03-05-2024 PB Agenda Review MinutesMinutes of the New Hanover County Planning Board Agenda Review March 5, 2024 An agenda review of the New Hanover County Planning Board was held on March 5, 2024, at 3:00 PM in the New Hanover County Government Center, 230 Government Center Dr., Conference Room 138 in Wilmington, North Carolina
Members Present Pete Avery Cameron Moore
Members Absent
Jeff Petroff, Vice Chair Clark Hipp Kevin Hine Hansen Matthews Colin Tarrant
Staff Present Rebekah Roth, NHC Director of Planning & Land Use Robert Farrell, NHC Development Review Supervisor Katia Boykin, NHC Housing Supervisor Amy Doss, NHC Associate Planner
Dylan McDonnell, NHC Long Range Planner Lisa Maes, NHC Administration Coordinator Damion Fulford, NHC Administration Specialist
The meeting started at 3:04pm
Announcements
Director Rebekah Roth updated the board members that starting on April 2, 2024, an agenda review
meeting, there will be presentations from different groups from the community. These presentations
will be recorded and posted to the NHC website to provide the public with updates but there will be
no public comments. The first of the presentations will be Stormwater on April 2, 2024.
Agenda
Ms. Roth shared with the board members there will be staff presentations on the staff-initiated
Supportive Housing UDO text amendment, the Track 1 Comprehensive Plan amendments, and the
public engagement plan for the full Comprehensive Plan update.
Supportive Housing Public Comment
Ms. Roth gave a brief overview on the Supportive Housing -Public Comment draft which will be
presented by Ken Vafier at the regular Planning Board Meeting.
The board had questions on what examples currently are in the area so they could have a better
understanding of what the text amendment would look like. Ms. Roth mentioned that Good Shepherd
Center would be a good example where it would gear more towards individual living where the clients
rent individual units. In response to additional questions from the board about what was driving this
amendment, Ms. Roth shared that staff had received inquiries about proposals for different models
of supportive housing communities or facilities and have learned from the strategy team that there
is a need in the area.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Priorities Plan
Mr. McDonnell shared with the board information regarding the Bicycle and Pedestrian Priorities Plan
which is intended to be included as an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan as part of the
comprehensive plan update. He stated the purpose of the plan is to identify priority projects for the
unincorporated New Hanover County to aid in the construction of bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
After a question from the board about funding he mentioned that funding does come from a variety
of sources where an adopted plan will allow identified projects to be eligible for state and federal
funding.
The board asked how these areas were identified and if there were any requirements that would
project the cost for these plans.
Mr. McDonnell concluded his update by informing the board that the current list of identified projects
are from previous planning initiatives that extend on existing network. He also stated that the WMPO
has a scoring criteria for projects that become eligible for state funding.
Residential Density and Infill Guidelines
Ms. Doss provided an overview of the intent of the proposed Residential Density and Infill Guidelines
plan amendment. She explained that it would clarify current policy guidance on density and provide
additional information on desired transitions between higher intensity and lower intensity uses.
Discussion focused on how the amendment would be coordinated with the place type
recommendations and how housing affordability would be incorporated. Ms. Roth reminded the
Board that staff would just be providing presentations at their regular meeting and nothing would be
voted on
Western Bank
Ms. Roth reviewed past presentations and reports related to the Western Bank and explained how
the amendment is proposed to be structured. If a deeper look into these would be needed, then
keeping this item on Track 1 part of the Comp Plan wouldn’t work.
The board expressed that they would wait to hear the whole presentation at the regular meeting.
Public Engagement Plan
Ms. Boykin provided an overview of the public engagement approaches that would be presented at
their regular meeting
The board members asked if they would need to attend the public engagement forums to support the
project and if there were a change in the public engagement plan process used for the 2016 plan.
Staff responded that the need for Planning Board members to be at the public engagements would
be on a case-to-case basis. They informed the board members that the estimated go live for the
website will be in April for the release of public comment drafts of the Track 1 amendments.
The meeting adjourned at 3:40pm