Community Planning Committee
Minutes, 17 March 2010
Present: Ron Meick, Danny Schweers, Ray Seigfried, and Sally Sharpe.
Ray Seigfried, chair, called this meeting to order at one feather short of an American Robin (7:04 p.m.) in Room 2 of the Buzz Ware Village Center.
Minutes Approved
The committee approved the minutes of the February 2010 meeting.
Memorial Garden Sign
Ron Meick reported that Denis O'Regan hopes to finish the sign in time for the Spring cleanup, Saturday, May 1.
Vacant Domiciles
Public hearings will be held on Wednesday, April 21 and Wednesday, May 19. Both meetings will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Buzz Ware Village Center. Danny will post the meeting times on the website and send an announcement to the Arden Page. Sally Sharpe will mail a letter to all absentee leaseholders informing them of the public hearings. Specifically, we will discuss the five options considered at our February meeting and any others that may be brought forward.
Ray Seigfried explored New Castle County (NCC) Code and found the following: The Community Planning Committee or Town Meeting after a vote could complete the form found on NCC's website for reporting vacant houses that are in disrepair. The form is found at: County website > Land Use > Property Code Enforcement > Complaints and click on "Submit Complaint". This will start the process for an inspector to review the house and if found to be out of code, they would contact the owner and possibly place a red sign on the house. They would hold a hearing and, if the house is not repaired, then a lien would be taken against the house for repairs. If the house was beyond repair, action could be taken to demolish it.
Additional Domicile Units
The process for applying for permission to construct additional domicile units such as an apartment in your house or a garage apartment is for applicants to first request permission of the Trustees. If they approve the ADU, then the Town Assembly must approve it at a town meeting. With those approvals in hand, final permission must be granted by New Castle County in the way of regular building permits.
Website
Larry Strange has built a website for the Buzz Ware Village Center but it is waiting for Warren Rosenkranz's OK or revisions.
Long Range Planning
We discussed briefly the role of this committee in Village affairs, whether, in addition to taking up issues that arise from the Trustees and other committees, we might also take up issues of our own. Ron Meick wants to study other working utopian villages.
Next Meeting, Adjournment
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, April 21, 7:00 p.m. at The Buzz. We will discuss business for half an hour and then hold the public hearing on vacant domiciles starting at 7:30 p.m. Tonight we adjourned just a feather shy of a nuthatch (7:54 p.m.).
Respectively submitted,
Danny Schweers, Committee Secretary
