Waterfront zoning legislation will be in time for a vote before summer break
First District Councilman Mark Squillato introduce legislation in time for council to vote on it before breaking for summer recess. “I wanted stakeholders to see it first,” Squilla said. City planners, the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation, the Central Delaware Advocacy Group and other advocates of the master plan say it’s vitally important for the overlay legislation to be adopted before council goes on recess. The interim overlay was designed to protect the waterfront from development that doesn’t comport with the city’s waterfront vision until both the master plan and related zoning are in place, and expires on Aug. 22, when the city’s new zoning code goes into effect. If there is no new overlay before the interim one sunsets, the waterfront would be unprotected until after City Council returns in the fall.
Central Delaware Overlay lacks adequate protection for the riverfront
CDAG is questioning the potential efficacy of the current draft overlay as time to introduce and pass legislation creating a zoning overlay for the Central Delaware Riverfront dwindles. Matt Ruben, CDAG president, said the biggest issues with this iteration concern waterfront access, the future ability to extend the street grid, and the process through which the planning commission can grant exceptions to the 100-foot height limit contained in the overlay. “The good news is, I think a lot of these (issues) can be addressed relatively simply, if there’s the will to change the language,” he said.
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