Wednesday, April 25, 2018

STOP Final Notes

If only our so-called "representatives"
had a 
conscience like this man . . .
By Frank Warnock and Angela Connolly, STOP Advocates

Well, everyone, hope has run out. We've said this several times already, but this time we're seeing Sipple's deadly cancer spreading over the landscape. Utility work and site prep is advancing to the point that it will be impossible to stop the development, and it won't be stopped.

Look for DelDOT to approve of one entrance/exit way out on Rt.4, and Vic Singer to make one last stand (symbolic at best) when Ryan Homes applies for their 51st building permit. We are under no illusions that his protest will somehow turn things around. We've run out of confidence and energy and are looking forward to ending this grotesque chapter (3 years wasted) of our lives, which will be extremely difficult. Absolutely no good came of this campaign; all it did was prove to everyone just how low NCC and State Govt has sunk in terms of corruption. That, in the face of countless reasons and tons of justification, they STILL flipped off our entire region within their districts. Wow, just, wow. We as advocates were naive, trusting; hoping that kickbacks, payoffs, and profiteering was mainly a national problem. To think it has permeated County and State level politics to this degree is just repugnant; stomach churning. It proves there is NO hope for the citizen advocate, never mind the layman trying to do something positive for the community and the greater good. The opposition comes fast and furious.

What all of you need to be doing now is asking the tough questions. HOW did it come to this, and why were our elected leaders so easily bought off -- or so it would appear? Surely, they will muddle half-baked answers to our questions, insisting they did everything in their power to save the land. But no matter what they say, they DID NOT -- not even close! There were numerous means by which a deal could have been brokered, and if indeed it was the Nuns unwilling to sell, you invoke eminent domain. This by itself could have been done, even amicably, at any time during the 2011-2018 (8 years) time frame that they knew development was coming. It could still be done, but now we're looking at major compensation and rework of damage already done and getting worse daily. At this point, it's simply not going to happen.

Finally, our complaint with the Ethics Commission was dismissed, based on a preliminary investigation that included little in terms of fact finding. Even if it was shown that Joe Setting and Mike Hoffman were not in a position to gain monetarily (they were), you still DON'T do that. You DO NOT place developers on a commission whose purpose is to set regional parkland priority and protect the very land that they massively profit from paving over. Adding to that, they were tasked with setting priority for Ogletown-S. Newark, for the last remaining land suitable for such a purpose -- that THEY stood to profit from developing! It's completely outrageous that our legislators stood idly by and let Meyer and his minions in the Land Use Dept get away with this. But, for reasons we will never grasp, the Ethics Commission did not recognize the obvious. We will will publish their formal letter of dismissal upon receiving it.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

STOP's Top 10 Unanswered Questions

Below are the top 10 questions (in no particular order) that County and State agencies and/or officials refuse to answer for us. Most will likely never be answered without the use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
  1. Does the NCC Dept of Land Use (DLU) have an established and well-accepted methodology for Level of Service (LOS) evaluations of non-signalized intersections, that include turns into residential side streets, driveways, median cut-throughs, and others that are of little or no consequence to the development? These were well taken advantage in crafting the Traffic Impact Study (TIS) for the Chestnut Hill "Preserve" (CHP), in a tiny radius, to qualify its 3 intersection analysis.
  2. When Vic Singer refuted the above TIS based on failed LOS at adjacent SR4 intersections, the DLU responded that the TIS met the criteria set forth by the Unified Development Code (UDC). They followed that a "Legal Review" was conducted to confirm this. After repeated asks of Mr Richard Hall (DLU Manager), no such "Review" or documents to support this claim have surfaced to date.
  3. What truly is Joe Setting's role in the development of the Orphanage Property? According to the Wilmington News Journal, he is the developer and thus in a position to benefit financially, but may have changed to another role when a conflict of interest became apparent: Developer Joe Setting, of Montchanin-based Setting Properties Inc. is partnering with developer Greg Lingo, formerly of Cornell Homes, and the Felician Sisters on the project".
  4. Who else is partnered in both of Joe Settings LLCs related to the development of the Orphanage Property? According to Wikipedia, "A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that combines the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a corporation". What are they hiding?
  5. Is eastbound SR4 access-only really acceptable by DelDOT standards for the CHP, assuming that Mr Stranahan wins his claim for Adverse Possession? According to the FHWA, as of 2014, there are 9.4 daily car trips per day per household. Therefore, with 270 Dwelling Units (DUs), Ogletown residents are looking at ~2,500 additional car trips entering-exiting out on to SR4 each day. The project is barreling forward as though all approvals are in place.

  6. How is it possible that all 3 area representatives -- Councilwoman Lisa Diller, Rep Ed Osienski, and Senator Bryan Townsend -- did NOT recognize the Orphanage Property for the invaluable treasure that it was, and appeal to citizens and advocates to help save it as far back as 2011?
  7. With the State half stakeholder, why didn't our two legislators insist on attending the buyout negotiations with Meyer, instead of waiting for the Nuns to call them with updates?
  8. Why did the NCC Ethics Commission dismiss the flagrant conflict of interest that existed when Exec Meyer appointed Joe Setting (CHP developer) and Mike Hoffman (Felician Sister's legal firm) to his Parks Transition Team?
  9. What prevented our County and State legislators from invoking Eminent Domain to secure the Orphanage Property, for the greater good, as a regional park, and as the last remaining land suitable for such a purpose?
  10. What is preventing our two State legislators from pursuing the first 5 above, using Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests of NCC Govt as a means to investigate?