AN OVERVIEW OF LIVABLE DELAWARE
Livable Delaware is a positive, proactive strategy to curb sprawl and direct growth to areas where the state, county and local governments are most prepared for it in terms of infrastructure investment and thoughtful planning. It builds on the foundation laid by the Strategies for State Policies and Spending, first approved in 1999 and comprehensively updated in 2004.
Livable Delaware is not anti-growth. It uses carrots rather than sticks to guide growth.
What is the state's role in land use?
Delaware's population is projected to grow by more than 200,000 people between now and 2030. The state of Delaware has a stake in how and where growth occurs. Unlike most other states, Delaware provides most services and infrastructure throughout the state - social services, prisons, roads and transit, the largest police force in the state, about 70 percent of school funding, 50 percent of library construction funding, and 60 percent of paramedic funding.
Governor Minner believes that state government's responsibility is to provide these services and infrastructure efficiently, not haphazardly. Sprawl wastes taxpayers' money.
What is wrong with sprawl?
A 2001 Centers for Disease Control Study defines sprawl as "uncontrolled, poorly planned, low-density and single-use community growth." Besides wasting taxpayers' money, sprawl damages our quality of life in Delaware.
- It contributes to the loss of about 3,500 acres of
farmland a year (Delaware Department of Agriculture)
- It aggravates traffic congestion and air pollution
- It lengthens response times for emergency responders
- It destroys natural habitat and contributes to groundwater depletion and pollution
- It contributes to flooding and drought problems because of the growth in impervious surfaces
(buildings, roads, parking lots)
- It contributes to a sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle (2001 Centers for Disease Control study)
Accomplishments
Under the Livable Delaware agenda, the Governor has established a Livable Delaware Advisory Council, provided assistance for local governments to support Comprehensive Land Use Plans at all levels of government, overseen a careful review of state laws to improve land use planning and growth management, among other initiatives.
The Livable Delaware agenda centers on the Strategies for State Policies and Spending document, first developed in 1999 and comprehensively updated in 2004. In September 2004, Governor Minner signed Executive Order #59 directing state agencies to use the Strategies to help guide their efforts to implement the Livable Delaware Agenda.
