It's now six PM.

I'd like to call to order the Regional Planning Commission business meeting for Thursday, January the fifteenth, twenty twenty sixteen.

And we've had a little bad uh we've had some bad things happen this week, and uh Mr.

Davis, who's probably online, has lost his wife, so we need to keep him and his family in our prayers.

They were married for a long time, and she was a very important part of his life.

Now, as we get into tonight's meeting, I would like to ask Mr.

Mills if he'd lead us in the pledge of the flag.

Thank you all for coming out on such a cold evening.

I would ask that if you have any kind of phone or electronic device that you make sure it's either on vibrator or turned off so it don't disturb us during our meeting.

We'll now go to roll call and determination of quorum, sir.

Mr.

Peterman.

Present.

Mr.

Servan.

Present.

Mrs.

Carter, here.

Mr.

Godfrey.

Here.

Mr.

Mills.

Here.

Mr.

Davis.

Mr.

Jester.

Here.

So you have seven present.

You do have a quorum.

Thank you very much.

Commissioners, you also have in front of you tonight's agenda.

If there's no deletions, additions or any corrections, I would entertain a motion to approve.

Mr.

Mills.

Mr.

Garvey.

Second.

Sarah called the commission.

Mr.

Peterman.

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Servan.

Yes to approve.

Mrs.

Carter.

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Caufy.

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Mills?

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Davis.

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Jester.

Yes to approve.

So seven is in favor of approving tonight's agenda.

Now, Commissioners, you've all received a copy of the minutes for December eleventh, twenty twenty-five.

And I think uh Mrs.

Carcher has something to say about her minutes.

Yes.

It took me a while to to see figure out whether or not I was here last month.

But I I because of something I vividly remember that I was.

And I'm not on there.

But later on, in something, I don't know, I seconded something.

I am Mr.

Kircher.

I don't really care about that.

I just want to let them know I was here.

Do I have a second?

Mr.

Mills.

Oh, second.

Thank you, sir.

Sarah called Commission.

Mr.

Peterman.

Yes.

Mr.

Servan.

Yes to approve.

Mrs.

Carcher.

Yes, to approve.

Mr.

Godfrey.

Yes, to approve.

Mr.

Mills.

Yes, to approve.

Mr.

Davis.

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Jester.

Yes to approve.

So you have seven yes in favor of approving the minutes of December 11th as amended.

Thank you very much.

We had no action for the levy court and we have no old business on our agenda.

So we'll go right into the new business for tonight.

First one under new business is CZ-26-01.

LC 25-29.

Alan E and Amanda L.

King request to amend the zoning map from AR and IG to AR with a business located outside the growth zone.

I had a chance to visit it this week, and it's a very well-run location.

And I with their modification, I know Mr.

King has had time to address the modification, and I think everything is all right.

So we're going to motion.

Anybody like to make the motion?

Raise your hand.

Mr.

Mills.

I move the Regional Planning Commission recommend modified approval of the ordinance LC25-29.

Amending the zoning map from AR Agriculture Residential and IG General Industrial to AR Agriculture Residential and BG General Business, located outside the Gross Zone Overlay District.

This is based on the exhibit A staff recommendation reported dated January the 8th 2026 exhibit B.

Public hearing testimony dated January the 8th, 2026.

Revised exhibit E reflecting 1.1 acres of BG zoning rather than the original requested 1.3 acres and the findings of the facts that A.

There was no mistake in the zoning map.

A point seven acres portion of the property was rezoned in 1974 to IG.

B.

The applicant agrees to reduce the requested area of BG to 1.1 acres.

C.

Replacing industrial zoning with general business will permit less intense use.

Denise, would you like to second?

I will second.

I have a motion and a second.

Sarah called the commission.

Mr.

Peterman?

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Servon.

Yes to approve.

Mrs.

Carter?

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Galfrey.

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Mills?

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Davis.

Yes to approve.

Promotion.

Mr.

Jester.

Yes to approve.

So you have seven A's in favor of recommending a modified approval of ordinance LC2529.

Thank you, Mr.

King, for working with our planners and getting what you need.

And good luck with your project.

Next on our agenda tonight.

Excuse me.

Is CS-26-01?

Delaware State Fire School requested request conditional use with site plan approval of a comprehensive signage package located inside the growth zone overlay district.

I think they did a great job last week, and what they're going to do will be very beneficial for the fire school being they have a number of entities out there at that location.

I have somebody like to make the motion, please.

Denise.

I move that the Regional Planning Commission recommend conditional approval of application CS 26-01, a conditional use site plan.

Application for a comprehensive signage package located inside the growth zone overlay district.

This is based on exhibit A, Staff Recommendation Report dated January 8, 2026.

Exhibit B, public hearing testimony dated January 8, 2026, and the findings of fact that the A, the use is within an institutional complex professional office and medical or educational campus or business part.

The plan complies with the conditions of approval for the use.

See the the excuse me.

The application is compliant with the comprehensive plan.

Pursuant to chapters 205 of the King County Code and pursuant to nine Delaware sub chapter 4802 and 4811.

The commission has reviewed the application and furthermore as part of this approval.

The applicant shall comply with all staff and agency record requirements and planning staff recommendations as described in the eight January 8, 2026 staff recommendation report.

So might like to make a second.

Second.

Mr.

Mills.

Second.

Thank you, sir.

Sarah called the commission.

Mr.

Peterman.

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Servan.

Yes to approve.

Mrs.

Carter?

Yes, to approve.

Mr.

Galfrey.

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Mills.

Yes.

To approve.

Mr.

Davis.

Yes, sir.

Mr.

Jester.

Yes to approve.

So you have seven is in favor of recommending conditional approval of application CS2601.

Thank you for your presentation and good luck with your project.

Next under new business tonight.

We have plan SLV-25-42.

Ebert Taylor, 31.826 plus or minus acres located on the southeast side of West Evans Road and Fire Tower Road west of Viola.

Applicant owner is Taylor Ebert, 977 West Evans Road, Viola Delaware, 1997.

Zoning District is AR.

Present use is residential.

Proposed use is residential with a possible minor subdivision.

Relationship to the growth zone is inside Levy Court District is the fifth, Mr.

Sweeney.

And I don't customarily ask anybody to the mic during our business meeting, but we do have some questions.

Is there somebody here tonight to represent this application?

Please come up to the mic, give us your name and your address, and you'll either be sworn or affirmed by our attorney.

Good evening.

I'm Taylor Ebert.

Could you give your address, please?

I'm sorry.

Your address, please.

977 West Evans Road by Old Delaware.

Sorry.

And do you swear or from that the testimony you're about to give will be the truth?

I do.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir, for coming in.

Thank you.

And uh I don't know if we have any specific questions, but we would just wanted to know that what you're doing with the project and why you want the two minor subs.

Yeah.

So um this is me and my wife.

Uh she's right there.

This is our primary residence.

Um we're looking to subdivide it.

Um, just being frank, we're looking to do that to put it back into the house that we have on the on the property.

Um we've already engaged a local builder uh right around the corner, done a couple studies on it, and we just like your consideration in subdividing it.

Have you had any study done on the land like the actual location of the floodplain or any site work done for as uh soil samples for a septic system?

So we had the soils for the septic that has been done.

Um we had a base flood or base um elevation done out there to see what the height was out there in relation to the floodplain.

Um we had all that done by Alan Kent.

And then the Den Rec soils was done by uh Mr.

Stallings.

So did they recommend a type of uh septic system?

Yes, LPP advanced uh treatment.

I think Denise has a couple questions.

Yeah, absolutely.

I guess my qu the question now that you've given us that information is has there has there been a complete uh flood study?

Not a complete flood study.

I mean they're working off of the FEMA flood map.

I'm sorry, they're all the FEMA flood map, the one that's pull that up to you a little bit.

Sorry.

Yeah, they're working off the uh the FEMA flood map that's online.

Well any other commissioners and Mr.

Davis online have a question.

Mr.

Mills, I got a question how how we're doing voting on this tonight.

We didn't have a public hearing on it.

A public hearing on this one.

We don't have that on this.

Sarah, would you explain to him why it's not a public hearing?

Um the ultimate application, if this is successful, will be a minor subdivision, and those are approved administratively by our office.

Um waivers for any kind of site plan are simply a business meeting item unless they're part of another public hearing application.

So it's purely a business meeting item.

Denise.

Well, so look at that's not the map I'm looking at on my computer.

Um, I mean, almost all of this land is considered in the floodplain.

That's I think that's what has me the most there's there's so little that isn't.

So um in talking with the surveyor, um, as I noted before, we got the base height elevation study done.

Um, everything is within a foot to a foot and a half where we're looking to build on it.

Um again, talking to the builder, my understanding is they'd follow Kent County's codes in building up on an elevated crawl space and also raising it up a little bit to bring it out.

Um yeah, I know the requirements in Kent County is your finished floor has to be a foot above flood, and then all your utilities like your HVAC and it has to be raised above that also.

So uh I don't know.

Uh anybody else have any questions?

Mr.

Peterman, Mr.

Servant.

I'm actually from the Felton area, and I know this land well.

I knew the farmer that tilled it.

Uh I never envisioned anything ever being built there because I've seen crops not even grow certain years when we get a lot of rainfall, and it's pretty pretty rough area.

So uh do you have these other things that you could supply to the county?

Are you talking about the um height study and then also the Dunreck and all that?

Yes, yes, so I have sent it to Jason Barry at the county, I believe.

So I think uh, you know, instead of being voted down tonight, because I don't see the support up here that you you really need to get it passed.

I'd like to delay it for 30 days if possible, and let you supply all that information back to us so we could then have a good reference from what you're saying was done.

So I would like to uh I I would entertain a motion from the commissioners.

Yeah, before I make a motion, you've got to understand that what we're reading.

We had to ask you whether or not you know that was done.

So and that's so that's what we've been looking.

We've been looking at limited information.

So that's our concern at this point.

Who would you like me to send the information to?

Um, just so I have well I'll I'll make a motion and then that would um I make a motion excuse me that we table um SLV-25-42 for one month in order for the commission to be able to see the information regarding the soil, the soil plan and all and anything that would have to do um with CEPIC and things of that nature.

Do I have a second?

By raise their hand.

Raise your hand, Mr.

Gauvery?

A second.

I have a motion and a second to table this for 30 days, and you'll be back here appropriately.

Can we have Sarah?

Can you can you help with a does anybody need the motion re-read?

Mr.

Davis, are you okay with the motion?

Yes, I am.

Sarah, call the commission.

Mr.

Peterman.

Yes to approve.

Mr.

Servon.

Yes to approve.

Mrs.

Carter.

Yes to table.

Mr.

Gaufrey?

Yes to table.

Mr.

Mills.

Yes to table.

Mr.

Davis.

Yes, today we'll prepare the 30 days to make all the information that we need to make a good decision.

Thank you.

Mr.

Jester.

Yes.

The table.

So you have seven years in favor of tabling application SLV 2542 for a period of 30 days.

Yes, sir.

So you'll put supply that information to planning and then it'll get it out to us.

So we will get to see your lovely presentation again next month.

Thank you for your consideration.

Our next under new business tonight is SLV-25-40, Delaware Army National Guard.

Location is 36.3 acres located on the north side of the Fast Landing Road, east of Route 13, 90 feet south of Route 1, east of Cheswell.

Applicant is Delaware Army National Guard, care of Mark Ornduff.

One Vivalia away, Newcastle, Delaware.

1972.

Owner is State of Delaware, care of Eugene W.

Bledsoe, one Valvo Way, Newcastle, Delaware.

Additional contact is Century Engineering, 550 Bay Road, Dover Delaware.

Engineer is Alex Schmidt of Century Engineering.

Zoning is RS1, single family residential.

Present use is vacant.

Proposed use is public service.

During readiness center.

Relation to the gross zone is inside.

It's under the Mr.

District of Mr.

Angel.

And I don't customarily, once again, I don't customarily ask people to the mic on our business meeting night, but we do have quite a few questions.

So someone is at the mic to represent this, and I'll have your name and address, please.

My name is Mark Warndorf.

Um 307 Stanford Drive is my home address.

Excuse me.

Uh my boss, Mr.

Fred Cost.

No, this is just for you to be sworn in first from our okay.

All right.

Let me go ahead and do that.

All right, sir.

Do you swear from that the testimony you're about to give will be the truth?

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Yes, sir.

Um we had quite a few questions, as you know what the county had recommended.

I assume you you knew the recommendation, correct?

That is correct.

And uh we had quite a few questions.

So I just thought maybe you could go over your plan with us and show us exactly what what it's for and what it's about.

Absolutely.

Um is it okay if I bring up my boss and let him one at a time.

Okay.

Come to the mic because you've been sworn in, then we'll bring the next gentleman up.

Okay, fantastic.

All right.

So I I'm absolutely happy to explain uh our our situation here.

Um so I'm not sure what all drawings you are going to have because we've submitted quite a few.

Okay, so that is the property parcel aerial view.

There's also a map down there by you on that table.

Right.

And if you get to a point where you want to point out something, you put the finger on the map, and there will be a pointer come up, and you can show us what you're talking about.

Oh, great.

All right.

Um, if we could go to I guess actually if we go to that, we can go back to that drawing, and uh that'll be fine.

Uh no, we'll go back to the the one that shows the the there we go, that one there, and if we can expand that all the way out, I think that's uh a pretty good starting place for where we're at.

Um so this project was originally um entered the Delaware National Guard originally competed for this project in 2019 with the through the National Guard system for military construction.

At that point it was approved by Congress, and it entered onto the future year defense plan and into the National Defense Authorization Act.

At that point, the project becomes subject to the NEPA process, the National Environmental Policy Act.

So we initiated our NEPA process, um, and it also is subject to the environmental condition of property analysis.

So we then began those subsequent analysis, and those are a checklist of various agencies, you know, tribal consultations, historic preservation, um, wetlands issues, and an extensive uh other number of of entities that get involved in that.

So our NEPA process was begun.

Um our eCOP process was initiated, and we also engaged century engineering to do a feasibility study on the property.

And I have to apologize because the wetland regulation that Kent County has seemed to have slipped through the cracks, and we did not pick up on this regulation until we got further down the planning process and we're now approaching design, and this issue came to our attention.

So I I apologize for that, and I I certainly wish we had picked up on this earlier because we could have been here and uh and we could have addressed this a little bit further in on the process.

Um the project is currently scheduled for an FY28 construction start date.

Um we are just entering into the design phase on the project, so we have not actually begun design yet.

Um we have done some extensive consultations uh with Dell Dot for the entranceway, and that process is what triggered us to identify this wetlands regulation that we had not previously identified.

And again, I do apologize for that.

It's been 20 years since we've built a new facility in Kent County.

So we are certainly very much looking forward to uh moving forward with the project and increasing the Delaware Army National Guard's presence within Kent County, um, especially uh this close to Dover and to the Population Center, and we think these are some great projects that will uh bring a lot of good to the state of Delaware.

So going on to this map here.

So in this area is where we're going to bring the entranceway from Dell Dot.

And this is a minute.

We actually have a drawing.

We actually have a drawing in our packet.

Yes.

That shows what you're doing, what you're going to do and all you want.

Mark, you want to go down to the U.S.

Sure, we can we can bring up that drawing.

Maybe that will be maybe if I just talk through the various phases of the project first.

So we're at phase zero right now, which is just to get the site, some initial development, secure the property from future dumping or anything else like that that might occur that might impact the project so that we have the property does not develop an environmental condition between now and when we actually go to construction.

So at this stage of the game, we're looking to just get the entranceway built and to get the property fenced in and secured.

So that's that's going to be a stormwater detention fund that I'm going to talk about that emerged up out of the I'm looking for the one that actually shows the full site project development.

Yeah, it's the one that has the stormwater management and how much you're doing, the buildings you are building and everything.

Correct.

Well, this may be part of the confusion.

It's an important drawing.

Is your engineer going to be present at night if we have some particular questions about the Yes, we do have uh representation from Century here as well.

Because we do have some specific questions I want to ask about what you're tearing down and how much you're involved.

Right.

You can't find that one more.

I've actually got it as page 69 of 74.

Would you like to uh go ahead and talk without showing the drawing for now and just maybe explain what you do have?

Sure.

Um we do have a couple of hard copies of the document with us.

It's on our it's on our package that was sent to us.

All right.

So like I said, we are at phase zero.

Um the the three phases of this project start with our first readiness center, which is a uh 42,000 square foot structure that will house uh one of our transportation units.

And that is so the first phase is a readiness center, which includes a military parking lot for military vehicles as well as parking for the soldiers.

The second phase of the project includes a maintenance facility, which will be about an 18,000 square foot vehicle maintenance facility.

That will be our FMS 4, which is currently located in Sussex County with our transportation unit.

So we're gonna eventually move that those units up into Kent County.

And then the third phase of the project is in a it will be about a 32,000 square foot addition alteration to the original readiness center.

Yes, that's the one.

So that third phase then uh will expand and we will bring a second unit into this site.

So that's the intended goal of the project.

Um the complete total project, uh about a hundred million dollars worth of construction in total, at least in today's dollars.

So the where where you see the the pink, this area here, and this area here.

Those are wetlands.

They are well, all everything in pink is wetlands.

So we have two different flavors of wetlands on the site.

We have a medium quality wetland, which are the two wetland areas I just pointed out.

And then there is a the rest of these wetlands are low quality FQI1.

And that study was done by Den Rec for us.

So they have done and they've done quality analysis on those.

Now also within this area is a the term is high um key wildlife habitat, right?

So there's a successional forest key wildlife habitat that exists in there.

So in our consultations with Den Rec, Den Rec has preserved has asked us to while and has said to us in letters, while not regulatory, we ask you to protect the key wildlife habit to the maximum extent possible.

So for me, to the maximum extent possible, I have a very good relationship with Denrec and I absolutely am intent on sustaining that relationship with Denmark.

So to me, the maximum extent possible means the maximum extent possible.

And uh so we structured our project to avoid these areas.

Um with the intent to preserve that key uh wildlife habitat, which also happens to overlap these these medium grade wetlands, because it's successional forest, it's key wildlife habitat, successional forest that is also designated as a medium non-regulatory wetland.

So they overlap.

So now all what we're looking to do is just get relief from these remaining wetlands in here, which all have been designated as low-quality successional agricultural wetland.

So it's just basically shrubs, grass that has grown up on the previous agricultural field.

The reason we got to this this point where we originally we were looking to get into this area's to do some stormwater management.

Is as we went through this entranceway project with Dell Dot, and we've been doing our excuse me, our analysis there, the um it came up that we were going to need to do some stormwater management for the amount of impervious area that we're adding because we're going to be expanding fast landing road.

So recognizing that, and there is also some forested areas that in order to put our security fence in, we're gonna have to do some, we're gonna have to do some deforestation on, we're gonna cut down some trees to create an open tree line so that we have meet our anti-terrorism force protection standards.

So with that said, we're going to have to do some tree cutting, and that's going to come back to the forestry guys, which are going to eventually come back and they're going to tell us, yeah, you're going to have to do some reforestation on top of this.

So, what land do we have available for stormwater management?

What land do we have available for reforestation?

What land do we have for habitat?

And then this is really what we've got left over to work with.

So originally we were going to put this stormwater, we're going to put a detention pond in this area.

That was what we were looking for.

And that is why we included that in the original waiver request.

Um we're going to back off that, and what we'll do is we will move that stormwater management pond to this area and then reforestation.

Now there is an elevation change as you go up fast downling road and approach Route 1.

There's a significant elevation change there.

So moving that stormwater detention pond up like that, that's going to cost us 100 grand, probably plus minus something along those lines.

So and that's an addition, not to build the pond, but just the additional delta between building it on a lower elevation area versus a higher elevation area.

So we're gonna we're gonna pick up some additional cost.

This day and A, all projects are very budget constrained, as I'm sure you're aware.

Um so somewhere along the line in this day and age, we live by the motto de scope and move on.

Um we will have to de-scope this project to somewhere somewhere along the line.

I'm gonna have to come up with this hundred thousand dollars, this extra hundred thousand dollars.

Um we will figure that out as we move forward.

But um for right now, so we need to keep the move ball moving.

We need to keep this project in the, you know, we've got wickets that we've got it passed, we've got federal deadlines, the Army's looking at us, National Guard Bureau, State of Delaware.

Um we are two years from the beginning of the construction date.

We are probably already gonna have to push that back a little bit.

Um we're in a tight timeline to keep the project moving.

So dealing with this sooner than later is is uh preferable, but you know, if if there needs to be further discussion beyond this evening, absolutely we will get you everything that you need to be able to see what it is that we're doing.

And that's that's not a problem.

We will we will make that happen.

So what you're telling me is this design here is not the design you're gonna have.

This is a concept that this is from the feasibility study.

This was our concept plan.

Um so let me go ahead and show you.

This is the first building.

This is the associated P-voat personnel parking lot.

This is the associated military parking lot.

These are some outbuildings here.

This portion of the is the first portion of the project.

The second portion of the project, the second phase is this maintenance shop and associated area over here, and then the third phase of it will be this building addition and this additional military parking lot and this stormwater pond over here.

So that is the sum total of all three projects.

Um like I said, they will be phased out over the next decade as we can get.

I mean, we're you know, we got to compete with every other National Guard in the country for these projects.

So it's a very competitive process.

Well, what I'm gonna do now is you pretty much thoroughly covered some of our questions.

I'm gonna open it up to the commissioners here, and then we're gonna get your engineers down.

I think we all have questions there.

So I have a question, Mr.

Peterman.

You intend to build to make a settlement pond there and a wetland area.

Originally, well, okay.

So when we started looking at the constraints from the fast landing road expansion and the additional stormwater management pond that we're gonna have to build for just that, we will have to do stormwater management for every phase of the project.

So each phase of the project will have its own separate stormwater management associated with that.

And that will be detention ponds, geotech systems, um, whatever we need to do to be able to make that project ultimately work with stormwater management.

But in this initial zero phase where we're just entering this here, we have an associated stormwater management pond that was gonna go into this area, and that's what I'm talking about pushing up to this area.

Um there was a drawing that showed that.

Yeah, do you have any idea where you're gonna put the spoils that come out at settlement pond?

Well, we will absolutely have to detest them to make sure that they're not, you know, some kind of a hazardous or waste or anything like that.

But assuming that it's select fill or or native soils, I think there's probably a lot of fill material there from Route 1.

Um, assuming that we can move it, it will either get disposed of through, you know, um the probably through one of the waste management systems, or we may lose it on site as part of uh it depends upon the soil quality.

If it's good soil that's structurally compactable and usable for other stuff, we may just store it on site and use it for pre for uh we're still getting a lot of some of the geotech.

We've done geotechnical work and we've got some ideas on where the soil is good and matter, which is any time you go into these projects, you're always gonna encounter unsuitable soils that are gonna have to either be trucked off-site and disposed through some one of the waste managements, whether that's in the state of Delaware or it's moved to another state or we don't intend to put it on site then.

Not unless it's usable structural fill.

Then we may we may find that we need that, and we may decide to Well, you can't put it on the other wetland places.

No, no, no, no.

Oh, no, no, no, no, absolutely not.

We are not going to like I said, Denric is asked.

Okay, so let me be clear.

There is a there is regulated wetlands in this area that is also habitat, key wildlife habitat that we are absolutely not going to touch and protect.

If we put that fill elsewhere on site, it would be either stockpowered or lost on site and leveled out.

And and you know, of course, we will do soil stabilization, everything that we need to do to keep that.

You okay, Mr.

Mr.

You okay, Mr.

Peter?

Uh Mr.

Davis, have a question.

He's online.

He's one of our commissioners.

Yes, uh, I have a great deal of respect for the Down National Guard and what they intend on doing.

Thank you, sir.

But I must say uh I've never seen a plan come before us like this, using words like our intentions and concepts.

And I think what has happened here, they've got some federal money, which is great, and they're trying to be deadlines, but it doesn't it doesn't satisfy my viewpoint.

It does not satisfy me when I'm hearing here, the ifs and ands and butts and this and that.

That's no way to do business.

This is a major project that our taxpayers are paying for, and uh and if we're done correctly, I will support it.

But I'm just surprised that they're before us this evening and don't have these answers.

And we have always been our history and a planning commission, we have always protected and guarded uh guarded the wetlands.

So I I think, in all fairness to them, I'm not convinced or prepared to do a lot of things we're talking about, and I want to say exactly what they're gonna do and how they're gonna do it.

And I don't want to hear about con that's our concept.

Concept word doesn't mean nothing.

I want to see exactly what they're gonna do, and I think it should be tabled at least 30 days.

If they need longer to do it right, I don't have a problem with it, but I don't think the commission at this point in time, we should take and consider a vote for this.

This thing is not well put together.

I'm just surprised that this has happened.

Uh a project as expensive as this is, this is uh you're talking about millions of dollars.

They come back and they address these issues at Denmark.

I read Denmark's information.

And I think there's a lot of people not too happy with it, besides myself.

So my recommendation, whatever the commission would like to do if they agree to it, it is to be tabled.

I don't want to vote it down, so I like to see it happen.

But if they don't want to vote it down, uh they don't want to uh commission doesn't want to table it.

I'm not gonna support it.

Thank you, Mr.

Davis.

I appreciate your comments.

Are you uh have any more questions or have you been answered what you want to say?

I've been answering.

I'll just tell you my position on how I feel about it.

Yeah, I think uh we'd like to have your engineer come up.

We have a couple questions for him before we proceed with this at all.

Sure.

And and I I just like to say um we are at the planning concept level on this project.

This is not we have not entered into design yet, which is why you're not seeing design documents.

I've got a document in front of me shows all your drawing.

Right, these are concept.

These are concept design, these are concept planning documents.

I think I'm like Mr.

Davis when I hear that about concept drawings, because when we pass something here, we're gonna pass things that we think that we know are gonna be done and not basically so if you'll let your engineer come up, we have some more questions.

Sure.

Sir, would you come up and give us your name and address?

I have some questions, and I'll turn it over to the other commissioners.

Thank you, guys.

Uh my name's Frank Miller.

Um with Century Engineering.

Um, my address is 409, Willet's Court, Middletown, Delaware.

Do you swear from the testimony you're about to give will be the truth?

Yes, sir.

Thank you very much.

First question I have of you, sir, is I see on here there was quite a large area of like a wooded area, but all that is going away.

Or if you destroy all the woodland there, are you possibly gonna replant, or what are you gonna do?

Yep.

So um a little bit um, you know, Mark alluded to this is a concept drawing.

Um in 2019, when we started this drawing, uh, we worked with deering and came up with multiple concepts.

Um so we did go through a multiple kind of preliminary phase called a design phase.

Um, and what you're looking at here was is basically our an ultimate plan that we kind of all agreed on is going to be our ultimate concept, our best idea.

So what you're looking at is most likely, I mean, 90% there of what you're gonna see.

There may be some minor changes to a few things, but this plan is going to be what this site is is is going to look like.

Um, with that with that said, um, these two larger areas um that are shown here.

Um, we are proposing to not disturb these wooded wetlands.

Um we did provide some documents here at the today.

Um we did send them in.

I don't know if you were able to receive them in time, but so we did show in those revisions that these wetlands will not be disturbed.

Um the only wetlands that this design is going to disturb are going to be your low quality wetlands that are in the agricultural field.

I don't think I'm talking.

I'm talking about the woodland itself.

You're taking all the woodland from the back of those storm waters all the way up and you're destroying all the woodland it all there.

Have uh have you talked with the Ag Department and Forestry about what you're gonna do?

So the area back here of where these woodlands are getting cut down are also in the uh wetland area.

And we were proposing to cut these down, but uh leave some of the potentially leave some of the um you know grubbing of the trees and everything per you could leave those there and still maintains your wetland.

And we did review the site for Kent County's code for woodland preservations and woodland removal.

Um we are going to stay under the maximum allowable, so there will still be more woods here than the code would allow us to remove.

Um and like Mark alluded to a little bit, we do have a large area up here in the corner that is open, and any woodland preservation or replanning, um we we do plan to do, and we're gonna utilize that open space there.

So had you talked to forestry at all?

Have you talked to the ag department?

No.

Um part of working with National Guard is we we kind of try to develop to this point to make sure that this layout is feasible and within all code requirements.

Um I think the forestry and Department of Ag, the things that we cut down, um, we're not going against any regulations that they have.

But Mark has great relationships.

Deering has great relationships with those organizations, and you know, they're they're going to be willing to replant and and do what's required.

Any commissioners have any questions for the engineer?

Anybody with your hands raised or Mr.

Davis?

I just think you've done um I I don't I don't think you've done your homework.

I mean, nothing personal.

I don't think your group has done your homework when you use again when uh the chairman asks you a couple of questions, the concepts and things like this, is that well this will happen.

We have no guarantee that's going to happen.

And we're cattle to the tax posters and other people that come in that wetland issues, and we're very strict about these, about these uh laws about the wetlands.

So I am not pleased at all with your presentation, nothing personal.

But I'm very surprised that uh you went this far with concepts and and guessing game.

I am not gonna vote for it.

Yeah, I think we're all coming up, it seems like with more questions than we are answers.

You know, I I particularly don't like you going around the questions that I try to ask, and uh I'm a member of the forestry association and things like that, and I have my understandings.

Uh I just don't think you guys are I certainly support the National Guard and all they do.

Um I think uh we see that uh is my finger going off the mic okay.

My finger is back on the mic.

But I uh I think we have more questions and answers.

I think you guys need a few more days, and uh I don't know what commissioners think here, but uh Mr.

Garvey, you'd like to have anything to say.

No, I it it just for me it's a matter of whether there's a motion or whether there's a table.

I don't know if they the distinction between the two of them in this regard.

Yeah, I uh to ask you whether 30 days or 60 days would be needed to come with a more set in stone process and plan.

Um you're the engineer, what do you think?

Um I believe that we have all the information you want, and 30 days would be more than enough time.

Um I think the additional documents we provided today.

Um maybe some didn't have enough time to review.

I think those um explained the wetlands that will be disturbed, not disturbed a lot better than the first document we received.

Having said that, Mr.

Garvey, would you like to make a motion?

Yeah.

Um I'll try to cobble this together from uh what's going on.

So I move that the Regional Planning Commission request that the applicants come back with a refined design, not a concept that clarifies the impact to the woodlands and the wetland areas that have been identified as key wildlife habitat and secondary wetland areas.

I have a motion.

Is someone here, Denise?

Second.

And I have a motion and a second.

Sarah called the commission.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Mr.

Peterman.

Yes, to table.

Yes, per the motion.

Mrs.

Carter.

Yes to table.

Mr.

Godfrey.

Yes, promotion.

Mr.

Mills.

Yes, promotion.

Mr.

Davis.

Yes, promotion.

Mr.

Jester.

Yes, promotion.

So you have seven A's in favor of tabling application SLV 2540.

And I think you all understand we're not against it.

We just want more clarification on what you're presenting.

So we'll see you back here in 30 days.

Thank you very much.

Now public comment.

Now down to public comment.

Anyone else in the public would like to speak or say anything?

Seeing none, I'll go to commissioner comments.

Any commissioners or Mr.

Davis online?

Yes.

I would like to say something.

I want to personally thank uh the uh regional planning commission and the planning staff for the beautiful flowers that was delivered today.

Uh uh with my wife Justine and I, of course.

She passed away as fast hour then.

It really meant a lot to me.

Very, very moving to receive something like that from my fellow commissioners and the planning staff itself.

And I I really appreciate what you did.

And um I just wanted to thank everybody.

It's very fond of you.

And uh I can't thank you enough.

It meant a lot to me.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr.

Davis.

Uh I think we are all a family here, and we have to do things to help each other out.

So if you need anything, I think anybody on the commission would be glad to help you with anything that you're going through.

Any other commission comments?

Mr.

Garvey?

Um I have two things actually.

Um I hope if they're not appropriate for this venue, then please let me know.

Um one of them actually is for staff.

Um Sarah, there's there is was uh a recent article about the um uh Delaware Climate Action Plan that's been approved by the governor and and the and the bodies that be the uh Den Rec and so forth.

Uh it's a 288-page report.

Um what I'm wondering is it's in that plan it talks about um a coordinated effort um in terms of dealing with uh wetlands in terms of dealing with public access and building and so forth and so on.

It it it overlaps everything that we do here.

It and it should and so I guess my question is is that is there some point in um if we're gonna implement this plan, is there some point in which we uh the Regional Planning Commission levy court starts to get together to see how or what might need to be changed in terms of our code so that we're in in coordination with it.

Otherwise it seems like we would just be going on business as usual, and then there's a plan sitting there that we're supposed to be helping implement, but um unless it factors into the code, I don't know how we could make decisions that could be in support of it.

So I guess I'm just wondering what you know about this.

We are actually obligated to sort of incorporate what we can out of the climate action plan into our comprehensive plan.

That comprehensive plan is due in 2028, and we are just now doing the work.

Okay.

So that's gonna be the point of the radar.

We'll roll it into discussion on the comprehensive plan.

Right.

And then that will roll into code amendments if we need them.

Good.

It it it's an exciting document, and um to the extent that we can make decisions that are in support of it, um, would be would be good, I think, for the state.

So I was just wondering where we're at on that.

Okay, my second question um has to do with um actually our attorney.

Um I think.

Um there is a there has been a number of big projects that we kind of watch that go on down in Sussex County, and we're wondering how they do things down there, which is obviously different than the way we tend to do things up here.

Um just this past week, the Atlantic Fields project, which was this huge project down there, um, got rejected by their their commission.

Um and there was a clause in there, and I I want to read it, it was a quote, and it it comes to the root of my question.

It was a quote and it it comes to the root of my question.

So the quote says today this cancel this council was forced to deny a multi-million dollar private investment because the state had failed to deliver the infrastructure necessary to support development in a quarter that it has defined as the growth areas for decades.

So what I was wondering was that it seems that they were able to say that because the state had failed to provide adequate infrastructure and save our growth zone.

Um that they they found that cause to be able to deny a project.

And we usually don't have that cause to my understanding.

If if Dell DOT hasn't done what they needed to do, regardless of how we feel about it, if it meets code, we have to go ahead.

Again, I'm I'm happy to look into that.

Thank you.

That was it.

That's a great point, Mr.

Garvey.

I'm I'm glad you looked that up because we are always talking about infrastructure.

And I know Mr.

Mills talks about school buses and we talk about the dangers on the roadways because they're not up to where they should be for us to approve approve these developments.

I have one other thing I'd like to bring up on.

I get a lot of calls about our infrastructure and our developments like that.

But I also get a lot of calls from individuals that wonder why, and I know we have a great levy court commissioners.

I mean, I support all of them.

I think they do a great job.

But I do know the fact is they meet at seven o'clock and we meet at six o'clock.

And the number of calls that I've gotten in the last couple of months, and that's it's probably been over a dozen, is why don't we all meet at the same time?

So uh I'd like to put that because I know they watch our they watch our movies that we make here and Mark's put that there for them to look at.

So as chairman of this board, I certainly like them to look to be able maybe make things consistent here.

And I know staff has always supported that kind of fact that you know they're here anyway, so why make them stay an extra hour when everything here could be done at six o'clock, our meeting and their meeting and all the other meetings that we have.

And I think it'd be a great advantage to make sure that our people and the ones that we have here today, like the ones out there in the audience.

I mean, they all give a great presentation, but being here at 6 o'clock, especially in the winter time is better than being here at 7 o'clock and waiting that extra hour to get here.

Any other commissioners have any comments?

I just want to say that I would hope that no one said, well, we're just following what it used to everyone was in the past.

That the tradition shouldn't be what is important.

Thank you, Denise.

I appreciate that.

Any other business, sir, before the commission?

Seeing none, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.

Somebody like to make a motion, Mr.

Garbrey?

I move that we adjourn.

Mr.

Mills, second.

I have a second motion and second, sir, call the commission.

Mr.

Peterman.

Yes to adjourn.

Mr.

Servan.

Yes to adjourn.

Mrs.

Carter, yes to adjourn.

Mr.

Gauver.

Yes, to adjourn.

Mr.

Mills.

Yes, to adjourn.

Mr.

Davis.

Yes, to adjourn.

Mr.

Jester.

Yes to adjourn.

And thank you all for coming out on such a cold evening.

Uh I'm waiting for April.

That's what I'm looking forward to.

Meeting is adjourned.

So that's the thing that you want all the uh that's a hundred that's a blue part three.

So since we've been so we I actually have things that happen we would be here less years.

So everything that we two years ago, sorry, that's right.

Yeah, we've been here for two months.

And that's actually what's funny.

Well, I'm gonna double check on the user can't find so he was the person that honestly on the other.

Yeah, yeah, but two and I think basically I'm all the other two thank you for uh we can.