Individuals and organizations with eyes on county development and conservation are preparing for a June 2 public hearing during which New Hanover County Commissioners will consider revisions to the county’s special use permit.
Chris O’Keefe, planning and inspections director, said the revisions are intended to make the permit process easier to understand for businesses and county officials.
He said while the county is not overtly favoring what’s best for business, it is trying to make it easier to do business in the county.
O’Keefe said in a May 23 phone interview the New Hanover County Planning Board attempted to provide clarity while upholding the original purpose of the permit.
“It was a long process and there were many different sides that were represented and a lot of pertinent discussion. In the end, the board reviewed the draft and thought it accomplished what the goals were, to create a document that was clear while not changing the intent,” O’Keefe said.
The planning board unanimously approved revisions during a March 6 meeting.
Bob Warwick, of RSM McGladrey, has been involved with local industrial recruiting for more than 40 years. He said the special use permit deters industries from relocating to New Hanover County.
“The SUP as we now have it …[is] the most onerous in the state of North Carolina. It has a lot of vagueness in it,” Warwick said. “Any vagueness in the permitting process is a negative as far as industry is concerned.”
Warwick would prefer elimination of the permit but said the proposed amendments would make New Hanover County competitive with surrounding counties for industrial recruitment.
Mike Giles, coastal advocate for the North Carolina Coastal Federation, has mixed feelings about the revisions. Giles said he sees the permit as an important tool to guide future growth.
While he supports attempts to make the permitting process easier to understand, like clarifying time frames and industry types, other changes, he said, could allow industrial growth to sidestep the permit’s requirement to weigh potential impacts.
Giles said the coastal federation is helping people plan thoughtful comments for the public hearing. He hopes consideration of the concerns will not be clouded by preconceptions about the federation’s environmental work.
“This is not about Titan Cement. It’s about the future. A lot of people … pigeonhole us activists, environmentalists but really, we’re members of this community. We’re not anti-growth, we’re not anti-development, but we need a tool, guidelines, so the community can grow the way people want it to grow,” Giles said.
The June 2 hearing will take place at the New Hanover County Historic Courthouse during the 6 p.m. meeting.
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