HomeMy WebLinkAboutPB Public Hearing Draft Summary Sheet - 2024-07-05
Western Bank (Planning Board Public Hearing Draft)
2016 Comprehensive Plan Amendment
Location in Plan
Chapter 4:
Visualizing the
Future
Chapter 5:
Building the
Future
Appendix
Purpose
• To implement the recommendations of the Western Bank Study presented to the Board of Commissioners in
October 2023 regarding the use, form, and scale of any potential development given concerns related to flood risk,
impact of adjacent properties, view from downtown Wilmington, and long-term public costs.
• To replace the current Urban Mixed Use place type classification for Western Bank parcels with policies specific to
this riverfront area with its unique location, environmental hazards, and history.
• To identify implementation strategies that would mitigate flooding risk in this area.
• To articulate the environmental constraints on the properties that could impact future development and land use
for landowners, developers, and community residents.
Components
• Over the course of the past several years, a series of reports and documents have been developed outlining
information on the current conditions, environmental constraints and hazards, cultural resources, and regulatory
considerations for the Western Bank area. A summary of the key findings of this work and the context behind the
amendment are described in “A Closer Look at the Western Bank (2024)” and an existing conditions map, which
would be included as an appendix to the plan. (See p. 1-2)
• While the goal of the plan amendment is to encourage low impact uses and public purposes, the majority of
properties in the Western Bank area are privately owned so County development regulations cannot prohibit their
reasonable use. As a result, a new place type that encourages more limited development was created to replace
the existing Urban Mixed Use designation for those private properties, and the Conservation place type has been
extended to publicly-owned property and areas where Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) Areas of
Environmental Concern are most likely to be located. (See p. 5-6)
• The new Low-Intensity Riverfront place type is proposed to be applied to privately owned parcels specifically within
the Western Bank area of New Hanover County. It is designed to only encourage uses that complement downtown
Wilmington; result in fewer residents and less traffic and impervious surfaces than possible across the river;
activate the space; reduce public risk to flooding; protect natural resources; and allow owners to use their private
property. The primary focus is on recreational and civic uses and keeping the U.S.S. Battleship the focal point of
the viewshed. (See p. 5 and 7)
• Commercial development would be allowed in the Low-Intensity Riverfront place type so private property owners
can make reasonable use of their property, but guidelines are provided for the design of those developments to
address concerns related to increased flooding, the public costs associated with extension of public
infrastructure, impacts on other properties, and the viewshed included in the National Register Historic District
that covers much of the area. Those parameters are outlined in the cutsheet for the place type and in a new section
on Western Bank Resiliency Components. Some of these components include considerations for infrastructure,
building elevation, and additional engineering certifications. (See p. 3 and 7)
• A key recommendation of the Western Bank Study was that the County would need to do more than modify the
Future Land Use Map for this area to address changing conditions and implement desired public elements. As a
result, new implementation strategies have been outlined to direct future staff initiatives, including:
o Consideration of a riverfront-specific zoning district or districts that would:
Allow for uses less disrupted by frequent flooding and that would ensure structures were resilient to
existing hazards (See p. 8)
Support public spaces and establish building design requirements to complement downtown
Wilmington’s historic district and the Battleship (See p. 10)
Limit public infrastructure investment and environmental impacts and reduce risk for any potential
residents (See p. 13)
o Coordination with CFPUA to shift the cost burden for infrastructure maintenance from the public to the
private sector where utilities are not currently in place and flood risk is increasing (See p. 9)
o Consideration of long-term public infrastructure maintenance costs when making decisions regarding new
development (p. 9)
o Consideration of investments in greenways, blueways, and trails along the Western Bank (p. 11)
o Exploration of establishing a brownfields program to reduce the impacts of past Western Bank industrial
uses on water quality as not all of the properties in this area currently participate in the state program (p. 8)
o Initiation of a study to monitor water and salinity levels on the Western Bank to inform when adjustments to
policies and standards should be made (p. 9)
IN RECENT YEARS, PARCELS ALONG THE WESTERN BANK OF THE CAPE FEAR RIVER HAVE BEEN THE SUBJECT OF TWO MAJOR
DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS. THESE REQUESTS WERE MET BY SIZABLE COMMUNITY CONCERN RELATED TO THE IMPACT OF FUTURE
DEVELOPMENT IN THIS AREA…CHANGING CONDITIONS AND NEW RESEARCH HAVE RAISED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE LAND USE
FOR PROPERTIES ON THE WESTERN BANK, LEADING TO A SERIES OF PUBLIC WORK SESSIONS AND A PLANNING STUDY OF THE AREA TO
ESTABLISH A DIRECTION FOR REFINING THE 2016 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN’S VISION…AND IDENTIFYING THE STEPS…NECESSARY TO
SUPPORT IT.
From “A Closer Look at the Western Bank” on p. 1