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DRAFT
The New Castle City Planning Commission Meeting took place on May 23, 2005 at 6 p.m. in the City of New Castle’s Town Hall. Members Present: James Steele, Chairperson Members Absent: Tom Wilson Chairperson Steele called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. Roll call was taken. Minutes – Mr. Freebery made a motion to approve the minutes of the April meeting. The motion was seconded and approved. Minor Sub-division of 79-81 & 83 West 5th Street Into 4 Lots – Carmine F. Casper, PE is the engineer working on the project. There are two unresolved issues associated with this project; the rear set back on lot #1 and off-street parking. The side yard set back on lot #2 by the adjacent property has been increased from 9 feet to 11 feet. Chairman Steele informed that both the City Engineer and the City Solicitor suggest that Mr. Casper take this project to the Board of Adjustments before the Planning Commission can take any action. Mr. Casper asked if the Planning Commission would consider conditional approval of the project and they will get variances for the unresolved issues. His request was denied. He said that HAC has recommended they not have off-street parking and he was not aware until today that the project needs a variance for them to be in compliance with the HAC recommendation of no off-street parking. He said they didn’t take it fully but may want to take it on the lot next to Mr. Evans’ house because it is getting close to his house. He added they had no intention of coming to the Planning Commission prematurely. Mr. Evans was in the audience and said he had two concerns. If off-street parking is provided, the majority of the trees will have to be removed. He currently doesn’t have a water problem in his basement, but is concerned that disturbing these trees could present a problem by removing the roots that absorb water. His second concern is that people who move in likely do not want a driveway. He understands why the town would be concerned with off-street parking, but in this instance he didn’t believe it meets the intention of the people who prescribed the rule. The street is wide and there are plenty of spaces for parking. According to Mr. Bergstrom, the ordinance calls for two spaces per unit for off-street parking. Chairman Steele asked Mr. Casper to go to the Board of Adjustment to get the appropriate variance for off-street parking then return to us. DelDOT Workshop – Chairman Steele thanked all members of the Planning Commission who attended the recent DelDOT Workshop. We have not received any comments back from DelDOT to date. Ms. Miller raised concern over DelDOT’s commitment and can we hasten the process. Bill Blest, City Council President, said the best way to put pressure on DelDOT is through your local senator and representative. The process continually depends on funding that is available. Mr. Mendelson asked if comments made about the plan would be incorporated into the plan. Chairman Steele said that up until the last public meeting they would be working on the issues. We won’t know until we see the final product. He added there would be additional meetings looking for input. He said the first improvement would be Washington Street (Washington Street to 7th Street, 7th Street to South Street, South Street to Battery Park). The ferry cut-off will be the next item to be addressed. General Discussion Letter to New Castle City Council from KCI – The letter was written by Jackie Seneschal clarifying our position and codes and how we approach the non-conforming structures. Mr. Bergstrom said this clarification is how the City Planner thinks we should administer the code. There is a difference between planning and adopting codes and administering codes. A brief discussion took place about changes and/or exceptions to current codes. He suggested that if the Planning Commission wants to change the way any of the rules work they should make a reasonable suggestion to the Mayor and Council for its review. Memo from KCI – Chairman Steele informed the members that they have received a copy of a memo from KCI informing what they have done for us over the past couple of years in summary form. They were asked to review the memo on their own time. Adjournment A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mr. Mendelsohn, seconded by Ms. Miller and approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7 p.m. |
