The New Castle County rezoning ordinance prime sponsor says he intends to withdraw the ordinance at council’s meeting this month.
After months of severe public backlash, Councilman Dave Tackett told at a community meeting in Middletown he intends to withdraw the ordinance at council’s next meeting on January 23.
“Tonight, the residents who attended the meeting gave a very clear and concise message that they want it pulled," Tackett says. "So they are not interested in it, they wanted to proceed through the normal process, so it will be pulled.”
The ordinance, which some have labeled the "Comprehensive Rezoning Ordinance,' would rezone 87 separate parcels across the county all at once — some are upzoning, others downzoning, but would match the county's updated Comprehensive Plan.
Tackett says Meyer’s Wednesday call on council to withdraw the ordinance was “disingenuous,” since Meyer did not speak to Tackett and other council members. But the task of rezoning will head back to Land Use, and the legal ramifications of matching zoning maps with the county’s comprehensive plan remain in limbo.
County Council President Karen Hartley-Nagle says she was taken aback by Meyer's statement too. Meyer says there has been “misinformation” circulated about the ordinance. Hartley-Nagle interprets that as a dig against residents opposed.
“They are knowledgeable, they are paying attention, they know what they’re talking about," Hartley-Nagle says. "And for them to dismiss them as ‘misinformation’ or ‘disinformation,’ that’s just not true. The County Executive is gaslighting the public, and the council, because we know for the last three months, he had a very different position.”
Hartley-Nagle adds they are still unsure what legal issues may arise if the county’s zoning maps do not match the approved Comprehensive Plan within the time frame allotted in state code.
If the ordinance is pulled, she believes the next logical step is to revisit the Comprehensive Plan.
Dale Swain - leader of the resident opposition group RADAR - says while they are happy the ordinance is being pulled, they remain concerned about how parcels will be rezoned going forward.
“We didn’t have these warehouses prior to about 2016," Swain says. "And all of a sudden the whole county, above and below the canal, is either warehouses or potential warehouses that are in the pipeline.”
Swain says the group will continue to be watchdogs for the community and advocate for transparency.
