Having bought property on Gils Neck, I am learning first hand about how land use changes can seriously impact on your 1) investment and 2) quality of life.
Several quick suggestions:
1) Any purchaser of land should be afforded the best information at the time as to zoning in and around the property they are going to buy. This should be provided by the real estate agent. This would help control arbitrary changes if land owner had a better idea of who their neighbors were going to be. (Changing from Ag/Res to Bus/Res and potential huge malls on Kings Highway near the Cape Henelopen High School is outrageous.)
2) Environmental ‘cuteness’ with the description of wetlands and ownerships begs the question as to being environmental responsible.
3) Council members with vested interest in land use and commercial business, such as lumber, concrete, and the like, should recuse themselves from voting on land use changes that have the appearance of personal gain.
4) Transportation issues must be resolved prior to approval of any land use changes and that means more than just the infrastructure costs, but the impact on the community.
5) Cities and local jurisdictions should have vision statements, architectural goals, stated community values, and the like to help form county decisions. The vision should not be limited to just city limits but include surrounding country side as well.
6) Open land should be preserved to the maximum extend possible.
7) Hamlet/village type approaches should be explored (Kent County).
Being in the transportation consulting business, I hope to be able to spend some time working on these issues.
Ted
Ted Ferragut, PE
TDC Partners, Ltd
35083 Zwaanendael Ave
Lewes, DE 19958
302-827-2137 Phone
202-744-4175 Cell
703-995-4699 Fax
tferragut@tdcpartners.com
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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