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New Castle County could tweak the way it reviews proposed development plans.
Officials backing an ordinance that council is expected to vote on Tuesday, say the changes will make the process more predictable for developers and more transparent for the public.
Under the ordinance, developers must meet the same requirements for approval, but the order in which state and county agencies OK them will shift.
"It allows components of the review to happen in parallel rather than in a series," said County Executive Chris Coons. "It has the potential to speed up the process."
The change that would most impact the public is a proposal to move from two Planning Board hearings to one. Under the current system, one of the hearings occurs at the outset – before the developer or land use officials have conducted the necessary reviews to answer many of the questions the public typically asks.
That hearing would be scrapped, the remaining hearing would be moved up, and the record would remain open for public comment throughout the process.
"Too many times I've sat at a Planning Board meeting to hear people ask questions and the answers weren't there," said Councilman George Smiley (D-New Castle), who sponsored the legislation. "There's a whole group of people who leave there thinking...'what a waste of my time.'"
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Review Process in Summary 1. Application (Up to 6 months)
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Instead, a single hearing would be held after the majority of state agency reviews are complete.
"We want the hearing to be far enough along where people can get answers, but early enough that if they ask developers to do something” they can still make changes, said Land Use General Manager Dave Culver.
Developers pump big dollars into engineering their plans, making changes more difficult at the very end of the process.
"You hate to see someone ask a developer whether they can move a house back 20 feet, and then be told they've already engineered the project and it's too late," Culver said.
But Frances West, who chairs the Civic League for New Castle County's Public Policy Committee, said she's not convinced the change will be an improvement. She said the Civic League questions language in the bill that it fears could curb public scrutiny, and has submitted a list of 10 concerns to council members for review before Tuesday's vote.
"We believe the ordinance needs more work," she said. "It...opens the door for mischief."
New Castle County could tweak the way it reviews proposed development plans.
Officials backing an ordinance that council is expected to vote on Tuesday, say the changes will make the process more predictable for developers and more transparent for the public.
Under the ordinance, developers must meet the same requirements for approval, but the order in which state and county agencies OK them will shift.
"It allows components of the review to happen in parallel rather than in a series," said County Executive Chris Coons. "It has the potential to speed up the process."
The change that would most impact the public is a proposal to move from two Planning Board hearings to one. Under the current system, one of the hearings occurs at the outset – before the developer or land use officials have conducted the necessary reviews to answer many of the questions the public typically asks.
That hearing would be scrapped, the remaining hearing would be moved up, and the record would remain open for public comment throughout the process.
"Too many times I've sat at a Planning Board meeting to hear people ask questions and the answers weren't there," said Councilman George Smiley (D-New Castle), who sponsored the legislation. "There's a whole group of people who leave there thinking...'what a waste of my time.'"
|
Review Process in Summary 1. Application (Up to 6 months)
|
Instead, a single hearing would be held after the majority of state agency reviews are complete.
"We want the hearing to be far enough along where people can get answers, but early enough that if they ask developers to do something” they can still make changes, said Land Use General Manager Dave Culver.
Developers pump big dollars into engineering their plans, making changes more difficult at the very end of the process.
"You hate to see someone ask a developer whether they can move a house back 20 feet, and then be told they've already engineered the project and it's too late," Culver said.
But Frances West, who chairs the Civic League for New Castle County's Public Policy Committee, said she's not convinced the change will be an improvement. She said the Civic League questions language in the bill that it fears could curb public scrutiny, and has submitted a list of 10 concerns to council members for review before Tuesday's vote.
"We believe the ordinance needs more work," she said. "It...opens the door for mischief."
