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Sunset Beach schedules April 22 public engagement and will keep land-use survey open through April 24
Summary
Consultant reported a 39% increase in online survey responses for the land-use-plan update and the Planning Board set a public engagement meeting for April 22, 2026 (2p.m. to 4p.m.) with the survey to close three days later. Council member criticism prompted a pledge for broader outreach.
The Sunset Beach Planning Board set a public engagement meeting for the townland-use-plan update and agreed to keep the online survey open through April 24, 2026 to collect final input, the board decided at its Feb. 19 meeting.
Consultant West (Wes) McLeod told the board the online survey had increased by about 334 responses since January, bringing the total to roughly 1,183 respondents (a roughly 39% increase). McLeod said the top priorities in both January and February snapshots remain protecting natural resources and expanding town services; other recurring concerns include low-density growth preferences, infrastructure capacity and beach access.
Board action: members discussed possible dates and ultimately agreed to plan the first public engagement session for April 22, 2026 from 2p.m. to 4p.m. at the community center and to close the survey a few days later to capture last-minute input. The consultant will present snapshot survey results at the March meeting and heavy outreach is expected between now and the engagement session.
Public outreach concerns: Town Council member Christie Bachelor, who spoke during the invited council comments, urged stronger promotion and earlier website posting. "It is very concerning to me... there was a lack of information even on the website we were pushing out," she said, urging the town and councilors to amplify promotion across channels. Consultant McLeod acknowledged early delays and said staff would keep the survey open through the engagement meeting to allow attendees time to respond.
Engagement format and logistics: The consultant described a facilitated format with a brief presentation followed by small-group exercises and dot-ranking of priorities. The board also agreed to consider staffing a planning-board booth at the GreenWave Festival on May 9 to share materials and encourage final survey responses; members were careful to avoid forming a quorum at any public booth.
Next steps: consultant will produce revised draft chapters incorporating member edits, staff will coordinate outreach and the March meeting will include a dedicated land-use-plan public-comment slot plus an update on the engagement meeting logistics.
