Delaware
New Castle County Land Use proposes new plan for comprehensive rezoning
The New Castle County Department of Land Use presents an alternative proposal to a mass rezoning ordinance pulled from County Council consideration.
At Tuesday’s Land Use Committee meeting, Land Use General Manager Charuni Patibanda revealed a new proposal to rezone the 87 parcels from the original ordinance.
She says the rezonings will now be grouped by council district so the rezonings are more “digestible” for the public and council.
“For example, there are clusters of parcels all next to each other that are all zoned ‘I’ and need to be rezoned to ‘S,’ it does make sense to do them together,” Patibanda says. “I would think, as far as tax payer dollars, efficiency of government spending, it would not make sense for the county to take one by one.”
But Dale Swain from public opposition group RADAR says that is exactly what they want.
“Let the council vote on each of them so it is clear what they are voting on,” Swain says. “This process with O-83 just really was not the way to do rezoning which is what we’ve said from the beginning.”
Patibanda says the 12 ordinances will be introduced in five batches. They will meet with council members before the introductions to discuss outreach and hold community meetings after the introductions to present details to the public.
Councilman Bill Bell says they need to assess which rezonings will have the most impact.
“If it is something that is minor that has very little impact on anyone or neighboring properties, that might be able to be handled a little bit differently,” Bell says. “I think where the public’s concern comes in, and I think even from a council perspective, there are plans where there are applicants or requests to downzone or upzone that should be dealt with more through the process.”
With the original ordinance being pulled from consideration, Bell notes a plan for a Wawa in his district will be held up, angering many residents who spoke during public comment.
But Bell says he plans to introduce an ordinance to rezone that parcel and greenlight that project at the next council meeting.
DELAWARE COUNTY, Ohio — People in Delaware County said it feels like new housing developments are popping up on every corner.
WSYX
“What haven’t you noticed, right? The whole area just exploded,” said Scott Shonebarger.
Scott Sanders, the executive director of the Regional Planning Commission, said companies like Intel and other industries are a main driver for thousands of people moving to Delaware County.
With the big boom comes an urgent need for more housing.
John Wicks is the developer at Real Property Design and Development.
He has spent over a decade building homes for families in Delaware County.
Wicks said the Olentangy School District is one of the hottest spots for new homes.
“I started with one high school up until the 90s, then now we’re up to four up to five different high schools so it’s just a big draw,” said Wicks. “It’s a beautiful community.”
The district has grown into the fourth largest in Ohio with a new elementary school opening next year, and a fifth high school in 2028.
Wicks said the growth has presented some challenges over the years like labor shortage and some opposition.
“It’s become a big issue for a lot of people that live in and around these areas. They tend to oppose new growth and new development, so restrictions have gotten a little bit harder. Costs have obviously gone up over the last 20 years,” said Wicks.
The planning commission says between 275,000 and 350,000 people could call Delaware County home by 2040.
That’s up from 214,000 in 2020.
Scott Shonebarger said he supports growth but wonders when is enough.
“I mean to a certain extent I think you know at some point right you have to have some sort of boundaries I think, getting into the fact that now you have five high schools,” said Shonebarger. “What’s the limit?”
Police in Wilmington, Delaware, shot and killed a 19-year-old man Wednesday night.
The incident happened in a residential area near 24th and Jessup streets just after 11 p.m., Wilmington police said in a news release. The person who was shot has not been publicly identified.
Officers were monitoring a large crowd gathered outside when they saw a man exit a home with a handgun and point it toward the crowd, police say.
When officers approached the man, he ran away and a foot pursuit began, police say.
At some point in the chase, an officer fired their weapon and hit the 19-year-old. The man was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.
Police say they recovered a loaded gun from the man and that the officer was not injured.
Video filmed at the scene shows a crowd of residents gathered outside after the shooting.
Police are asking anyone with more information to come forward. The shooting is under investigation by the Delaware Department of Justice and Wilmington police.
Delaware Supreme Court Justice Karen L. Valihura announced Wednesday that she will lead a new corporate law institute at the Wilmington University Farnan School of Law.
She will step down from the bench of Delaware’s highest court in late July, after choosing not to seek reappointment at the end of her 12-year term. She revealed her plans for the next phase of her legal career in a special session of the court in Wilmington.
As well as joining the Wilmington University law school faculty, Valihura will be the founding director of the school’s new Corporate Law, Governance and Practice Institute. …
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