New Castle County Executive Matthew Meyer will sign into law three ordinances recently passed by County Council.
The ordinances are part of an update of the county Unified Development Code.
The ceremony will take place at 2;30 p.m. Monday at the County Government Center on Reads Way, New Castle.:
The measures provide guiding principles for the design of new land development plans, allow for the creation of Economic Empowerment Districts and empower communities to establish Neighborhood Preservation Overlay Districts that support community conservation and enhancement, a release stated.
Economic Empowerment Districts allow more flexibility in uses for existing properties like industrial sites and office parks. There have been concerns that the ordinance might lead to congestion around the sites.
A copy of the Empowerment District ordinance is shown below:
[pdf-embedder url=”http://delawarebusinessnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Empowermen.pdf”]
The conversion of such properties has been made more difficult under the current Unified Development Code. Companies seeking such sites will seek out areas where the approval process does not require jumping through as many hoops.
The Unified Development Code was developed a decade and a half ago in an effort to control and improve the appearance of new development.
Critics have claimed that the code boosted costs, contributed to traffic congestions, led to developers do the minimum to meet its requirements, and moved sprawl to areas like Middletown and Smyrna.
The Monday ceremony culminates a process of information gathering, public input, review, and discussion that began more than two years ago.
