The Committee of 100 | FYI Archives

There is the potential for good news in New Castle County. The UDC's near-total inflexibility surrounding nonconforming properties and redevelopment may be coming to an end. Maybe.

Some history: When the UDC (Unified Development Code) was going through its adoption process, The Committee of 100, along with others in the business community, worked to ease the most problematic new strictures. However, one of the most egregious elements we were not able to remedy was the draconian section on nonconforming uses. Close behind was the problem that the UDC was written to protect greenfields (undeveloped land) and made redevelopment (renovation, reconfiguration, or expansion of already-developed land) difficult, if not impossible, without numerous variances from the Board of Adjustment. Following adoption of the UDC, Tom Gordon promised to address these issues. There was an early attempt to address the nonconforming issue, but that was overwhelmed by the sheer difficulty of everyone adjusting to a completely new Code and a new way of doing things, as well as the immediate need to begin correcting the obvious technical problems with the UDC. But the twin issues were never out of mind.

During the intense discussions that followed Councilperson Karen Venezky's introduction of Ordinance 99-146 (which would have required Traffic Impact Studies for minor plans), the UDC's limitation regarding redevelopment became a focus. Karen's Small Business Commission, on which Beverley Baxter served, first developed its intersection initiative, and then noted the need to revise the UDC to facilitate redevelopment (see the January and March 2001 FYIs). Then redevelopment became an issue not only for Karen, but also, for County Council President Chris Coons, Councilperson Bob Weiner, and the Gordon Administration.

Last May, New Castle County Chief Administrative Officer Sherry Freebery established a Task Force to find ways to facilitate redevelopment in New Castle County (see the June 2001 FYI). That group, which included The Committee of 100 Executive Director Beverley Baxter and Environmental Committee Chairperson Jeff Bross, as well as other business and community leaders, met through the summer. The resulting draft ordinance has the potential for greatly facilitating redevelopment in New Castle County.

The core concept of the draft ordinance is to allow UDC requirements to be waived or reduced for redevelopment of a parcel, "provided there is a 100% aggregate improvement (compared to the condition of the area prior to plan implementation) in such areas as setbacks, parking, landscaping, on-site traffic circulation, off-site road improvements/capacity, drainage, stormwater management, access, buffers, impervious cover, architectural design, and mitigation of or enhanced protection for the existing natural/environmental resources, and with architectural improvements serving as a mandatory item."

Equally important, nonconforming buildings destroyed more than 50% "may be repaired or reconstructed to the previously approved limit of square footage, provided at least a 100% aggregate improvement is made to the design elements over that which existed prior to destruction."

The problem: While this draft ordinance is generally viewed as a creative resolution, as currently drafted, the ordinance would require that the Exploratory Plan go through a Planning Board public hearing for input from the community. In addition, major plans would go to Council for its approval, at which time Council "may also impose limitations or conditions" upon the plan's approval. The public hearing requirement may keep many applicants from utilizing this relief from the UDC. Currently, applicants can petition the Board of Adjustment for variances, a process which may continue to be speedier than the new proposal. Board of Adjustment hearings are held twice a month and an applicant can request a special hearing; Planning Board hearings are only held once a month. Nevertheless, this is a creative start to the necessary process of revisiting the UDC to address those elements which tend to thwart economic development in New Castle County. With appropriate revisions to the draft it could be effective.

It's Comp Time Again

While it may seem like we just went through the last update of the County's Comprehensive Development Plan, it will be five years next spring since the current Comp Plan was approved by Council. Because Delaware law requires that County Comprehensive Plans be updated every five years, the NCC Department of Land Use has produced a draft Comp Plan which is expected to be available to the public the week of September 24. The current schedule is for a Planning Board public hearing in November so that the Plan can be presented to Council for its review in January and approval in March 2002.

The revision process has garnered an interesting amalgam of statistics on New Castle County: