The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners delayed approval of a comprehensive future land use map for development after concerns over whether the map would meet Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) environmental requirements.
The board didn’t vote on a resolution that would approve the future land use map as part of the process to adopt parts of the comprehensive plan for future development, instead asking for the county planning staff and members of the planning board to meet with state officials to get more clarification of how environmental protection rules could affect the map.
At issue was what county planners called the “exceptional resource areas” map, which laid out certain areas where environmental concerns could be a factor in development. The map distinguishes features such as primary aquifer recharge areas, flood zones, potential wetlands areas, potential significant natural heritage areas and public inland and coastal waters.
The current county zoning map prevents development in these areas, but with the future population growth expected for the county, it’s likely that this land would need to be utilized for future projects, said county planner Jennifer Rigby.
Commissioner Woody White raised the question about whether exceptional resource areas should be identified on the future land use map because areas like wetlands are outside of the county’s regulation.
“We ought to regulate and chart out what we have authority to, and not put words and things in maps that are up to other jurisdictions,” White said. “Two years from now, three years from now, it will still be confusing to people. The definitions will have changed.”
Tyler Newman of Business Alliance for a Sound Economy, a regional business lobbying group, spoke in support of the land use map, but also agreed with White when he said that exceptional resource areas should be removed from the map.
“Federal rules are changing, regarding waters of the United States and what constitutes a wetland. It’s not really informative to have it on a map,” said Newman, who pointed out that the precise location of the aquifer and its recharge areas aren’t known. “The cross hatch lines on the map are somewhat arbitrary and could cause more confusion than they need to.”
Rigby said the future land use map would need to be certified through the CAMA process and that removing the exceptional resource areas from the map could jeopardize that. CAMA is a state law that governs development near coastal areas, with its regulations overseen by the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission.
“These are elements they are looking for,” Rigby said. “I’m not sure we can change direction.”
White said that since CAMA rules are likely to be relaxed, the new map should reflect these changes.
The board approved a resolution from commissioner Jonathan Barfield Jr. to require the planning board and county planning staff to meet with state regulators to get more information on possible CAMA changes and approval of the map, and return to the board with that information.
The county’s planning board also considered whether it was useful to have exceptional resource areas identified in the map, but ultimately decided to leave it to the board of commissioners to decide whether they needed to remain in the future land use map.
County manager Chris Coudriet told the board that delay in adopting this part of the plan could push back the completion of the comprehensive development plan by months. Additionally, Coudriet said that it would be the change in zoning and ordinances, not adoption of the map, that would ultimately enact the comprehensive plan.
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