Last night, the same amendment went to the Board of Commissioners for a public hearing. Roughly 3,000 comments were sent to county leaders about the amendment prior to the meeting, most of which were against it — and against development in the area. Ultimately, the board unanimously voted to look into state and federal conservation funding that would allow preservation of the western bank — a clear pivot from the county’s past vision for the land. There is currently no set timeline for looking into these opportunities.
Rebekah Roth, the planning and land use director, presented the amendment to the commission, outlining a new “Low Intensity Riverfront” place type for the area. The amendment also included more recent language preventing residential development — which had been a key part of major projects considered in the area in the past.
The 2016 comprehensive plan serves as the main guideline for land use in unincorporated areas, Roth said. All areas on the western bank property, except for the U.S.S. North Carolina Battleship, are under private ownership. In the comprehensive plan for the area, the county had envisioned a place type that promoted a mix of residential, office and retail uses, mirroring downtown Wilmington. According to the planning department’s presentation during the meeting, building heights would range from one to seven stories under the plan.
In addition to removing residential zoning components, the amendment also added height designations based on the area’s National Register Historic District designation and zoning recommendations that deviate from the city’s original plan for the area.
“These amendments are changes in vision and would not affect the zoning currently applied to these properties,” Roth said.
The proposed amendment solely applied to the unincorporated land between the Isabel Holmes Bridge and Cape Fear Memorial Bridge to the South — it excludes land in Brunswick County and any land currently under NCDOT mitigation.
After Roth presented, Commissioner Dane Scalise called the text amendment “premature" and raised the question of approaching the state or federal government to help voluntarily buy the property or conserve it. Roth said that the planning department has not extensively explored the option yet.
“We don’t need to rezone every square inch of New Hanover County, we don’t need density in every square inch of New Hanover County,” he said. “We do however need to preserve green space and be concerned about flooding issues.”
Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, Jr. said that with flooding along the Cape Fear worsening and roads by the Battleship U.S.S. North Carolina and I-40 sometimes having standing water, the infrastructure to build is lacking. He said he also would not want to put the responsibility of addressing water damages on the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority.
Though he said he initially supported building along the western bank, Barfield said his concerns for safety and road infrastructure swayed him from supporting potential development. Commissioner Rob Zapple agreed, mentioning a study done by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that shows 75 to 80 percent of the western bank being underwater by 2050.
“My concern is putting infrastructure in place that someone is going to have to maintain that will be underwater,” he said.
North Carolina will receive a $421 million grant from the EPA for protecting natural habitats and carbon-reducing natural land conservation and restoration projects. Barfield suggested reaching out to the Governor and state leaders to see if utilizing these funds for state or federal purchase of the area was a possibility.
In 2022, developers wanted to build Battleship Point on the western bank, a 240-foot tall mixed-use development that fell through because of a multitude of safety, environmental ,and cultural concerns — and a county commission unwilling to sufficiently change existing land use regulations.
Now, many of the properties on the western bank are vacant, but most used to be industrial sites. Roth said that the northern area of the bank still retains limited commercial and industrial uses, where the Cape Fear River and the North Cape Fear join each other.
While commissioners agreed to explore potential conservation or preservation efforts, there is no set timeline for that process or agreement for a potential purchase of the area.
