[New date finally] Neighborhood Meeting to Review Bancroft Mills Development Plan June 5, 2006

Rockford Falls Working Group
c/o The Highlands Community Association
2203 W. 18th Street
Wilmington, DE 19806
February 17, 2006

Dear Neighbor,

As part of our desire to keep you updated concerning various actions being taken on behalf of our community, the Rockford Falls Working Group (?Working Group?) has prepared this update on the proposed O?Neill Property Group (OPG) development of 999 residential units at the 21-acre historical Bancroft Mills site next to the Brandywine River (the ?O?Neill Project?), to be called ?Rockford Falls?.

FLASH: The O?Neill project is currently scheduled to reappear before the Wilmington Design Review and Preservation Commission (WDRPC) in a series of meetings beginning March 8, 2006. Please read this update thoroughly, particularly the part on ?Future Actions,? and be prepared to once again show, by your informed presence, that our community is united in its desire for development compatible with existing neighborhoods.

First, the Working Group would like to acknowledge and thank the many members of the surrounding communities, especially The Highlands and Forty Acres residents, for attending the October 5, 2005, WDRPC hearing at The Highlands School. Showing both the developer and the city that the neighbors are united in our feeling that this proposed development is too large and out of character with the surrounding area is vitally important. Your attendance at the WDRPC hearing has given increased credibility to the group of committed neighbors who have been working over the past two years ? under the ?Working Group? banner -- in order to ensure the ongoing viability and vitality of our community. Most of the members of the Working Group are listed in the final paragraph of this letter, although many other neighbors have contributed significantly to our efforts as well.

The Working Group believes that the land on both sides of the Brandywine River is an essential part of our community in terms of its history, character and environmental diversity. We believe that if this area is developed properly, it will enhance our neighborhood; but if it is over-developed or poorly developed, it has the potential to cause serious harm to the quality of life we enjoy in our neighborhood. The area on the north side of the Brandywine has recently been developed into a beautiful state park, Alapocas Run. The developer who purchased the property on the south side of the park ? OPG ? is committed to developing residential housing on the property. We acknowledge OPG?s right to develop the site, and we support some development there; but our goal has been ? and remains -- to work with OPG to ensure that OPG creates homes that will be a source of pride to both OPG as the developer, and the neighbors.

Historical Importance: As many of you know, Bancroft Mills is the last and longest-running of the great mills that once dotted the beautiful Brandywine Valley, serving as the economic engine that built our community. Bancroft Mills had the longest history of textile milling in the Brandywine Valley (1831-2003, 172 years) and in the 1930s was the world?s largest textile finishing company, manufacturing 80,000 miles of cloth per year.

The Bancroft family used their success to give back to the community in very significant ways. Their generosity is responsible for the Wilmington Park System, the Delaware Art Museum collection, the library system, the former Delaware Hospital, affordable housing for low-income families, and the incredible stretch of green space we enjoy as we drive from here to Pennsylvania.

In short, Bancroft Mills is a historic, cultural treasure?unique and worthy of being saved. The Working Group has been petitioning OPG to save several of the historic buildings on the site.

Meetings with OPG: Both before the WDRPC hearing and in the months following, the Working Group has been meeting regularly with representatives of OPG including its principal, Mr. Brian O?Neill. On November 16, 2005, at the invitation of Mayor Baker?s Chief of Staff, William Montgomery, the Working Group began meeting at City Hall with OPG, representatives of the City (including the Director of Planning, the City Solicitor, the Fire Marshall, the Commissioner of Public Works, Councilman Gerald Brady, Councilman Bud Freel, and State Representative Joe DiPinto) to see if a package of design and density issues could be negotiated that met the needs of the three key constituencies: OPG, the City and the neighbors. The City hired a facilitator to assist at organizing the meeting. Four more meetings of 30 or more individuals were held (November 30th, December 14th, January 4th, and January 10th) to focus on specific issues such as Water and Sewer Infrastructure, Environmental Contamination, and Traffic and Density. OPG and its consultants, as well as representatives and consultants hired by the City and consultants for the Working Group -- both pro bono and paid -- made technical presentations. In addition, smaller meetings on specific technical issues were held in order to narrow the differences of expert opinions and conclusions, and make the larger meetings more productive. The scheduling of the next meeting is awaiting the results of a revised traffic impact study being prepared by OPG?s traffic consultant. As part of this process, the Working Group prepared and delivered to OPG a Vision Statement setting forth our hopes for the development of the site, a copy of which is enclosed. The status of the issues discussed in these meetings with City officials are set forth below.

Environmental Subgroup: The Working Group has been consulting with Dr. Robert Gibson, a world-renowned toxicologist and neighbor, concerning some of the environmental studies performed by OPG in connection with several of the more historic buildings on the site. At a special meeting with OPG?s technical experts, the City, and its newly retained environment consultant resource for the WDRC, Dr. Gibson made a convincing argument that OPG?s environmental studies to date merely confirm that many of the buildings contain contaminated surfaces and structural elements and that ? without significant other work ? they do not provide the justification for demolishing any of the historical structures at this time. The Working Group believes that OPG has not yet demonstrated that decontaminating some of these existing structures for residential and adaptive reuse is either technically impossible or financially prohibitive, despite OPG?s insistence.

Traffic and Access Subgroup: There have been several studies conducted on the potential traffic impact from the O?Neill Project. Consultants hired by the City have concluded that the original OPG traffic impact study has certain deficiencies, which are being addressed in a revised study that is supposed to be made available to the public by mid-February. The original OPG study did not look at a sufficient number of intersections and made certain assumptions with regard to density that other parties felt were inappropriate. The Working Group has hired a consulting firm based in Washington, D. C., to review the revised traffic information and provide an independent assessment of the impact of the increased traffic on the community and the City. As most people know, the Bancroft Mills property is accessible only through three narrow roads: Mill Road, Riddle Avenue and Rockford Road. At the present time, 2 Mill Road and 3 Mill Road are owned by the 2 & 3 Mill Road LLC (?Mill Road LLC?), represented by attorney Jeff Weiner, who is a member of the Working Group. All access through Mill Road is across the Mill Road LLC property and current estimates indicate that 40-to-60% of the traffic would use Mill Road as the primary access. This creates issues regarding parking, the scope of the original easement (i.e., use for industrial purposes versus residential) and a host of other issues that are being addressed by the various groups. Riddle Avenue is also an access point and although the right-of-way can be enlarged, certain properties are situated in that right-of-way, which would make it difficult to expand the road, thereby limiting its ability to take additional traffic into the site. Rockford Road also has access issues involving the scope of the original easement and the fact that the access from this point is limited by geographical factors including rocks and buildings.

At the December 14, 2005, meeting, Brian O?Neill made an offer to all present to meet with the interested parties and go over all of the access issues. After persistent efforts by members of the Working Group, a meeting was finally conducted on February 9, 2006. Although no specific agreement has been reached concerning the issue of access, the Working Group at least now understands the position that OPG is making regarding the issue of access.

Public Safety and Emergency Services: The Working Group has sought, but not received, specifics on how the City will provide residents of the O?Neill Project with satisfactory medical, fire and police emergency response and services. Issues of concern include: location of emergency/fire lanes, adequacy of road and fire lane (i.e., no parking) width and turn-arounds for emergency service vehicles, capacity to deal with multiple-alarm fires considering the dead-end nature of the development, ability to evacuate residents, extension of the emergency alert system, and impact on existing residents along the access routes.

CSO issues: The Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) issue has been explored by the Working Group and the community's concerns about excess sewage from the O?Neill Project flowing into the Brandywine were detailed at the October 5, 2005, DRPC meeting. Since that meeting, the Working Group has met with Wilmington personnel responsible for the CSO issues throughout the City. They have assured the Working Group that the O?Neill Project will not worsen the existing CSO problems in the City, particularly the CSO at the foot of Rockford Road. The City says it is already committed to resolving the Rockford Road CSO problem by separating the sanitary sewers (primarily sewage) from the rainwater that runs down Rockford Road. The City hopes that this separation of sewage from rainwater will prevent sewage from flowing into the Brandywine River after heavy rains. The City has also assured the Working Group that there is enough capacity in City sewers downstream from the O'Neill Project to handle the sewage developed by that Project. The Working Group does not have the resources to independently verify this representation by the City so it remains a concern of ours.

Density issues: At an early meeting, OPG claimed that the surrounding neighborhoods had densities that approached 45 units per acre -- that is to say, the same density of the O?Neill project. The Working Group, through the help of City Councilman Gerald Brady and others, obtained density information for 19806 zip code, which it presented to representatives of the City and OPG. In fact, the average density for the neighborhood is just 6.6 houses per acre (5,944 units on 905 acres). This breaks down between The Highlands and Forty Acres as follows: 3.4 units per acre in The Highlands (1,521 units/448 acres) and 8.7 units per acre in Forty Acres (874 units/101 acres). Together, The Highlands and Forty Acres have a total of 2,395 units on 549 acres or 4.36 units per acre.

As pointed out to OPG and others, there is no support in the surrounding areas for densities approaching 45 units per acre. In addition, the Working Group feels that infrastructure constraints such as roads must be considered in in-fill projects in mature neighborhoods such as The Highlands and Forty Acres.

Financial Needs: OPG has provided $15,000 to the Working Group for two purposes: $10,000 to enable the community to conduct an independent assessment of the effects that the proposed development will have on the traffic in the neighborhoods adjoining the development, and $5,000 to facilitate communication with the neighborhood.

In addition, the Working Group has been able to raise more than $14,000 from a small group of neighbors, (including many Working Group members), to provide the additional funding required to complete the independent traffic analysis.

If future funding is needed, we will canvas the entire neighborhood.

Future Actions:

1. A hearing before WDRPC is scheduled for March 8, 2006, at The Highlands School Auditorium at 6:30 pm. IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT YOU ATTEND THIS MEETING IF YOU WISH TO SHOW THE DEVELOPER, THE CITY AND THE WDRPC THAT YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THE CURRENT PLAN TO DEMOLISH WILMINGTON?S MOST HISTORIC MILL BUILDINGS AND, IN ITS PLACE, BUILD 999 CONDO UNITS, INCLUDING TWO 14-STORY HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS ON THE BANKS OF THE HISTORIC BRANDYWINE RIVER.

2. The WDRPC and the Working Group have requested a number of deliverables before the next hearing date, including a scale model of the proposed development, economic analysis of alternatives, a study on the impact of blasting on the site, pre- and post-blasting topographic maps, detailed plans for removing contaminates, and a complete set of plans for the development.

The blasting remains a major concern for the Working Group, as we have no idea how the noise, concussion, frequency and duration of blasting might affect the neighbors? general tranquility, our homes? physical integrity, or the precious flora and fauna in the area (understanding that the entire Rockford Falls area is nestled in the Delaware Greenway).

3. OPG has undertaken a supplemental traffic impact study on additional intersections. The Working Group and the City are looking forward to receiving a copy as early as the middle of February.

4. The Working Group is awaiting the independent analysis it has commissioned from its own consultants to determine the effects on the neighborhood of the additional traffic arising from O?Neill Project. While some initial work has begun, a final report will be prepared upon receipt of the OPG revised traffic study.

If you have any questions or suggestions about the progress of the Working Group, please feel free to contact me or a member of the Working Group through our website, www.highlands19806.com .

I would like to recognize and thank State Representative Joe DiPinto, Councilman Gerald Brady, and Councilman Bud Freel for all their help and active leadership on this project.

And I would also like to thank all the members of the Rockford Falls Working Group, your neighbors who have given up so much of their time and energy to maintain and improve our community: Denison Hatch, Jim Geddes, Bill Spiker, Jeff Goddess, Gena DiSabatino, Sol Peltz, Guy DeLillio, Richard Franta, Tracey Schofield, Paul Crawford, Charlotte Arnold, Tim Holly, Tony Nerlinger, Irene Shadoan Lott, Tom Hirt, and Chris Waisanen.

Sincerely,
Gary Linarducci
Chair
Rockford Falls Working Group