Background

The Delaware Office of State Planning Coordination, working with a wide variety of partners within state and local government and from the private sector, drafted a revision of the Land Use Planning Act (29, Del. Code, Chapter 92), also known as "LUPA," which dates to the late 1970s. This revision would update and streamline the LUPA process and provide more useful and timely technical input to the development community and to local government land use decision-making processes. The new process is to be known as the Preliminary Land Use Service, or "PLUS." The revised process was sponsored by Senator Thurman Adams and introduced as Senate Bill 65 during the last legislative session, and was eventually passed by both houses. The bill was amended a number of times to address concerns raised by local governments, developers, and the real estate industry.

Please take a look at the completed SB 65 PDF file Flashpaper file

In the past, the development community and local governments have identified several drawbacks to the existing LUPA process, including:

• A lack of timely decisions. It was agreed that it is important to bring state agency reviews into the process earlier than has been the case. State agency comments often came too late in the process to be of use to local governments.
  
• A lack of consistency. Developers have complained that the standards by which state reviewers comment on proposals change over time.
  
• A lack of alternatives. State agency comments have tended to be limited to existing regulatory regimes and have not offered constructive opinions and options to improve project plans.
  
• A lack of information exchange. The existing LUPA law does not spell out what information about projects should be given to the state for review. That has led to comments that missed the mark, and added to confusion in the public process.

At the same time, state agency planners came to recognize similar problems with LUPA. The Office of State Planning Coordination has taken all of these concerns into consideration and developed the PLUS process, an update of the LUPA process designed to meet the needs of developers and local governments and to achieve the goals of Livable Delaware.

The Revised Process

The new PLUS process would involve reviews by all applicable state agencies at the start of the land development process, adding value and knowledge to the process without taking over the authority of local governments to make land use decisions.

Purpose

This new, up-front process has a three-fold purpose:

• To identify and mitigate potential impacts of development which may affect areas beyond local boundaries;
  
• To fully integrate state and local land use plans; and
  
• To bring state agency staff together with developers, and local officials, early in the process.

Benefits

This updated process will benefit applicants in several ways:

• It will speed the process when a proposal is included in a certified comprehensive plan;
  
• It will provide rewards for development that follows Livable Delaware standards; and
  
• It will promote the sharing of ideas and resources among state, county and local governments.

Implementation

The legislation provides for a six month implementation period before the new process goes into effect. Our office is currently in the process of developing the procedures, standards and guidelines which will be followed by developers and local governments. This fall we will be conducting a public information campaign to inform local jurisdictions, land developers, and the general public about the new process. The new PLUS process will be fully implemented by February of 2004.

How it will work

The State Planning Office modeled the PLUS legislation after a process that had been successfully tested by our office for over two years. This process has been known as “Request for Review.” Developers and local governments scheduled their projects to be reviewed at a meeting of State agency planners in the early stages of project development. These meeting have reviewed projects ranging from residential subdivisions to local comprehensive plans. Feedback from the meetings has been overwhelmingly positive. Local jurisdictions and developers have appreciated State comments at an early enough stage of the design process to integrate suggestions, or to meet with individual agencies to discuss issues. And agency planners appreciated being brought into the process in a productive and creative capacity.

The trial “request for review” process was voluntary, but the PLUS legislation specifies which projects must be reviewed – typically larger subdivisions and commercial projects, and rezonings and annexations not consistent with the jurisdiction’s comprehensive plan. There are also provisions in the legislation which allow developers or local governments to voluntarily submit projects through the process. There will be a schedule of monthly meetings, and it will be the responsibility of the developer or the local government to go through the review process prior to initiating the formal review process at the local level. The PLUS process is advisory, and the final authority to approve projects still rests with the local government.

Finally, a critical portion of the legislation allows local governments with existing review procedures which meet or exceed the level of review afforded by this legislation to enter into a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the State Planning Office. In order to coordinate existing local reviews with this new process, these memorandums will specify which, if any, local projects should be reviewed under the PLUS process or how the PLUS timeline might be best integrated into the proceedings of the local jurisdiction.

Conclusion

The PLUS process was conceived in order to consolidate 30 years of State legislation regarding land use reviews, streamline the review process, and promote useful interaction and coordination among all levels of government early in the design stages of major projects when there is still time to work out issues of land development, infrastructure, and environmental protection. The legislation was crafted with the flexibility to respect the fact that Delaware’s three counties and 57 municipalities are distinct places, and may need different levels of input from State agencies regarding land use applications. We are looking forward to implementing the new PLUS process to begin a new era of intergovernmental coordination and collaboration in Delaware.

Frequently Asked Questions About PLUS

Note: This article has been derived from a public information piece which was originally drafted by a variety of staff from our office, including David Edgell, Connie Holland, Mike Mahaffie, Ann Marie Townshend, Herb Inden, Dorothy Morris, and Diane Jackewicz. It is available on our web site at http://www.state.de.us/planning/legisltn/plusprocess.htm. A list of “frequently asked questions” is also available on this website.