NEW HANOVER COUNTY — The New Hanover County planning department is closing in on the completion of an updated comprehensive plan, proposed policies focusing on increasing community involvement, developing plans to facilitate environmental stewardship, and promoting connectivity in neighborhoods and parks. 

However, some goals in the previous plan, most notably the promotion of more housing, seem to be less of a priority with the new update. 

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The proposed comprehensive plan is the first major update since 2016. Since then, Commissioner Rob Zapple has been the only member to remain on the board and the county has seen a pandemic, a devastating hurricane, and the sale of its hospital and establishment of the New Hanover Community Endowment. The county’s population has surged by 40,000 people, with properties doubling in value and the area experiencing a 20,000-unit housing gap, per a recent housing needs assessment. 

Commissioners discussed the assessment in May; in comparison to the one done in 2023, the county’s housing gap grew by 4,000 units needed over the next 10 years. While the draft comprehensive plan acknowledges the housing need, policies designed to promote additional housing or more affordable units are lacking in the update. 

The draft plan is broken down into four areas of focus — Quality of Place, Infrastructure and Support Services, Environmental Stewardship and Resilience, and Coordination and Engagement. Each includes policies and implementation strategies, though housing is only mentioned twice.

Under the Quality of Place component, the plan notes master planned developments, or large-scale communities, should “provide a range of housing types and community amenities to accommodate residential demand while preserving land for commercial and employment use.” The plan notes master planned developments should be encouraged for the remaining large parcels in the county.

The draft also encourages rehabilitation programs for aging housing. Other than those two mentions of housing, the plan notes all developments should consider impacts to  the character of the surrounding neighborhood and the natural environment. 

By comparison, 2016’s plan stated a goal to “provide a range of housing types, opportunities and choices.” The goal was accompanied by several implementation strategies, including updating incentives to reduce development costs and strategically work with developers on affordable and subsidized housing. Another strategy was to consider an affordable housing task force; the county did join the Workforce Housing Advisory Committee with the City of Wilmington in 2019, but commissioners voted to withdraw from the committee in July. 

The move came amid other county discontinuations last year, including its $15-million, mulit-year commitment to affordable housing, a joint homelessness strategy with the city and the county’s annual contribution and participation in the Cape Fear Continuum of Care, the lead agency on homelessness response.

Considering the retreat from ongoing housing initiatives, Port City Daily asked county planning for an explanation on the shift away from explicit commitment to providing more housing and more affordable units.

“The public hearing draft of the comprehensive plan update reflects policy direction from the Board of Commissioners, existing conditions and input of our community, and updated goals to achieve the board’s vision,” Planning and Land Use Director Rebekah Roth wrote in response. “Having a range of housing types remains within the updated draft plan, specifically related to providing opportunities for new housing in areas where supportive roadway infrastructure is most feasible (where master planned developments are recommended) and prioritizing community character in areas with smaller undeveloped parcels where new infrastructure is less likely to occur.”

The plan notes residents — who were surveyed as part of the comprehensive plan’s development — have seen the need for more commercial and residential services. Yet, surveyors also want to “preserve the qualities that make New Hanover County special — its unique character, strong sense of place, and high quality of life.” 

One of the biggest changes in the updated plan is the emphasis on community input. The county wants to expand access to engagement opportunities, simplify its language and processes for the community to understand, and partner with community groups and the private sector to achieve goals in the comprehensive plan. 

Per the plan, this looks like developing interactive tools, updating internal procedures and ordinances to enhance understanding, host educational events and creating a community planning program to provide more opportunities for input outside of the formal development review process. 

The county has also ramped up its focus on environmental stewardship compared to the 2016 plan, which highlighted several priorities related to environmentally responsible growth, conserving open space and environmentally critical areas.

The commissioners have already approved the allocation of land on western bank of the Cape Fear River under a conservation place type and followed the move recently with the pursuit of ownership over two properties there. 

The proposed plan states development patterns should preserve natural areas and avoid adverse environmental impact, with lower-density development or other conservation methods being used in sensitive areas — wetlands, floodplains, and high flood hazard zones.

“Decisions on zoning and development standards should incorporate the 2025 Northern New Hanover County Watersheds Flood Study and other technical studies related to flooding and storm impacts that are accepted or approved by the Board of Commissioners,” the draft plan states. 

The county calls for the development of several studies and documents, including a green infrastructure plan that identifies a network of natural lands and open spaces, watershed plans for water quality concerns in county waterways, a conservation land priorities plan, and a canopy-based tree retention ordinance.

The focus on the environment comes after several commissioners pushed to purchase land for conservation or park purposes, including the $11.6-million purchase of the Flossie Bryan Tract, 60 acres of land off Independence Boulevard. Commissioners also agreed to chip in $1 million, along with the City of Wilmington, to purchase an undisclosed property for park purposes. 

The full draft plan can be viewed here. The New Hanover County Planning Board will hear public feedback and vote on a recommendation Thursday, Jan. 8, at 5 p.m. in the New Hanover County Courthouse.

Tips or comments? Reach out to journalist Brenna Flanagan here.

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