Identifying Senate Bill 237 Implementation Challenges and Providing Program Options to Energize Delaware

PROJECT SYNOPSIS

Senate Bill (SB) 237 requires Delaware’s three counties and municipalities with populations greater than 2,000 to include and consider climate change in their comprehensive development plans (comp plans). Energize Delaware commissioned this research to investigate the challenges to successful implementation of the legislation and to explore options the organization could consider if it wishes to use its resources to help counties and municipalities comply with the new planning requirements.

Based on a thematic analysis of twelve semi-structured interviews with key personnel/professionals across a range of stakeholder groups, this research identified five primary (though not mutually exclusive) challenges to implementation of SB 237: political opposition; lack of climate-related knowledge; low levels of technical, administrative, and financial capacity; the need to balance climate goals with other development goals; and uncertainty around acceptable standards of compliance and what is expected of counties and municipalities. These challenges lead to programmatic options that Energize Delaware could entertain if the organization wishes to help counties and municipalities overcome the barriers: fund efforts by the Office of State Planning Coordination (OSPC) to establish acceptable standards, fund an education campaign, fund the development and dissemination of guidance materials, fund direct technical assistance, and fund post-planning implementation assistance.

Energize Delaware leadership should carefully consider these options as it looks to maximize its impact and enhance Delaware community resilience to climate change.