl Jaques, D-Glasgow, Rep. Deborah Hudson, R-Fairthorne, Sen. Bethany Hall-Long, D-Glasgow and Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford, but no one has volunteered to sponsor it. “We’ve got to open the process, or for the next 10 years, people will not be represented,” said Sims, who serves on the civic league’s board of directors.

“People are nervous about this kind of change,” said Senate Majority Leader Patricia Blevins, D-Elsmere. Blevins said in the past two legislative sessions, she has attempted to introduce a bill to establish an independent redistricting commission. The bill was never put on the agenda.“The districts are intended to be for the benefit of the voters, not for the benefit of people in office,” Blevins said. She said it is important future redistricting take place more openly than in the past. Blevins said she knows there will not be time to pass the bill, fund and establish a commission before redistricting this year, but she wants the law on the books for the 2020 census.“It’s a change you don’t shove down people’s throats,” Blevins said.

...Sims said he is concerned Democrats will use redistricting to secure their incumbency by redrawing electoral lines in their favor, a process known as gerrymandering. “It makes our votes null and void,” Sims said. The former chairman of Delaware’s Independent Party filed a lawsuit against the Legislature in Superior Court in 2002, when the General Assembly failed to redraw district lines. Ultimately, electoral lines had to be redrawn, but Sims said, it was done behind closed doors.“Most people don’t have any idea this is going on,” Sims said. “The people need to be involved.”Sims’ resolution emphasizes an open and transparent process for redistricting involving public participation.

See: DE Way ~ Sims Finds Sponsorless Support For 146th General Assembly Redistricting Bill for more from the CLNCC working group and the draft of the bill.

Why Is The County Refusing To Share A REPORT CARD On 2007 Comprehensive Plan Failures And Success?

Update: This meeting has been cancelled due to snow. The next meeting is Jan. 26th.

This is a reminder that the next meeting on the New Castle County Comprehensive Development Plan Update will be:

Wednesday, January 12th - "Land Use"

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

New Castle County Government Center - Gillian Building

77 Reads Way, New Castle, DE 19720

The topic is "Land Use", with no detailed description ... or any itemized agenda posted to the website, providing no opportunity for engaged citizens to prepare meaningful information and make positive contributions to the planning efforts. We cannot comment if this is by omission, or deliberate.

To better understand what is to be included in the Comprehensive Plan, please see pages 1 and pages 7-10 of the 9 Del. Code, Chapter 14, Subpart II – The Quality of Life Act.

County refusing to share a REPORT CARD on 2007 Comprehensive Plan Failures and Success

Of critical importance is that neither New Castle County Government nor their consultants (JMT) appear to have developed nor provided the required report on the implementation failures (such as completely ignoring the promised developing a Transfer of Development rights program for balance "smart growth") or success, actual or perceived. This report is required by State Law – Please see details below!

We have a legal right to see a REPORT CARD on the 2007 NCC Comprehensive Plan Failures and Success. THIS REPORT IS REQUIRED BY LAW.

Statutory provisions of the Quality of Life Act of 1988 (9 Del. C. 2658 - Evaluation and appraisal of comprehensive plan - (c) and (d)), are that "(c) . . . The local planning agency shall prepare a report on the comprehensive plan, which shall be sent to the Governor's Advisory Council on Planning Coordination each year after adoption of the comprehensive plan. . ." and "(d) The report shall present an assessment and evaluation of the success or failure of the comprehensive plan or element or portion thereof . . ."

At a special business meeting of the New Castle County Planning Board ... on Monday, January 4, 2011, this legal requirement was specifically raised. The Planning Board requested that the New Castle County Department of Land Use submit their information and report on the "evaluation of the success or failure of the comprehensive plan or elements thereof..."

Dave Culver, the Manager of NCC Department of Landuse claimed that no report existed, and that he would seek a legal determination of whether one was required!!! Please click on the link above to 9 Del. Code, Chapter 14, Subpart II – The Quality of Life Act. The law is clear, despite the argument by Dave Culver that it may not apply to the New Castle County Government. They are mandated to produce an assessment report.

NCC Citizens Deserve Better

Please attend the January 12th meeting, so that you and other members of the public can insist on a detailed assessment and evaluation of the success or failure of elements of the 2007 comp plan. Citizens need to insist that our county government follow the laws of our State.

With this mandated assessment report in hand, we would be able to make informed decision about the NCC Comprehensive Plan that guide us to identify and keep what is good, tweak those things than need improvement, and develop new approaches to those things that we still desire that have failed.

Sincerely, Chuck Mulholland, President

Bill Dunn, Vice President

Dave Carter, Vice President

Civic League for New Castle County

NCC Special Election Debate - Tues. Jan 11, 2011 @ 6 PM Hockessin Memorial Hall

With the Special Election fast approaching for NCC Council President on Jan 13th, there have been no opportunities to get the two major party nominees to face one another in a public forum.

Today, we received confirmation that both Tim Sheldon (D) and Tom Kovach (R) will attend the special election forum co-sponsored by the Greater Hockessin Area Development Assoc. (GHADA) and the Civic League for New Castle County (CLNCC) in conjunction with the Community News.

The forum will take place:

Tuesday evening, January 11th,

Form 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM

The Hockessin Fire Company's Memorial Hall

Lancaster Pike (Rte 40) in downtown Hockessin.

Please get the word out to as many people as you can, as this is the ONLY public, live debate that will occur before the election. There will be a interview of both candidates by the Community News this week which will be published in this week's edition of the Community News. There will also be some talk radio coverage, but nothing where both candidates will appear together in front of a "live" audience.

Adam Taylor, reporter for the News Journal, is planning to attend the debate and should be able to get a story in the News Journal before election day.

Mark Blake
GHADA, President & Land Use Chairman
Greater Hockessin Area Development Association
email: markwblake@aol.com

Delawareans Weigh In On The Most Underreported Stories Of 2010: Economy, Development, Redistricting, Government Spending And Dredging - States Rights

(DelawareFirstMedia News) Year in Review commentary: Stories you may have missed in 2010

“The condition of Delaware’s economy was the most underrated political story of the year. While the national/global economy tanked in 2008, Delaware’s economy actually went into recession (experiencing a reduction in economic output) in 2007. While nationwide, the political discussion was of jobs & economic growth, in Delaware the discussion was of witches and marxists.
—Charlie Copeland, former state senator and 2008 GOP candidate for Lt. Governor


“The pressures on Delaware’s fragile environment, infrastructure and open space have only increased. The Great Recession may have left investors with less capital and borrowing capacity, but it also scares policy-makers into welcoming poorly-considered development, because of a vague hope that more permissive zoning will bring jobs even after the bulldozers are packed away.”
—Chuck Durante, Attorney; Fmr. Parliamentarian, Delaware State Democratic Committee


Last year Senate Bill 20 was introduced to open up the redistricting process by creating an open and transparent Redistricting Commission to reapportion the State Senate and House of Representatives. Senate Bill 20 died in committee without a vote being taken.A secret redistricting process does not provide the foundation for competitive elections and ultimately leads public policies being adopted that favor the special interests.”
—John Flaherty, Delaware Coalition for Open Government president


government spending on personnel costs must be tackled. And beyond just tinkering around the edges, this really will require the kind of top-to-bottom review of government services and agencies at every level, and a genuine attempt to consolidate and combine and reduce them – that we’ve been promised for years.”
—Michael Fleming, New Castle County Republican Party chair


the dredging of the Delaware River...Against the preferences of the states of Delaware and New Jersey and contrary to the objections of environmentalists, a federal judge ruled in favor of Pennsylvania and the Army Corps of Engineers who want to deepen the river. This is a classic case of federal v. states rights, with much at stake for the future.”
—Sam Hoff,Delaware State University political science professor

How's the real estate value in your neighborhood?

How's the real estate value in your neighborhood? 
 

In May 2009 the first annual report (code section 40.07.353) on Workforce Housing, and it's "success", was prepared by the New Castle County Department of Land Use.
Here are a very few of the business and news reports about the housing industry, etc, in the year thereafter:

Washington Post, 5/28/09 Number of Home Sales Rises, But Prices Keep Plummeting 

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/27/AR2009052701350_pf.html
"Despite the rise from March to April, a glut of foreclosed homes on the market is pushing down prices, and the housing market remains weak, analysts said. Distressed properties make up 45 percent of the market, and that will get worse as rising unemployment pushes more borrowers into foreclosure, the analysts said.
 

There were already too many homes on the market, and the inventory increased nearly 9 percent last month. At the current pace, it would take 10.2 months to sell all of them, according to the industry data.
"These figures just go to show that anyone expecting a drastic rebound in sales, or an imminent rebound in home prices, is going to be disappointed," said Mike Larson, a housing analyst at Weiss Research. "We still have a large mountain of inventory we need to chisel away at. It won't happen quickly."The excess inventory is also putting pressure on median home prices, which fell to $170,200, down 15.4 percent in April compared with the same period a year earlier. That was the second-largest price decline.."

or 5/28/10, Wall Street Journal, Number of Home Sales Rises, But Prices Keep Plummetinghttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB124351361133562355.html
"New homes are now sitting on the market for a median 10.9 months before selling, and completed homes still comprise an extraordinarily high share of total homes for sale.Even with some normalization of unsold inventory of newly constructed homes, it’s unlikely that the real estate market can support any significant pick-up in homebuilding activity in the foreseeable future. That’s because foreclosure activity is still increasing and these properties are flooding the market." –David Greenlaw, Morgan Stanley

or the 7/9/09 quote from Warren Buffett to CNBChttp://www.cnbc.com/id/31836625/
BUFFETT: " There is no silver bullet. I mean, the original cause of this was the housing bubble. Now a lot of things were contributing to it and flowed out of it and all of that. We built a couple million housing units a year. We formed a million, three-hundred thousand households a year, surprise, we had too many houses at a point. You can't work that off in a day, or a week, or a month. The best thing we can do is not to be building a lot of new houses now. I mean, we will work off the excess inventory faster. If you want to end the recession as soon as possible, you do nothing to encourage new housing construction. Very tough on the home builders but that is the prescription for getting supply and demand back into balance."

or CNBC 8/20/09 : What Recovery? New-Home Market Remains in Deep Slumphttp://www.cnbc.com/id/32489037
"By virtually every measure, the new single-family home market remains in a fairly deep slump:
Sales of new homes are down 72 percent from their 2005 peak, while existing ones are off 24 percent from their peak a year later.
As a percentage of total sales, new homes are well off their historical average of roughly of 12.5 percent and the 16-percent average share of the 2005-2006 boom period. In 2008, market share was down to 10 percent and is running under 8 percent so far this year.
Inventory, which peaked at 14-3-months of supply in January, is down to 7.9 percent, but still far from the 5.9-percent level of December 2006, right as the market was turning lower.
Housing starts overall are down 71-percent from 2005 "....

or the Wall Street Journal, 9/24/09 Housing Recovery Obstacle: So Many Houses http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12537455...realestate
"More important, there are still too many houses on the market -- 9.4 months' worth of existing homes for sale in July, according to NAR data. The backlog is usually closer to six.
Nearly seven million housing units will eventually enter foreclosure, mortgage-backed-securities strategists at Amherst Securities Group, a brokerage firm that deals in MBS, estimated on Wednesday. That could add 1.35 years' worth of inventory to the market."..

or CNBC 10/8/09 , Don't Know What Your House Is Worth? You're Not Alone
http://www.cnbc.com/id/33214414
..'A new survey from real estate website Trulia.com finds that 25.6 percent of homes currently on the market in the United States, as of Oct. 1, 2009, have experienced at least one price cut. That's for the fourth straight month. The total amount of presumed home equity slashed is $28.4 billion, or almost a billion dollar increase from June. .."

or New York Times, 10/8/09 : Roubini Says Housing Market Hasn't Bottomedhttp://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/10/08/business/business-us-usa-housing-roubini.html?scp=3&sq=Roubini&st=cse
"U.S. housing prices may still fall more than 10 percent, killing an incipient recovery, as demand from first-time home buyers fades, leading economist Nouriel Roubini said on Thursday.
Roubini, one of the few economists who accurately predicted the magnitude of the financial crisis, said massive losses in commercial real estate loans will add to the problem, forcing banks to raise more capital.
"The stress is moving from residential mortgages that are still in deep trouble, to commercial real estate, where they are just starting to recognize that they're going to have massive, massive losses," ....

or the New York Times 11/10/09, Median Home Prices Fell Nationwide in 3Qhttp://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/10/business/AP-US-Metro-Home-Prices.html
"A real estate group says home prices fell in eight out of every 10 U.S. cities in the third quarter of this year as heavily discounted distressed sales made up 30 percent of all deals."...
The national median price clocked in at $177,900, or 11 percent below the third quarter last year."...

or Barrons , 11/19/09 : Housing Recovery Built on Sandhttp://online.barrons.com/article/SB125858375944554495.html?mod=BOL_hpp_dc

or the New York Times, 11/24/09 : Home Prices May Be Nearing a New Dip http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/business/economy/25home.html?_r=1&hp

or the LATimes, 12/22/09 , More prime mortgages default in 3rd quarter
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fo...9044.story

or CNBC, 1/19/10 : Whitney Tilson of T2 Partners , hedgefund and author of More Mortgage Meltdown http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1390506165&play=1
"no need for any new homes for years"
5/27/09 interview on Bloomberg News he carried an identical message: More housing price deline can be expected;
prime mortgages ane starting to default; "If I were the housing Czar I would mandate no new housing construction for 2-4 years so we could get back to a normal housing inventory level."

or the Washington Post, 1/26/10 , Existing-home sales take a big fall in December
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...02164.html
....For all of 2009, the median existing-home prices fell to $173,500, down 12.4 percent from $198,100 in 2008.

or Marketwatch 2/10/10 : Reversal of fortune
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/early-s...2010-02-10
"One in five housing markets entered a second leg of home price declines in late 2009, after showing price increases for nearly half of last year, according to a report released Wednesday by Zillow.com, a real-estate Web site."...
The next few months will likely show more declines in home values in most markets, Humphries said. But he expects that, on a national basis, home prices should still hit bottom by the middle of the year.
"Thereafter," he said, "home values are likely to bounce along the bottom with real appreciation remaining negligible for some time." ...

or the Washington Post, 3/12/10, New round of foreclosures threatens housing market
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...id=topnews
" About 5 million to 7 million properties are potentially eligible for foreclosure but have not yet been repossessed and put up for sale. Some economists project it could take nearly three years before all these homes have been put on the market and purchased by new owners. And the number of pending foreclosures could grow much bigger over the coming year as more distressed borrowers become delinquent and then, if they can't obtain mortgage relief, wade through the foreclosure process, which often takes more than a year to complete.
As these foreclosed properties add to the supply of homes for sale, they could undercut housing prices,..."

or Marketwatch 3/23/10, Housing's dead-cat bounce is deflated
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/housing...2010-03-23
.."Sales of existing homes fell in February, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday, marking a string of three straight declines since the tax credit got its second life. Just as vexing: The inventory of homes for sale climbed quite a bit, and median prices continued to decline, although at a slowing pace..."

or the News Journal , 4/11/10,[b] Recovering lost home equity may take yearsttp://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100411/BUSINESS/4110347/1003/BUSINESS/Recovering-lost-home-equity-may-take-years
... The issue is simply supply and demand. Housing prices won't rebound -- and reclaim lost equity -- until real estate inventory decreases. More homes on the market give buyers more options, which depresses prices....or Forbes, 4/9/10, How High Can Housing Go in 2010?
http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/09/price-r...newsletter
Spencer: We're seeing a lot of markets experiencing a "double dip" already, where they had recovered but are now declining again. The second dip won't be nearly as bad as the first dip (which was more like a free-fall than a dip), but it will be a dip nonetheless...

or Marketwatch, 4/15/10, Foreclosures up in 1st quarter; real-estate owned at record
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-fore...beforebell
.."U.S. properties subject to foreclosure action in the first quarter rose 16% from the year-earlier quarter and 7% from fourth-quarter 2009, consultant RealtyTrac reported Thursday. .."
------------------------------------------

We have now reached the month of April, 2010 in this chronology, when the second annual report on Workforce Housing was prepared by the New Castle County Department of Land Use for County Council.

On April 1, 2010, in preparation for a quarterly meeting with County Executive Chris Coons the following request was electronically submitted:

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...

Updating of the NCC Comprehensive Plan

    New Castle County has started the process of updating their comprehensive plan.  Below is a quick summary of the perspective of a several members of the civic community who attended the first meeting, and a call to action to ensure that critical problems and issues of the past plan are openly and transparently addressed in this process. A summary of the meeting dates that have not yet been posted to the JMT/NCC website is also listed below.

A Summary Perspective from Kick Off Meeting

    The first meeting was held last week, and  left much to be desired in terms of constructive input.  It was essentially a stump speech from the New County Executive ( Paul Clark) a very limited presentation from NCC Land Use General Manager ( David Culver) , and a presentation from JMT Consultants who were hired to develop the plan.

     Most importantly, there was NO ASSESSMENT OF THE PAST PLAN, AND THE MAJOR ITEMS THAT WERE EITHER VERY POORLY IMPLEMENTED OR IGNORED BY COUNCIL.   Critical issues such as decoupling of transportation impacts from cluster development; the new, extremely  problematic redevelopment code; the very controversial and poorly designed workforce housing code; the lack of any meaningful input from citizens on community character considerations (see 9 DE 2603, it's in the State Code! );  the problems with the by-right zoning passed that provides a scapegoat for council to never have to be held accountable to poor development decisions; the complete failure of NCC Council to make any effort on Transfer of Development rights which was sold to the civic community as the critical tool to keep our gross density in balance; and a continued abrogation on the cost impact to State taxpayers on the resulting infrastructure costs,  etc. etc. etc.   Each of these issues deserves a stand alone meeting,

What's Going On At County Hall

Update: Paul Clark's office said that his transition team meetings are open to the public.
~~~~~
The first meeting of New Castle County's Comprehensive Plan Update (CPU) is set for this Thursday evening at 7PM in the Gilliam Building at 77 Reads Way in New Castle.

Comprehensive Development Plan Update 2012 - On December 2nd, 2010, New Castle County will begin the 2012 Comp Plan Update Process. Join us at the Gilliam Building Community Multi-Purpose Room from 7 to 9 p.m. to learn how you can participate in this process. Click below to view the website for the 2012 Update.

Comp Plan 2012

Paul Clark has published details about where and when his transition team committee meetings will be held and who is on the committees but it isn't completely clear whether or not the pubic is invited to observe...I plan to call about it and report back.

The Land Use Transition Team will hold meetings at noon on Tuesday, November 30, 2010, and 9 a.m. Friday, December 3, 2010, in the New Castle Room, New Castle County Government Center, 87 Reads Way, New Castle, to discuss the operations of the Department of Land Use.

The Government Operations Transition Team will hold a meeting at noon on Tuesday, November 30, in the Office of Law Conference Room, New Castle County Government Center, 87 Reads Way, New Castle, to discuss operations in the departments of Human Resources, Administrative Services, Law and others. Anyone with questions about the meeting may call 395-5130.

The Public Safety Committee will hold meetings at 4:30 p.m. on November 29, December 6 and December 13 in the New Castle Room, New Castle County Government Center, 87 Reads Way, New Castle, to discuss operations of police, paramedics, 911 communications and emergency management.

The Community Services Transition Committee will hold a meeting at 1 p.m. Thursday, December 2, in the Multi-purpose Room of the Gilliam Building, 77 Reads Way, New Castle, to discuss the operations of the Department of Community Services.

(WNJ) Harry Themal had this to say about it all today ~ County exec represents another troubling conflict of interest

WDEL sends word about the election for the President for New Castle County Council President ~ NCCo special election to be held on 1/11/11 - The Elections Department says they're expecting to use regular polling places for the special election. Absentee ballots should be available around December 13th.

But then again, DialogueDel has the correction- NCCo Dem chairman says a special election on Jan. 11 would have shut out D & R council members on election day - So the special election date was changed to Thursday, Jan. 13 so council members can work at the polls

And George Smiley is up to his old tricks - fiddling with the NCC Ethics Code: Ordinances Referred to Boards and Commissions Awaiting Return to Council -
09-072 - TO AMEND CHAPTER 2 (ADMINISTRATION) OF THE NEW CASTLE COUNTY CODE REGARDING PRELIMINARY INQUIRIES AND INVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED BY THE ETHICS COMMISSION.

Colonial Christmas At Lombardy Hall - Celebration Set For December 4th And 5th From 1-4PM In Wilmington

COLONIAL CHRISTMAS
LOMBARDY HALL CA. 1750
Home of Gunning Bedford, Jr.,
Delaware signer of the U. S. Constitution

and

Celebrate Delaware Day
and the 115th Anniversary of
Caesar Rodney Chapter
N.S. Daughters of the American Revolution

Light Refreshments

DECEMBER 4 & 5

1 - 4 pm

1611 Concord Pike
Between Independence Mall and Lombardy Cemetery
For information call: (302) 798-3828 or (302) 655-5254

No Charge

Sponsored by Lombardy Hall Foundation with decorations

by Caesar Rodney Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution

WILMAPCO Invites the Public to Participate in the Development of Several Land Use and Transportation Plans

WILMAPCO Invites the Public to Participate in the Development of Several Land Use and Transportation Plans for Delaware and Maryland at

Our Town,

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Newark, DE – The Wilmington Area Planning Council (WILMAPCO),  in partnership with  Delaware Department of Transportation, Maryland Department of Planning, New Castle County Planning, and the Delaware Office of State Planning, invite citizens and organizations from Delaware and Maryland to take part in a groundbreaking event.

Attendees will have the opportunity to share their values and ideas about the future of land use and transportation in Delaware

DelCOG's Elected Officials Reception Is Set For 6PM December 9th In Wilmington

DelCOG - Delaware Coalition for Open Government DelCOG is hosting a reception for Delaware's elected officials. Open to the Public. Come meet the people who are representing you.$3 at the Door. (Proceeds will help offset the cost of the reception.)

Elected Officials Reception
Thursday, December 9, 2010 at 6:00pm
Ed "Porky" Oliver Golf Club, 800 North Dupont Road, Wilmington

(Click on the link above to RSVP)

The Civic League For New Castle County is a co-sponsor of this event.

Delaware Coalition for Open Government (DelCOG) To Meet 12PM Nov. 8th At The Woodlawn Library In Wilmington

You are invited to the next meeting of the Delaware Coalition for Open Government (DelCOG)Board of Directors November 8, 2010, 12:00 p.m., Woodlawn Library, 8th and Bancroft Parkway,Wilmington, DE

Below is a draft agenda for the meeting.

Thanks, John Flaherty, President, Delaware Coalition for Open Government (DelCOG)

302-319-1213

==============================================================================================
Agenda

12:00 - 12:05 I. Welcome - John Flaherty

12:05 - 12:10 2) Approval of Meeting Minutes of October 4, 2010

12:10 - 12:15 3) Treasurer’s Report - Bill Pearson

12:15 - 12:45 4) ‘Delawarespends’Presentation - Shaun Fink, Caesar Rodney Inst.According to the Caesar Rodney Institute, a non-partisan and non-profit research and educational institute, DelawareSpends.com gives taxpayers an unbiased look at raw spending data, provided directly by official government sources. It is designed to be a tool to research, analyze, compare and share government spending data.

12:45 - 12:50 5) Elected Officials Reception - John Flaherty

12:50 - 12:55 6) Judicial Fairness Report - Christine Whitehead

12:55 - 1:00 7) "Fusion Video Email" - Nancy Lopez

1:00 - 1:05 8) DelCOG Facebook - Cynthia Smith

1:05 - 1:10 9) Sunshine Week 2011 - Bill Pearson

1:10 - 1:15 10) Strategic Plan, Mission Statement - Katherine Ward

1:15 - 1:20 11) Common Cause lobbyist reform effort - Flaherty

1:20 - 1:25 12) Televising Supreme Court arguments letter sign-on - Pearson

1:25 - 1:30 13) Newark Housing Authority Appointment Process - Amy Rowe

1:30 - 1:35 14) Upcoming FOIA efforts

1:35 -2:00 15) Public comment