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County advances nonregulatory Green Growth Toolbox and secures design funding for Country Club greenway
Summary
Planners reviewed a nonregulatory 'Green Growth Toolbox' guide funded by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission to help balance development and natural-resource protection; staff also confirmed design-stage grant funding for a Country Club greenway and said design procurement will proceed when funding clears.
Marcy Waters, long-range planner, presented the preferred development guide produced through a North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission grant, describing it as a nonregulatory resource of site-design ideas to help developers and staff achieve better environmental outcomes.
Waters said the preliminary report identified gaps in the county’s regulations — notably a lack of formal riparian buffer requirements, no required low-impact-development techniques, and limited tree-preservation and habitat-mitigation standards — and recommended incentive-based and regulatory approaches for future consideration. “This document is non regulatory,” Waters told the board.
Waters also confirmed the grant totaled approximately $10,000 for producing the guide, printing copies and outreach. The board asked how the guide could be used with conditional rezonings and conservation subdivisions; staff said the guide could inform incentive packages and be tied to code provisions when appropriate.
Separately, staff reported that the county secured design funding from the Wilmington MPO and a North Carolina Parks grant for the Country Club greenway study. An NCDOT RFLOI draft is complete and staff said the design solicitation should go out once partner funding approvals are finalized.
Staff will finalize the Green Growth Toolbox for grant close-out in December and consider graphics and examples identified by the board for potential future code or incentive work.
