SPONSOR: Rep. Oberle & Sen. Sharp
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE NEW CASTLE COUNTY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend § 1313 of Title 9 of the Delaware Code by creating a new subsection (f) as follows:
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) above, the Department of Land Use may administratively grant a dimensional variance that does not exceed the larger of one foot or 10 percent of the required dimensional restriction without the application being considered by the Board of Adjustment."
The provisions of this bill will permit the Department of Land Use to administratively approve a dimensional variance request that does not exceed one foot in length or 10 percent of the dimensional restriction, whichever is larger, without the need for the variance applicant to appear before the Board of Adjustment.
In an average month, approximately 2 to 3 of these types of cases come before the Board of Adjustment. The Board approves virtually all of these minimal dimensional variance requests after the required public hearing. The passage of this bill permitting the Department of Land Use to administratively handle these requests will save applicants the nearly 2 months it currently takes to get a hearing before the Board and will also prevent them from having to take part in the public hearing process.
An example of the application of this provision is as follows: The UDC requires a 25-foot setback from the property line. A mortgage survey has indicated that the existing home on the lot currently sits back only 24 1/2 feet from the property line. The Department of Land Use would be permitted to grant a variance in this situation.