Sunset Beach planning board kicks off comprehensive plan rewrite, approves survey edits and outreach schedule

The Sunset Beach Planning Board convened a special meeting to launch a full rewrite of the town's comprehensive land use plan and to finalize the community survey that will guide public input. Chair (speaker 1) opened the meeting, the board approved adding a three-minute public-comment period to the agenda, and consultant Wes McLeod of Anchor Point Planning walked members through the project scope, timeline and proposed survey changes.

McLeod said the plan will be a new, standalone comprehensive document containing goals, policies, analysis and maps to guide decision-making by the planning board, town staff and town council. He noted a roughly 75-day minimum review by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management (DCM) after the planning board recommends the draft; following DCM review and any required revisions, the council would consider local adoption and the plan would return to DCM for certification. The consultant and board set a target for being in a position to recommend the plan by late summer (a board member referenced a target of Aug. 20), while acknowledging DCM's review windows can extend beyond the minimum.

The board focused much of its discussion on the community survey that will solicit resident priorities. McLeod recommended keeping the online survey short (about 10 questions) and using email, the town website and social media to promote it; hard-copy and in-person options will also be available. The board agreed to edit several questions: add a specific bicycle-and-pedestrian choice (with sidewalks and crosswalks noted); replace vague wording about "community character" with clearer options; change the question on future land use to let respondents choose primarily residential, primarily commercial or a balanced/mixed-use approach; remove the term "neighborhood scale" from the restaurants/cafes option; and add a life-care/age-in-place option to the housing types list.

Environmental questions were revised to emphasize "beach protection and shoreline management," and the board added an option to capture concern about clear cutting of trees and open debris burning. Transportation questions were changed to include sidewalks and crossings explicitly and to replace "parking availability and management" with an item addressing "alternative transportation methods from the mainland to the island." The residency question will offer clarified language for in-town residents, out-of-town property owners and a "full-time resident / unincorporated county area property owner" option to capture responses from residents in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) without relying on the acronym.

McLeod confirmed a project website (plansunsetbeach.com) will host survey links and materials and said the team can post drafts only after the board reviews them. The board agreed to avoid releasing the survey before the Dec. 3 904 Corridor study public meeting to prevent confusion between outreach efforts; they discussed a short review window (three days) for the board to flag any missing edits before the survey goes live in early to mid-December.

Board members also discussed optional consultant tasks (urban design, small-area plans, an expanded bicycle-and-pedestrian master plan) that could be added later if the council approves budget adjustments. McLeod said additional services are possible but would need to follow the town's budget calendar (budget discussions begin in January and departments present priorities in March).

During the public comment period, resident Mike Posdol urged explicitly including medical services in the commercial/retail options, Bridal Sullivan urged the board to anticipate well-organized interest groups and begin framing likely responses, and Ken Curry asked for a clear definition of "commercial" and suggested the survey offer respondents the option to receive survey results by email. Chair (speaker 1) closed the meeting after a motion to adjourn was approved by voice.

Next steps: the consultant will incorporate the agreed edits, Kimberly (staff) will circulate a revised survey for a brief review window, the survey will be posted to plansunsetbeach.com once the board signs off, and draft plan chapters are scheduled for discussion at the board's January meeting.