New Castle County Councilman David Tackett announces his plans to immediately withdraw Ordinance No. 23-083 (and any variation), which proposes mass rezonings in the County. Furthermore, he intends to remove the Ordinance from discussion during the Land Use Committee meeting scheduled for February 6. In place of this, Councilman Tackett is requesting that the County Land Use Department present alternative paths forward for discussion during the Committee meeting. This will be followed by formal withdrawal of the Ordinance at the February 13 County Council meeting.
In addition to County Executive Meyer’s recent dissent, many people, including several community umbrella groups, have raised concerns and strongly voiced their opposition to the mass rezonings proposed by the Ordinance.
Councilman Tackett commented that “I’ve heard all the public has to say and feel that it is of the utmost importance that we step back and re-evaluate. I feel that this is in the best interests of the County and its residents.”
Given the many concerns voiced by the public, Councilman Tackett strongly believes the public’s trust regarding this legislation has been so far eroded that the most positive course of action is to withdraw the Ordinance and request that the Land Use Department immediately begin work on new legislation, breaking the proposed rezonings into manageable parts that can more fully, and expeditiously, be considered by County Council, as well as the public. As part of this process, Councilman Tackett calls for increased involvement of surrounding communities and a more robust effort to engage the public with the parcels that impact their quality of life.
Although it is unfortunate that we have arrived at this point, Councilman Tackett would like to commend the Land Use Department for their tremendous effort as they have worked tirelessly and made every effort to retain accuracy throughout the process. It is Councilman Tackett’s sincerest hope that we can pull together and continue to work as a team for the public’s benefit.