the committee of 100
home about us committees meeting notes scholarship fyi archives links contact


 

JANUARY 2007

New Castle County Comprehensive Plan Update

 On January 8, 2007, the New Castle County Planning Board heard testimony from the public on the proposed 2007 New Castle County Comprehensive Development Plan (Comp Plan).  Executive Director Beverley Baxter testified for The Committee of 100 (attached).  In his Introductory Letter to the 2007 Comp Plan, County Executive Chris Coons writes that, “this Comprehensive Land Use Plan marks a change in the direction for our county. . . . It envisions a county of communities where connections between people enhance our quality of life and where decent housing, good jobs and places to learn and play are available to people of all ages, backgrounds, and economic situations.”  County Executive Coons lays out “four core principles of community planning that will drive New Castle County’s land use future policies and practices”:

  • First, the Plan provides for incentives that support the building of connected communities in both new growth zones and redevelopment areas across the County.
  • Second, the Plan emphasizes the need to concentrate new growth areas and supports redevelopment in established communities as a method of preserving valuable, limited resources.
  • Third, the Plan encourages the coordinated delivery of public and private sector services to meet the needs of residents through stronger working partnerships among government agencies and with the private sector.
  • Fourth, the Plan recognizes that an equitable sharing of the costs and benefits of growth comes by expecting that growth should pay for the costs of new infrastructure and  services it requires.

A key objective of the 2007 NCC Comprehensive Development Plan is the 60/40 split that will direct 60% of new growth North of the Canal and 40% South.  More precisely, the Plan states
its intention to:

  • Accommodate 60% of new development in the Existing Community Areas, Redevelopment Areas, and incorporated areas of Northern New Castle County.
  • Accommodate 36% of the new residential development in the New Community Development Zone in Southern New Castle County and Southern New Castle County incorporated areas.
  • Accommodate 2% of new development within New Castle County in the Possible Future Growth Zone.
  • Accommodate 2% of new development within New Castle County in the Resource and Rural Preservation Area.

To accomplish this, additional objectives call for the County to:

  • Create greater densities and housing diversity through development and expansion of mixed use centers and village/hamlet communities.
  • Require the design and uses in each center to complement and enhance those centers and the surrounding community.
  • Encourage redevelopment and infill projects that complement and enhance existing neighborhoods and restore older commercial centers as vital components in the community.
  • Reduce the number of vacant or under-maintained residential properties in the Existing Community Area by 15%.
  • Acquire permanent preservation easements on 321 acres per year in the Possible Future Growth Areas and the Resource and Rural Preservation Areas through transfer of development rights.
  • Expand the use of overlay zoning districts to permit flexible options for preserving and enhancing areas within New Castle County that have a unique character threatened by conventional suburban development.

Central to the success of multiple goals and objectives of the 2007 Comp Plan is increasing density.  In stark contrast with the previous administration, increased density is seen as essential to preserve historic and natural resources, open space, and agriculture; protect air quality; create liveable communities with a sense of space; facilitate affordable housing; and provide more cost-effective infrastructure, including roads, transit, water, sewer, libraries, parks, and police, fire, and emergency medical services.  This increased density is proposed both through infill and redevelopment in the North, where there is more available existing infrastructure, and in a core development area in the South, where the new Southern Sewer System and additional road capacity are planned and where rail is possible in the future.  In another  significant departure, this Comp Plan moves away from merely acknowledging the existence of incorporated areas (and an attitude that they steal tax base), to a commitment to work with Wilmington and New Castle County’s towns to encourage appropriate development within the incorporated areas.

To help determine where development will go, the Plan divides the County into land-use categories:

  • Municipalities-incorporated cities, towns, or villages which set their own land-use policies.
  • Existing Community Areas-suburban communities such as Hockessin, Claymont, or Marshallton where projects that complement and enhance existing neighborhoods can be added or where older commercial centers can be restored or replaced.
  • Community Redevelopment Areas-areas along transportation corridors or near municipalities already served by infrastructure such as roads, water, and sewer where denser, mixed-use centers can complement the existing community, or where vacant or underutilized sites can be revitalized.
  • New Community Development Area-the area where new development on previously undeveloped land, primarily in a central core of sewer-serviced land in Southern New Castle County, will occur.
  • Possible Future Growth Areas-areas located along the eastern and western sides of the New Community Development Area where the pace of new development will be slower and where property owners can sell development rights while retaining the right to own and farm their land.
  • Resource & Rural Preservation Areas-areas where current infrastructure will be serviced and maintained but where no new infrastructure is planned and where resources such as open space, working farms, and forests are considered a primary focus for preservation.

Less dramatic for the public, but essential for the economic health of the County and of its citizens and businesses, is the Comp Plan’s recognition of the importance of economic development: “A robust local economy with sustainable economic growth is of paramount importance. . . New Castle County’s economic well-being is critical to the provision of jobs, adequate housing and educational opportunities as well as community services and recreational and cultural amenities.  The strength of the local economy impacts the safety of our communities, accessibility to health services, the protection of our natural resources, and the preservation of community character, historical resources, and our agricultural heritage.  In short, economic development is the backbone of the American Dream.”

The Comp Plan must be adopted by March.  Go to www.nccde.org/plan for maps and the complete Plan.

Beverley Baxter