Text Amendment NarrativeExplanation of impacts on the County as a whole and consistency with the
Comprehensive Land Use Plan:
The purpose of the Office & Institutional District is to provide lands that
accommodate institutional, professional office and other compatible uses, but
also allows residential development. The Unified Development Ordinance
suggests that O&I districts should be located in areas with more intense uses
and higher density development patterns to support economic clusters in
appropriate locations.
Limiting the availability of restaurants within these districts is counterintuitive to
the Comprehensive Land Use Plan strategies of mixed-use development
patterns, and reducing vehicle trips on the County’s roads. Supporting small-
scale services in proximity to their users promotes maximizing land use
efficiency.
Adding a prescribed condition for the maximum size of a restaurant in the O&I
district can ensure that the use will not materially endanger the public health or
safety, and that it will be consistent with the associated locations.
Justification for amending the Unified Development Ordinance:
The O&I district has typically been considered an acceptable transition between
residential neighborhoods and busier commercial corridors. Allowing restaurant
use would broaden the range of services that can be convenient to both
surrounding private businesses and possible residents within the proximity.
With some office uses becoming outmoded due to work-at-home trends, allowing
the use in the O&I district could encourage the rehabilitation of obsolete and
under-utilized buildings within the district.
Research evidenced that Wilmington permits restaurants in their O&I district.
Other North Carolina “suburban communities,” similar to New Hanover County,
include Pender County & Brunswick Counties – which both allow restaurants in
their similar districts.