Xerxes Wilson

The News Journal

An effort to allow Wilmington to expand its borders without approval from New Castle County is being floated among local and state lawmakers and could be debated by the General Assembly in the coming months.

Wilmington is currently the only municipality in the state that cannot expand its borders through annexation of land without permission from the county from which the land is being taken. Legislation being crafted by state Rep. Stephanie Bolden, D-Wilmington East, would change that.

But county lawmakers are pushing back, fearing the potential for a city land grab.

Wilmington officials say the change is not being motivated by a specific property that they have their eyes on. Instead, they say it is necessary to continue to grow the city's population and tax base. While there have been no high-profile fights between the city and county for control of land in recent memory, Wilmington officials said the county's ability to veto city annexations has limited such proposals.

"We have not tried to [annex] because we know we are going to be stopped in our tracks because of these restrictions," said City Council President Theo Gregory. "There are benefits when you annex. You expand your possibility for housing development and commercial development for land contiguous to the city limits."

A draft of the bill has not been filed for debate in Dover but has been circulated among local lawmakers. Bolden said she wants to fine-tune the draft with further conversations with city officials before it is filed.

"It is about fairness and whether the city of Wilmington is being discriminated against," Bolden said, adding she has no firm timeline for filing the legislation.

In order to annex land, the city must receive approval from its council and mayor. After that, the proposal must be approved by the County Council and county executive. Once those approvals have been met, residents inside the land being annexed must approve the move in a special election.

All other municipalities do not require approval from the county they are in. Draft legislation circulated by Bolden's office would remove the county's say in the annexations along with the special election approval requirement.

The General Assembly crafted the special annexation rules for cities with more than 50,000 people, which only applies to Wilmington, in 1987.

Bolden said she has met with city officials in recent months about the rules, which she considers unfair.

"The city of Wilmington, being the largest city in the state of Delaware, should have the same options that smaller cities have," Bolden said.

Once introduced, the legislation could prove controversial among county lawmakers, some of whom fear the changes could lead to a city land grab that would decrease county tax revenue.

If Wilmington were to annex land containing a large employer, it could benefit city coffers through the wage tax and could hurt county coffers because properties in the city pay less county taxes.

Through a spokeswoman, New Castle County Chief of Staff James D. McDonald said the county administration looks forward to reviewing the bill once it is filed. He offered no further comment.

"It would give the city of Wilmington carte blanche authority for land grabs," said Penrose Hollins, who represents part of Wilmington and is running for the at-large County Council president seat.

Hollins said there needs to be some fairness in how the city is allowed to annex property, but said the draft bill would give the city too much authority. He said that taking residents' voices out of proceedings is also problematic.

"I think the annexations that we have seen in other jurisdictions have not amounted to major land grabs of property," Hollins said. "You should have a comprehensive approach to annexation, I think the approach [being discussed] is not the right approach. It will further take away from the county's ability to plan and, frankly, survive."

The county is currently at odds with town government in Townsend over sewer service and annexation.

The city is working to annex a 6-acre property near Downing Drive and Governor Printz Boulevard for an industrial park. The issue was reviewed by the city's Planning Board on Tuesday.

Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.