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Between 2011, when the original AVMP was introduced, and 2021, DNREC has re-designated parcels of mature growth forest as brownfields and attached them to the AVMP, bypassing any New Castle county regulations in order to benefit their “public/private partnership and to allow unchecked densification style development. What will they do with this land? Allow for the building of 129 in the whole project.townhouses on two separate plots, partnered with the same developer who deforested ten acres of woodland.

This is out of the character of Yorklyn and would never be allowed under NCC Unified Development Code.

Cattermole and his private development partners, in collaboration with DNREC - his public collaborator - did not plan or vet the process of constructing the required sewage pump house and line to connect to the County’s existing high pressure sewer line along Yorklyn Road. They did not consult with the County to understand that it was never the County’s responsibility to build those two components, but only to take ownership upon completion and inspection.

Cattermole and his partners are now trying to rectify their self-induced crisis by applying for a permit to install twelve 1,500-gallon sewage holding tanks (18,000 gallons of sewage holding in total) to be pumped by no fewer than 5 trucks every two days, for houses that do not yet exist. DNREC tried, yet again, to verify this permit request without a public hearing - unless there was a ‘meritorious objection.’ The community objected to the false claims on a short timeline. We received no response from DNREC, and only learned of the public meeting by vigilantly monitoring the DNREC website.

The application for this sewage holding permit is either mistaken, deceptive, or blatantly lying about the County not moving fast enough to build what they were never supposed to build

This instance of rewarded negligence is just another in a long history on DNREC's part.

Skirting NCC code, ignoring public input, disregarding the flooding consequences, and not respecting the history of the industrial village have become the modus operandi.

We want to know why DNREC maintains the ability to circumvent the New Castle County Unified Development Code when, in fact, its ability to do so should have expired with the initial parameters and the remediation.

We want to know why private developers are being allowed to undo the flood remediation, accomplished to alleviate the original flooding issues that precipitated this whole action, by adding impervious ground cover with 129 units in the 'whole project' - a project that was never a part of the original AVMP.

We want to know why the community is not being consulted in any way, other than unmetered checkbox presentations called “meetings.”

We want to know why the state is now looking to put a cell tower on land that was donated by Tom Marshall as a preserve.

We, the citizens of Yorklyn and the surrounding impacted communities, object to this self-induced crisis as something we should help DNREC & Cattermole to solve by tolerating the possible destruction from an accident, the increased truck traffic and noise, the corrupted process of ignoring the community, and the circumvention of the County's much-needed oversight.

No known traffic study to determine the impact of 129 new residences on Yorklyn Road, Old Wilmington, or Route 82. The only study we could find determined that the speed limit should be lowered from 50 to 45 mph.

We want to know how this will affect local traffic and commutes.

We want to know how this will affect local infrastructure.

We want to know how the constant pumping of sewage holding tanks will affect the air quality in the greater Auburn Valley area.

The first Auburn Valley Master Plan meeting in 2011 was inclusive.

After that, there were 'checkbox' meetings where the community was informed of what changes had been made without any involvement or transparency.

This "densification" is completely out of character with Yorklyn's historical and cultural importance. It does not honor DNREC's original vision in 2011, and it goes against the wishes of Yorklyn's community.

This kind of development will decrease the property values of surrounding homes while degrading the environment and the future quality of life in the Auburn Valley.

The paving and development of pervious surfaces will only increase Yorklyn and Hockessin's susceptibility to flooding. In Hockessin alone, 11.3% of properties are at risk of flooding in the next three decades. This does not even take into consideration fact that much Yorklyn is seated in what FEMA considers to be a Special Flood Hazard Area.

We can not afford to lose the pervious surfaces surrounding Yorklyn, which ensure that future floodwaters will be appropriately absorbed instead of lingering and compounding property damage.