Why Should Delaware Care?
Government works best when its citizens are knowledgeable and engaged. Delaware’s government has scores of commissions, working groups, agencies and legislative committees. All must hold meetings that are open to the public. Below we highlight a few of those meetings that are happening this week.
Below are some of the most important or interesting public meetings happening around the state this week.
- Dover to vote on data center moratorium
- New Castle County to consider impact fee hike
- Georgetown to discuss cottage ordinance
Dover to vote on data center moratorium
The state capital would become the first jurisdiction in Delaware to enact a full moratorium on any data center projects if a proposal is passed Monday night.
The moratorium, which would last for 18 months, would apply to any data center proposal in Dover city limits that uses 30 megawatts of monthly maximum demand power or more.
The capital city’s consideration of the measure comes amid a flurry of data center proposals and discussions over the past year about how the industry should fit into Delaware’s economy.
New Castle and Kent counties recently approved rules limiting where a data center could be built in unincorporated areas, and Harrington recently denied a project proposal, but no moratoriums have been considered until now. In neighboring Maryland, many of the Eastern Shore counties have approved such moratoriums.
📍 The Dover City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, at City Hall, located at 15 Loockerman Plaza in Dover. For additional details, including the live stream link, click here.
New Castle County to consider impact fee hike
The New Castle County Council is scheduled to vote on an increase in impact fees, which are paid by developers and typically passed on to buyers of newly-built homes.
The fees, which support police, fire departments, parks, libraries and more, are meant to offset the demand created by an increasing number of residents, businesses and visitors to the county.
The revised impact fee table increases costs 9.23% to account for inflation, according to officials. If approved, it would result in an estimated $160,000 in new revenue for the county.
The buyer of a new single-family home would pay $1,896.23, or an additional $160 over the current fee.
📍 The New Castle County Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Louis L. Redding City/County Building, located at 800 N. French St. in Wilmington. For additional details, including the live stream link, click here.
Georgetown to discuss cottage ordinance
The Sussex County seat will hold a public hearing Monday evening over whether to retain or repeal the cottage home ordinance, which allows for the building of tiny homes in the town.
The newly-elected Georgetown Town Council is revisiting a contentious cottage housing ordinance from last year, arguing that residents want the government to remove the measure allowing developers to build tiny homes.
The move represents a continued point of friction between town council and residents over how government leaders should respond to the demand for more affordable housing and a split over how best to provide homelessness resources in town.
The reconsideration also follows the May election of two new members of the five-member town council, both of whom campaigned, in part, on a platform of repealing the ordinance and were backed by a vocal Facebook group of Sussex County residents opposed to Georgetown’s handling of its growing homeless population.
📍 The Georgetown Town Council will hold the public hearing at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, at Town Hall, located at 39the Circle in Georgetown. For additional details, including the live stream link, click here.
