Rapid growth in the First State has thrust land use debates into all three of Delaware’s counties, and new supersized residential communities, warehouses and other projects have caught many residents off guard.
Delaware ranked the sixth fastest growing state nationwide and the fastest growing in the Northeast corridor last year, with an estimated increase of 1.2%, according to the Census Bureau.
But to understand how Delaware grew so quickly, it’s important to understand how these projects broke ground, and when and where the public can get involved.
Here’s a guide to Delaware’s planning process.
Is it complicated?
Yes.
The planning and execution of a development is arduous. In some cases, it can take years for a project to break ground. But in short, there are three main hurdles that developers have to clear before beginning work.
Those steps are going through the Office of State Planning Coordination (OSPC), getting approval from county or municipal leadership and getting all of the necessary permits to build. Should builders get through all of that, it doesn’t mean every project will be a success.
Throughout the whole process, the public has its opportunity to weigh in not only at the county level, but at the state level, too.
Step 1: State plannning
The OSPC is one of the first major tests that developers face after they’ve put their plans together.
The state office runs the Preliminary Land Use Service, better known as PLUS, which is an advisory board made up of representatives from multiple state agencies.
Some of those organizations include the Department of Transportation (DelDOT), Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), Delaware Emergency Management Agency, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, and others. These meetings act as a litmus test for developers’ initial concepts, and an opportunity for state agencies to highlight any areas a project might hit a roadblock.
During these meetings the public get the opportunity to make a public comment and to raise concerns about any project they may have coming to their community.
Step 2: Local consideration
Following its time with PLUS, a project then faces one of its toughest challenges – getting through a county or municipal process.
It should be remembered that this process only applies to projects that are not currently zoned for the proposed use. If a homebuilder looks to build on a lot that is already zoned residential, it could skip a vote by a town or county council as what is known as a “by-right” project.
For those projects that need a rezoning, local approval comes in three parts: presenting before an appointed planning commission, then often a land use committee within a county or municipal council and then actually petitioning the whole council.
Both a planning commission and a land use committee usually serve to make adjustments to a development and make it easier for the full council to make a decision. Both are advisory in nature, and will only vote on whether to recommend projects..
Development in Delaware is not a free-for-all. A developer can build on a properly zoned parcel, meaning the land meets the requirements of whatever they want to build.
Zoning requirements vary in their stringency, but a common example is rezoning a farm field into a new residential area. How that land can be used is determined by its zoning. An agriculturally zoned area can’t be used for commercial development and vice versa.
For a successful rezoning, projects typically need to prove that there was a prior mistake in the zoning or that the character or precedent of the surrounding area has changed. Every five or 10 years, counties also embark on Comprehensive Plans that reassess zoning countywide and make more widespread zoning changes with the future use in mind.
Should the public wish to learn more about projects before they go to a council vote, they should attend the land use committee meetings and offer public comment there, as well as at the full meetings.
Step 3: Permitting
Should a development make it through the county or municipal process, it’s not free and clear from roadblocks. It may have the right zoning and plan to start the project, but now it’s time to get dozens of permits, a process that can be just as arduous as the time spent getting to approvals.
Permits for building, electrical services, and sewer and water are just a few of the necessary approvals to get houses built. Builders are also held to getting regular inspections while projects are at different stages of construction.
Depending on the schedule of inspectors, and if a project is ready to be inspected by that time, it sets construction back. It’s also important to remember construction takes a lot of time, some developments can take years to complete.
Public comment opportunity is largely removed in the permitting process, except for major pieces of the puzzle such as water interconnection. Failure to abide by the permitting process could lead to a project being shut down though.
