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A new bill has been proposed in the Legislature that would restrict rezoning of school district properties and protect school property values statewide.
The bill states that if a municipality amends its zoning code or changes property uses in a way that reduces the value of public school-controlled land, the municipality must repay the difference in value to the state and the school district. The repayment value will be determined based on the property’s fair market value, calculated as if the property were vacant and available for full development.
The municipality must also notify the Department of Education of the change, along with a description of the proposed change and the estimate of repayment. The department and the school district then have 90 days to notify the municipality of their positions and their own valuation of the payments owed to them. The municipality then has six months after the effective date of a change to make payments.
Introduced by Sen. George Bunting, (D-Bethany Beach, the bill was sparked by the proposed rezoning of Rehoboth Elementary School.
Bunting said, “I have no problem with the city preserving the land for open space, but the citizens and school district hold a lot of value in that property and should be paid and not have these millions of dollars taken.”
Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, said the intent of the bill is to protect the taxpayers, who indirectly own the school properties, in case these properties are devalued through rezoning.
Rehoboth Beach has already begun procedures to protect the property value of its school. The city is looking to rezone property at the elementary school to a new zoning classification, ER or educational/residential. The zoning change, which was written into the city’s comprehensive development plan, would protect the value of the school property and specify what can be built on the property.
A public hearing on the rezoning of the elementary school has been scheduled for 7 p.m., Monday, April 7, in the city commissioners’ room.
Contact Ryan Mavity at ryanm@capegazette.com.
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