Why Should Delaware Care?
During the post-pandemic years, Delaware has been the fastest growing mid-Atlantic state and the third fastest on the East Coast. That growth has sparked a flurry of new development proposals and also a surge of new public concern.
As Delaware’s population surged in recent years, a string of proposed developments have sparked backlashes from neighbors calling on local governments to deny permits to builders seeking to put up rows of houses on farmland or to place massive warehouses next to neighborhoods.
But much of that opposition has been unsuccessful, largely because of a conundrum in local land-use law that makes proposed developments nearly unstoppable by the time the public learns of them.
Because of what is known as by-right development, many building projects cannot be denied in Delaware so long as they comply with the rules of existing zoning.
During a roundtable discussion sponsored by Spotlight Delaware on Monday, a panel of government planning officials discussed that issue, among others, and stressed that residents who want a say in nearby construction should instead get involved before a development is even proposed.
The time to petition local planners, the officials said, is when they are periodically reworking their foundational land-use document – called the comprehensive plan – which sets guiding principles for jurisdictions to determine whether a piece of land becomes zoned for industry, houses or something else.
“Really, the place where the citizens of a community and the residents of a community have a real voice is through that comprehensive planning process,” Delaware State Planning Director David Edgell said during Tuesday’s event held at Delaware Technical Community College in Georgetown.
While comprehensive plans are 10-year documents, Edgell said they can be amended before they expire, asserting that “it often happens after elections.”
To do that, local government officials must hold public meetings, he said. They should also reach out directly to owners of potentially affected properties or to their development interests, he said.
After public input, local planners still must use some discretion when writing comprehensive plans, Smyrna Planning Director Jeremy Rothwell added. He said the job involves balancing the interests from different groups and stated that people who show up to public meetings “are not representative of the community as a whole.”
He also noted that “engaging the public is tough” – a likely reference to the strong emotions that can be displayed when governments or developers propose changing the face of land in a community.
“You know, working with the homeowners associations … I have scars, they’re not the easiest,” Rothwell said.
Part of the difficulty is educating the public about a planning and zoning process that is complicated for even career officials, he added, advising that public visioning processes can help residents understand what is possible in their communities.
Sussex County Planning Director Jamie Whitehouse echoed the thought, stating that comprehensive plans serve as a blueprint “that balances competing needs in a community.”
During Monday events, the planning officials also said that the overall zoning process involves complicated law that even confounds certain planners. That is one reason why the state’s initial land-use review process, called the Preliminary Land Use Service, or PLUS, is beneficial.
“You know, not all local governments have the fully paid planning staff or the consultants to have that expertise,” Edgell said.
Whitehouse said the PLUS process – which allows state agencies, such as DelDOT to review developments in their early stages – is a way for developers to avoid any “unexpected surprises” that may plague a proposed development late in the approval process.
Rothwell also praised PLUS, but stated too that it was “much better before COVID when everybody was actually in the same room.” With many departments now videoconferencing into the meetings, he noted that the ability to talk through solutions is more difficult.
Miss the discussion?
If you weren’t able to attend the “Navigating Growth” panel discussion, you can watch a replay of the entire event.
