Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutLand Use Plan Update Existing Land Use-1991 Existing Lane Use in New Hanover County -December, _ 1991 New Hanover County Planning Department - _. DexterHayes; Director - : Patrick Lowe, Assistant Direc_` , - --Staff Planners Walter "Pete" Avery Wanda Coston Sam Burgess Chiis.O'Keefe - CAMA Interns JoAnne Shadroui = "Administrative Secretary .Phoebe Saavedra Graphics Planning ,Technician _-Lisa Elaine Horne . "New 'of -Hanover County ;Board Commissioners =E: L:"Matt" Mathews, Chairman - Robert'G. Gteer;'Vice ±Chairman Jonathan Bafield - Fred Retchin William H Sutton Planning . Board,Members , Earnest Puskas, Gliatrman Kenneth A .--�Shanklin;',Vice_Chaiiman , Robert McDonald Wesley O. Nixon -William Grathwol ' C.Richard Boisky Charles R, Howell- Y_ The preparation of the deaimeat was finenced m p at, through a Coastal Area MamgemmtAd grant provided by the North Cbrollma Coastal )lfamgemeat Prog+—through Fuade ptogided by the Caaatal Zoos M mgement Ad of 1972, as amended, which.is administered by the office p . ofoceanandC�astalResouroel�dnagemeat NaticoglOctaoicandAtmoaphericAdmmisba . Al Existing Land Use in New Hanover County December 1991 Wilmington - New Hanover County Land Use Plan Update 0 C Preface The Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA), enacted in 1974 by the North Carolina General Assembly, requires that the 20 coastal counties of the state prepare land use plans. These plans provide a framework used to guide local leaders as they make decisions for the protection, preservation, orderly development and management of the North Carolina coastal area. The original CAMA Land Use Plan for New Hanover County was adopted in 1976. Updates to the plan are required by CAMA on five year intervals This report is part of the third plan update (1981, 1986 and 1991) performed in conjunction with the Wilmington -New Hanover Comprehensive Planning Program, initiated in 1974. In accordancewith CAMArequirements, thelanduseplan consists ofthefollowing elements: 1.) Summary of data collection and analysis; 2.) Existing land use map; 3.) Policy discussion; 4.) Land classification map. This information plays an important role in the formulation of local development regulations, such as zoning ordinances, and it provides input for growth policy decisions. These reports also provide useful data to the public and private sector in considering development proposals. n 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ................................................ :.................................... I II. COMPARABILITY OF LAND USE STATISTICS ................................... 2 III. MAJOR FINDINGS................................................................................... 4 A. Actual Land Utilization..................................................................:..... 4 Residential.........................................................................................11 Office and Institutional...................................................................... I I Commercial.......................................................................................11 Transportation, Utilities and Communications .................................... 11 Industrial............................................................................................11 Recreational.......................................................................................11 Undeveloped...................................................................................... 12 Summary of Actual Land Utilization..................................................12 B. Land Use by Parcel Size....................................................................13 Summary of Land Use by Parcel Size................................................18 IV. LAND UTILIZATION COMPARED.......................................................... 18 V. LAND USE AREAS OF CONCERN IN THE UNINCORPORATED COUNTY...................................................18 Commercial Development..................................................................18 Transportation....................................................................................19 Sewer Services and Land Development..............................................19 VI. LAND USE AREAS OF CONCERN IN THE CITY OF WILMINGTON............................................................. 20 LandUse Conflicts............................................................................ 20 Transportation.................................................................................... 20 Redevelopment of the Inner City ........................................................ 21 VII. APPENDICES Appendix One-Methodologies............................................................ 22 Appendix Two-PCS Land Use Codes List of Figures ......................... 23 n Map 1 LIST OF FIGURES NewHanover County.......................................................................................... 3 Figure 1 Unincorporated County and City of Wilmington, Actual Land Use Acres in 1990, Percent of Developed Land in Combined Area .................................................... 6 Figure 2 Unincorporated County, Actual Land Use Acres in 1990, Percent of County's Developed Area................................................................... 8 Figure 3 City of Wilmington, Actual Land Use Acres in 1990, Percent of City's Developed Area.....................................................................10 Al LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Unincorporated County and City of Wilmington, Actual Land Use Acres in 1990........................................................................... 5 Table 2 Unincorporated County, Actual Land Use Acres in 1990.................................... 7 Table3 City of Wilmington, Actual Land Use Acres in 1990.......................................... 9 Table 4 Unincorporated County and City of Wilmington, LandUse by Parcel Size............:....................................................................... 14 Table 5 Unincorporated County, Land Use by Parcel Size ............................................. 15 Table 6 City of Wilmington, Land Use by Parcel Size..................................................16 Table 7 LandUse Ratios................................................................................................17 ES Appendix One located page 22. Appendix Two located page 23. Table 1 located page 5. Figure I located page 6. EXISTING LAND USE IN NEW HANOVER COUNTY I. INTRODUCTION This document is the 1991 update to the 1986 "Existing Land Use in New Hanover County," one of the County's technical reports ofthe Coastal AreaManagement Act (CAMA) Land Use Plan. The purpose of this report is to present current statistics on existing land uses in New Hanover County and compare these values with the 1985 data. This information can be utilized to identify land use trends, provide a basis for comparison in future studies and to help ascertain future growth potential and land use needs. . . As part of the data collection process for this study, color -coded land use maps were prepared on current County and City property maps (1 "=400'). These are available for review and use within the respective Planning Departments. Two sets of data were generated for this report. The 1990 actual land utilization values are summarized in a series of tables for the unincorporated County and City of Wilmington, and each separate jurisdiction. A second set of data containing parcel size statistics for 1985 and 1990 is presented in tables following the land utilization data. The methods used for collecting and calculating Cach set of data are described in detail in Appendix One. The Land Use Codes assigned to each parcel are given in Appendix Two. It is important to note that each of the two summary tables (Table 1 and Table 4) presents a different set of data which may not be directly comparable to data shown in other tables or to data from previous land use studies. Briefly; Table 1, using the methods described in Appendix One, shows the actual land being used for each land use type for the combined area of the unincorporated County and City for 1990. The Planning staff believes this data represents the best estimate of current, total land use for the entire planning area. This data is illustrated in Figure 1. Table 2 contains values which represent the actual land utilization acres for each land use type in the County for 1990 and is illustrated in Figure 2. Table 3 shows the actual land utilization acres for each land use type in the City in 1990 and is illustrated in Figure 3. Table 4 compares the total parcel acreages per land use type for the combined area of the unincorporated County, the Beaches, and the City of Wilmington for 1985 and 1990. Table 5 shows the total parcel acreages perland use type forthe unincorporated County for 1985 and 1990. Table 6 shows the total parcel acreages per land use type for the City of Wilmington for 1985 and 1990. Note that the values in Tables 4, 5, and 6 represent total acreage, by parcel, for each land use category and not actual developed land use acreage. II. COMPARABILITY OF LAND USE STATISTICS It should be noted that several difficulties exist in collecting and computing land use information. These problems can reduce the accuracy and hence the comparability of the results from one year to the next. Some of the major difficulties that affect the results of a study such as this include: 1. Judgmental decisions in assigning the properland use code. The land use categories used in this report are listed in Appendix Two. 2. Utilization of different data sources and methodologies for calculating statistics in 1985 as compared to 1990. 3. Verifications of whether ornot a parcel is developed or undeveloped. For example, a two acre lot with one house may be considered to be fully developed even though additional lots may be subdivided in the future. Because of these types of problems, some fairly large differences are apparent when one compares data from 1985 to 1990. Some of these differences are obviously due to methodology and do not reflect trends in the County's land use. The values given for Tables 1, 2, and 3 have been calculated using methods which were not used in 1985, therefore these values are not directly comparable to the data in Tables 4 - 6. These methods are explained in Appendix One. Again, the same kinds of problems were encountered as mentioned above in collecting and calculating these data. Table 2 located page 7. Figure 2 located page 8. Table 3 located page 9. Figure 3 located page 10. Table 4 located page 14. Table 5 located page 15. Table 6 located page 16. Appendix Two located page 23. Table 1 located page 5 K K N 17 Pq TO BURGAW b. NEW HANOVER COUNTY QTO CLINTON TO WHUEVHLE Wilmington 0 a. o �p Q CAROLINA BEACH Nip INLET �1 awes-+cvr i CAROLINA BEACH N; Al Ir KURE BEACH Scale Qj OApproximate 1' = 3 Miles 0 NEW INLET \ TO JACKSONVI LE Unincorporated County ® City of Wilmington & Area Beaches 3 X X III. MAJOR FINDINGS A. ACTUAL LAND UTILIZATION Appendix One Using the methods described in Appendix One, Tables 1, 2, and 3 provide a breakdown located page of actual land utilization statistics for 1990 for the combined area of the unincorporated 22. County and City of Wilmington, and each separate jurisdiction. These tables show the total Table I located acres, perland use type, that are actually utilized within each specified area, rather than totals page 5. computed by using parcel size. The data shown in Table 1 is the sum of data generated in Table 2 located Tables 2 and 3. page 7. Table 3 located page 9. The Planning staff believes that these totals are the best estimates presently available of current land use in the County because the values in Tables 1- 3 reflect total acres in actual use perland use category rather than total acres ofparcel sizes perland use. Because this data was collected utilizing different methods than were used for generating the countywide parcel acreage data, a direct comparison between these two groups of data is not possible. Nonetheless, a very general comparison between total actual utilization acres shown in Table 4 located Tables 1 - 3 and total parcel acres shown in Tables 4 - 6 indicates that much of the area that page 14. is considered "land in use" is not totally utilized. For example, Table 1 shows a total of only Table 5 located 35,195 acres actually utilized while Table 4 shows a total of 53,996 acres developed and page 15. designated for a particular land use activity. Table 6 located page 16. More specifically, some large differences exist within individual land use categories when these two types of data are roughly compared. Some of these differences are easy to explain. For example, some of the discrepancies between proportions of actual land use and total parcel acres in the residential category are probably due to the rural aspect of the County, wherein many single family residences exist on relatively large parcels ofland. In such cases, the entire parcel was not necessarily considered fully developed, therefore fewer residential acres may have been tallied as actually utilized. Similarly, comparing the amounts of industrial land use by actual land utilization versus parcel acres shows that large portions of many of these parcels remain vacant, yielding a smallernumberof acres actually utilized than are classified as industrial land use. The same conclusion can be reached when comparing the total of "parcel size" versus "utilization" of some of the other land use categories. Once again, however, it should be noted that the - parcel size data does show some major inconsistencies. 0 TABLE I Unincorporated County & City of Wilmington Actual Land Use Acres in 1990 Acres Percent of Combined Area's Land Use Category Utilized Developed Acres Single Family 14,298 40.6 -.Paml . .. . . .................... . .. . i ... . ... . .. .. . . ............. ................................ ..................... ......... ................................. .................. ................................. .............. . . ............. .... . .. :..... . . ... -V24.4 . ................ ....... . .. . ............. . ... .................... I ......... ..............................I -:-: ... ...................... ... ....... .... .......................... ............ .................. ...... . ............ ......... ........ . ...... .. ......... ........ > ...... ....... ..... .............. . ... ........ ................... . .. . . ....... ....... ........ .... I .. ........ ................... .................... ............. ............. . .. ........ Mobile Home 1,366 3.9 ............. ....... ..... ....... .......... . . ........ ................. . . ................... . .............. .......... ...... . ........ ....... .. .... ... . .... ........... .......... .. .... ........ .... Commercial 2,171 6.2 .... . .... . ............... .......... ......... .... ........ ....... U'lli ....... ... .............. ..................... . . .......... ....... ...... . ......................... . ......... ...................... Industrial R*­ .......... T Commercial Total Developed Water 35,195 19,493 9.3 5.1 100.0 N Note: These figures reflect land use in the unincorporated County and City of Wilmington but exclude the beach communities. Source: New Hanover County Planning Department and City of Wilmington Office of Planning 5 U Inc K Trans. & Co O Recreation %, vininci c.Lu& Office & Institutional zl LEGEND 0 County Portion City Portion 6 TABLE Unincorporated County Actual Land Use Acres in 1990 to Acres Percent of Land Use Category Utilized Developed Acres ....... ....... A.... iqdaui� E. ........... .1. 10 ............... ...... ..... ................ .... .......... ........... ...... .... .......... ........ . ....... ........... ............ ............. ......... .............. ............... minim.. ................ Single Family 9,510 48.1 ........... .... . . ............. ... ...... .. ............. .......... ......... ..................... ...... . .... I .......... I II .... ...... .............. ...... . . ..... . . ... ............. ................. I. ......... .......... ............ ... ........ . . .... .. . . ........ . -------.. . ..... ------ ----........... . ..... ...... .............. - --- ----... ....... ... ........ ... . . . ... .................. ......... ..... . . ... . ................ ........ . .......... Mobile Home 1,366 6.9 .......... .. ....... ..... ..... . �.--x ..... . .......... . . .... .............. .... ........... ................ X ..... . . . . .................. .............. ....... Xt . .............. ... . .... .. ....... ...... I...'."..-. .... * ......... X. . ............. RX ...... . Commercial 857 4.3 ... ........... . .......... 1,922 NA 5.4 .............. ............... .............. .. .......... .......... 100.0 .............. ............ .............. ............. .............. ....... ... .. ..... ... ....... .... .......... .............. ............... Note: These figures reflect land use in the unincorporated County. 0 Source: New Hanover County Planning Department 7 K Indu: Trans., Util. ` & Comm. Cor, C �orrontin» 3.2% Office & Institutional M TABLE 3 City of Wilmington Actual Land Use Acres in 1990 Acres Percent of Land Use Category Utilized Developed Acres . .......... ..... . Tea .......... ... ... ...... . ............. . ................. . . ..... ... ......... ..... . .................. ..................... . ............ . .................. ...... ....................... V. - .... . ..... .. M ..... ......... ...................................... ........................... ... ............. . ........ ow, . ...... ......... .. .... . ..... ............ .. ... ........ ......... ..... . .......... ...................... .. .......... . ............... .. ... ..... ........... .... ............ . . . . ...... o...................... .................. - ............... .......... ................ ......... .... ............................ ... ........... .................. . .... .... .......... .. ... ......... .................... ...................... . . ......... ............ ... .......... ........ ................. ....... . . . ...................... % . ..... . . ... . ... ..... . . . . . tibii ............. ............... ........ ... . . ............. ..... . .......... . .. . . ... .. ........................... .. ..... . .... ... ....... .. ......... ......... ... . . .. . . . .......... ............ ...... .... . MEM ..... .. . . .. . . . ....... ...... ..................... ........ . .. ......... . .......... ...... ..... . . . .... ................ ...................................... ... . ............. . ...... ................. ................ ... .. V..... .......... % ..... ... ...... ... . ............... ..... ... .. . ............... Industrial Commercial Total Developed Water 511 Note: These figures reflect land use in the City of Wilmington. Source: City of Wilmington, Office of Planning 9 FIGURE 3 City of Wilmington Actual Land Use Acres in 1990, Percent of City's Developed Area Residential Land Utilization O As with parcel acres, this category comprises the largest land user in each of the jurisdictions. Forthe combined area, 48% or 16,908 acres (ac) of developedland countywide is utilized for this land use, with the unincorporated County accounting for 1 1,100ac and the City 5,808 ac. Office and Institutional Land Utilization This land use makes up 6.4% (2,255 ac) of the combined areas'.developed lands. The County accounts for 635 ac and the City 1,620 ac. Commercial Land Utilization A total of 2,171 ac of commercial property is utilized in the combined area of the County and City, making up 6.2% of the total developed area. Of this total, the County has 857 ac and the City accounts for 1,314 ac. TI ansportation, Utilities and Communication 0 Most of the property in this category is located in the City as a result of its high proportion of road acreage, which was not tallied for the County. The combined area contains 19.6% (6,907 ac), with the County having 2,900 ac and the City 4,007 ac. As mentioned in the previous section, the County airport includes 1,500 ac and the Carolina Power and Light complex off US 421 covers 1,150 ac. Industrial Land Utilization The combined area of the County and the City utilize 3,280 ac of Industrial property. Although many large industries are located in the unincorporated County, large portions of these properties lay vacant. The County has 1,922 ac actually utilized forindustrial purposes and the City 1,358 ac. Recreational Land Utilization In this report, recreational land use has been divided into two subcategories: O a.) Commercial - to include golf courses, driving ranges, and other limited -access recreation centers; and, 11 b.) Public -to include public parks, ballfields and other types of recreation areas which are accessible at no cost, or very minimal cost, to the patrons. Other data sources show that the unincorporated County has 1,075 ac commercial recreation land and 1,297 ac public recreation land. The City is documented with 712 ac commercial recreationland and 590 ac public recreation land, fora total of 3,674 ac recreation land as of 1990. The County's Parks Department has recently obtained several large tracts of land for future park development. In addition, in 1990, the State formally dedicated Masonboro Island as part of the N.C. Estuarine Research Reserve Program, and the 620 acres of upland areas on the island have been included in the County's low intensive, public recreation acreage statistic. In total, the County has 2,372 ac recreation land in its planning area and the City 1,302 ac. Undeveloped Land Utilization This category includes all property which is not actively utilized in one of the above land use categories and includes vacant properties, agricultural and timberland. The combined area of the County and City is shown to have 79,426 ac in this category, with the County having 75,437 ac and the City 3,989 ac. Although the amount of land in the undeveloped category is substantial, many of these areas are not developable due to their wetland status, conservation classification, or poor drainage which makes development costly and problematic. It should also be noted that the County has lost about 20% of it's farmland since 1986 and 18 % of it's timberland since 1973. Currently, the County has about 5,000 ac agricultural land and about 49,300 ac timberland. SUMMARY OF ACTUAL LAND UTILIZATION Table 1 located As previously discussed, the values shown in Tables 1, 2, and 3 were obtained by page 5. determining how much land is actually utilized per land use type, as determined from the Tax Table 2 located Appraisal Office's Data Bank, currentland use maps, and 1990 aerial photography. The data page 7. generated in this manner is considered to be the best estimate of current land use in the Table 3 located County. page 9. Table 1 shows that residential land use has the largest total acreage for the County. A significant amount of land is also utilized for transportation, utilities and communications and recreation. It is interesting to note that the proportions for the combined area are fairly consistent when examined by each separate jurisdiction. 12 B. LAND USE BY PARCEL SIZE Table 4 shows the land use acreages for the combined area of the unincorporated County, the City of Wilmington, and the beach communities, using total parcel acreages per land use category. It also shows the percentage of each land use as part of total developed acres. Table 5 shows the same type of information for the unincorporated part of the County only and Table 6 for the City only. The values used in Tables 4, 5, and 6 were obtained from the County Tax Appraisal Office's Data Bank for 1990 and 1985, thus.these data are generally not comparable. As mentioned in Section II in the discussion of the comparability of land use statistics, some of the major differences between the 1990 and 1985 statistics can probably be attributed to inconsistencies in assigning land use codes in the Tax Appraisal Office's Data Bank. It should be noted that these values reflect total land use by parcel size and do not indicate actual land utilization acreages. — Values contained in the Tax Appraisal Office's Data Bank are constantly being updated. Many of the discrepancies which occurin the Data Bank will be reconciled overtime as new technology makes the measurement of land features more accurate and less time consuming. Surveyors frequently discover lots which have been recorded in deeds for hundreds of years that are much larger than stated in the deed. Improvements in the way this spatial data is stored and accessed also will aid in the classification of land use types and the compilation of utilization statistics or parcel size tabulations. It should be noted that data by parcel size was not available for the City of Wilmington alone. Thus, the City of Wilmington acreages include Wrightsville Beach (851 ac), Carolina Beach (1,075 ac), and Kure Beach (518 ac). However, because these values are quite small, and constitute less than 2,500 acres of the City's approximately 21,000 acres, they have only a minor affect on the overall totals and proportions per land use type for Wilmington. SUMMARY OF LAND USE BY PARCEL SIZE The values in Tables 4, 5, and 6 were obtained from the County Tax Appraisal's Data Bank for 1990 and 1985. It is important to note that these values reflect totals by parcel size for each specified area and DO NOT indicate actual land utilization acres. Examination of the land use totals in Table 4 shows that residential land use constitutes the largest category of developed land for the combined area of the unincorporated County and City of Wilmington. The residential land use category shows an increase in total acreage from 1985 to 1990, while decreases are recorded for all other land use categories. As mentioned before, although there are problems with using parcel size as an indicator of land use and with using the Tax Appraisal Data Bank, the overall proportions for each category are generally consistent with other land use data. 13 Table 4 located page 14. Table 5 located page 15. Table 6 located page 16. Ee IN 1985 1990 Percent of Percent of Parcel Developed Parcel Developed Land Use Category Acres Area Acres Area Single Family 30,081 51.3 33,303 61.7 M t Fad. .. : :: ::_:: .:I :::.:::::: :: Mobile Home 1,948 3.3 1,337 2.5 ... ........ ... .... .. s:::.. .•......_. �..... ..... ::. a:i:: `.`:' :..:i:......:-..7:Gi:.::.:::..: is .ii`�::;:':.i.`i:'..� ���:i::;:i.��'::::::[.. .....- ...:.. t>....... Commercial 4,458 7.6 1,733 3.2 8,529 14.6 2,3 1 .....:...:....... 4 0 58,639 100.0 44 19,493 / 7,689 14.2 53,993 100.0 NNEM 19,493 / Note: These figures include the City, Unincorporated County, and the beach communities. OSource: Tax Appraisal Office Data Bank 14 r TABLE 5 Unincorporated County Land Use, by Parcel Size 10 1985 1990 Percent of Percent of Parcel Developed Parcel Developed Land Use Category Acres Area Acres Area V. TQ :::::::.......:::::.:�.. ...�i :::::.. :iiii::::i:i:;'i:'.'+'.:.: iii ..-.LB,ii©9 ; ..:..::::.:.... :::>::;:.; .:.....:....:...... 62:.�::.:::...:.�::::::::::::: 22.175 ::.. ....... 6i2?::>:;<:::<.';';..:< Single Family 25,597 57.0 20,858 57.5 ... :`>'.....Mttlti..Famtl: ::<:>: ' ::':;;::;`' :::::::::::::::::.:.................................::::::::.:.....:.::........64.................................., y:::::.:::::::::::::::............:.....:.::::..::::::::::::..:.:.::.._::....:.:::.:::::::.:.:::_.::.:._::.:.::::::::::::.::.:::::::.:..::.:..:.: `:::`::`:`::;:;, ..........................................28:::::::::::::::::........................Q...................... :.:::::::::::::::::> Mobile Home 1,948 4.3 1,289 3.6 Cil$tftutl(?Till::::::::;::>::`:. :'>><'...... 71 :>[:`>`:'.:>:.>:' :.::::.;:...:.......;:.>::.;:.: `':>;` »'>:>.... . .::.::...........................................................: Commercial 3,263 7.3 938 -2.6 Industrial 7,265 16.2 6,827 18.8 t Total Developed 44,910 100.0 36,253 100.0 -U e 1 ;.::..;:;............ :.;:.;::.:..........:::. j . ;.::.::.:.:.;;:.;:.::.::.::;::.; Water 18,982 / 18,982 / Note. These figures reflect land use in the unincorporated County. Source: Tax Appraisal Office Data Bank O 15 IN 1985 1990 Percent of Percent of Parcel Developed Parcel Developed Land Use Category Acres Area Acres Area ..-. -.-.-..-.-.-.-.4.... 7............... .................... -.-..-..-..-..-..-..- .... .......................... ........ ....... 7 �..- 7.,-- ......... Single Family 4,484 32.6 12,445 70.1 Mobile Home 2 0.0 48 0.3 O—Commercial 1,195 8.7 795 4.5 Industrial 1,264 9.2 862 4.8 R . ........ Total Developed 13,729 100.0 17,743 100.0 Water 511 511 Note: These figures reflect land use in the City of Wilmington. OSource: Tax Appraisal Office Data Bank' 16 TABLE 7 LAND USE RATIOS, I A comparison of the County and City with 22 small cities and 46 large cities in the United States, Percent of Developed Land.* New Hanover City of County Wilmington Small Large Land Use (1990)** (1990)** Cities Cities Commercial 6.2 8.6 7 9 Office & Institutional 6.4 10.5 13 NA Transportation, Utilities, & Communication 19.6 26.0 19 NA * Source: Longhini, G., & Sutton, M., "Land Use Ratios", American Planning Association, Planning Advisory Service, Memo 83-5, May,1983. ** Actual Land Utilization Values Note: Direct comparison is not recommended due to the different methods utilized to calculate each land use data set. 101 On 17 L Table 7 located page 17. 101 IV. LAND UTILIZATION COMPARED In a study of land use ratios by Loghinin and Sutton (1983), land use was examined for 22 small cities and 46 large cities. Ratios per land use were calculated and compared. As seen in Table 7, New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington are fairly consistent with the trends identified in the Longhini and Sutton study. It should be pointed out however, that the methods used to generate the actual acreages for each individual study are probably not the same, thus only general trends can be deduced from this comparison. V. LAND USE AREAS OF CONCERN IN THE UNINCORPORATED COUNTY The 1980's were a period of rapid growth forNew Hanover County and its surrounding environs. As the County has risen to become the regional service and trade center for southeastern North Carolina, some problems have evolved. For example, urban services need to be provided, land use conflicts have been created and must be solved, and traffic congestion has increased in some areas. The following land use issues are of particular concern: 1.) Commercial Development - It is obvious that a certain amount of commercial development is needed to service the local area. However, New Hanover County has developed into a regional retail center, providing shopping opportunities for people well beyond its geographic borders. As a result, a disproportionate share of commercially zoned lands can be found within the County's borders. While the retail opportunities may be good for the local economy, they are not without problems. First, the push to provide commercial opportunities to satisfy regional demands means more lands are rezoned. When that happens, land use conflicts occur, especially when located adjacent to residential uses. Second, commercial expansion is sometimes ill - planned, resulting in strip commercial development. In addition, there is concern about the amount of over -development in some areas, which has resulted in the creation of under- utilized commercial properties. Though many of these are vacant, they still are allotted services, reduce openspace andpotentially impactthe environment. And cumulatively, these sites will also generate traffic which in turn adds to congestion. 2.) Transportation The opening of Interstate 40 was projected to be the impetus for rapid development of all types in the County. Although that prophecy has not as yet been entirely fulfilled, the interstate has had a majorimpact on some types of growth in the County. I40 has aided access into and out of the County, but construction of new companion roads to facilitate cross county travel has not kept pace. 18 Two study areas, located just north of the City, have been selected for the location of the western link of the Wilmington ByPass connecting I-40 to US IT The specific corridor O will be identified in the spring of 1992. A route for the eastern link of the -Bypass is also expected to be identified soon. Additionally, local officials continue to prioritize various road projects as identified in the Wilmington Thoroughfare Plan. Several inner-city thoroughfares have already been constructed, such as Racine Drive, South 17th Street Extension, Randall Parkway, Holly Tree Road, and Independence Blvd. It is important to remember that new roads, particularly thoroughfares, will have a dramatic impact on land use patterns. The County and City should be prepared to identify specific needs and possible conflicts as these roads are constructed. If this foresight is achieved, long -tern negative impacts can be minimized. 3.) Sewer Services and Land Development -As can be expected, development in the unincorporated County has been brisk where County sewer service has been installed. Areas once undevelopable because septic tanks couldn't be utilized have now been transformed into buildable lots. The County continues to construct the County -wide sewer system, but funding shortfalls have delayed completion of some parts of the system. Alternative revenue sources are being pursued, but no decisions have been reached. O If and when the needed funding is identified, the County must be prepared to insure that the availability of sewer services does not open up lands to development that would not ordinarily be considered suitable. For example, wetlands are still abundant in the County but several large tracts containing these resources are rapidly being destroyed. Septic tanks cannot function in poorly -drained soils or wetland areas and although public sewer availability eases the sewerage concern, it subjects these wetland resources to development pressures. To the greatest extent practical, these wetlands should be protected. The County must demonstrate that it is committed to striking a palatable balance between development needs and the larger issue of environmental conservation and resource protection. iL� V. LAND USE AREAS OF CONCERN IN THE' CITY O OF WILMINGTON-- 1.) Land Use Conflicts An issue of concern in the City of Wilmington is the conflict between land uses and the need for a balanced approach to the placement of land use activities. The Zoning Ordinance of the City of Wilmington was designated to minimize the conflicts between land use activities through the provision of setback requirements and more recently, revised landscaping standards and sign regulations. There has been a concerted effort to balance the need for residential, office & institutional, commercial and industrially classified properties, and to weigh the impacts of these activities in placement decisions. In the instance of commercial development, there has been an effort to provide services at neighborhood, community and regional levels, and to properly place zoning classifications to achieve that goal. The Wilmington -New Hanover County Policies for Growth and Development recom- mend against allowing commercial strip development along major thoroughfares. The pressure to continue the commercialization of these thoroughfares is very strong, however, and will continue to be a prevalent issue. The City of Wilmington has recognized the need for thoroughfare planning through an emphasis on corridor --wide planning efforts. The completion of the Dawson -Wooster Corridor Plan, the Wrightsville Avenue Land Use Plan, the Carolina Beach Road Corridor Study and the North Kerr Avenue Land Use Study, are all examples of the City's efforts to provide a blueprint for the development of these corridors, and to provide a comprehensive planning approach to land use evaluation, rather than incremental changes in zoning. There has been a greater recognition of the impacts of commercialization, including increased traffic and reduced effectiveness of thoroughfares to handle existing traffic loads. There has also been anincreased awareness of the need to protect areas of affordable housing which are in transition in neighborhoods adjacent to commercial activity. The City of Wilmington has recently engaged in the process of developing a City Master Plan, which will provide further direction in the placement of land uses in a manner that will minimize the negative impacts of conflicting land uses. This plan is currently in the draft phase and will be reviewed by the Planning Commission and the City Council prior to adoption. The City Master Plan is designed to provide a framework for the development of the City of Wilmington into the next century. 2.) Transportation - The City of Wilmington has engaged in an aggressive plan to build new thoroughfares within the city limits. The newly constructed streets include the O South Seventeenth Street Extension, Independence Boulevard Extension, Holly Tree Road Extension and Randall Parkway. Other roads, including George Anderson Drive, are in the 20 final planning stages for completion. There has been an awareness of the need to protect these new thoroughfares from strip development as a means of enhancing their function; to safely O and effectively handle traffic loads to the newly developing areas of the city. The South Seventeenth Street Extension Land Use Plan has provided the blueprint for development within that area, and other similar studies will be needed to provide a framework for development of these newly accessible areas within the city limits. The construction of the Smith Creek Parkway has gained new urgency with the opening of I-40 and the increased traffic impacts on the Market Street corridor. The City of Wilmington will continue to push for the development of this parkway as a means of alleviating traffic congestion and providing greater access to the redevelopinginner city area. 3.) Redevelopment of the Inner City Area - Within the past five years, the City of Wilmington, in partnership with private residential and commercial property owners, and the Historic Wilmington Foundation and DARE, Inc., has had great success in the redevelop- ment of the historic core of the inner city. The preservation and reuse of significant portions of the downtown have been accomplised through this effort. New Hanover County has also contributed to the stabilization of the downtown through the revitalization of the historic New Hanover County Courthouse for administrative and meeting space. However, continued effort is needed in the residential neighborhoods within the National Register Historic District, including Hemenway and the Bottom, and the North Fourth Street and Castle Street commercial areas. The Department of Housing and Neighborhoods, in conjunction with Wilmington Housing Finance and Development, are continuing their efforts to provide affordable, rehabilitated housing within these neighbor- hoods, as well as redevelopment of the historic commercial corridors on North Fourth Street and Castle Street. The Historic Wilmington Foundation and DARE, Inc. will continue to play key roles in the respective residential and commercial rehabilitation efforts. O 21 K K pa Table 1 located page 5. Table 2 located page 7. Table 3 located page 9. Table 4 located page 14. Table 5 located page 15. Table 6 located page 16. Appendix Two located page 23. APPENDIX ONE METHODOLOGIES 1. Methodology for calculating 1990 statistics for the combined area of the Unincorporated County and City of Wilmington. In order to determine more accurately how much land is actually being utilized for a particularland use type in the unincorporated County and City, a second set of statistics was generated. Land use information for the unincorporated area of the County was obtained from the County's Tax Department and verified in the field. The actual portions of properties being utilized was determined from an examination of 1990 ortho photography. Using the County's PCs codes, information derived from the aerial photographs and field data, the land use information was color coded and transferred to 1 "=400' property maps. The 1990 Land Utilization Statistics for the unincorporated County were calculated by totalling the amount of land utilized for each land use type and then determining the percentage of each land use category. The same methodology was used to calculate the City of Wilmington's land utilization data. These values are shown in Tables 1, 2 and 3 of this report The data generated for Tables .2 and 3 were combined to produce the data shown in Table 1. Land use information for the combined area of the unincorporated County and City of Wilmington was calculated by a computer program. This program summed the 1990 parcel acreages for each land use type specified in the County's PCs code, as listed in Appendix Two of this report This land use information is maintained by the County Tax Department as part of its appraisal system. Acreage information was sometimes omitted in the computer files for parcels less than one acre. Therefore, an average figure of 0.625 acres per lot, based on a survey of lots without acreage information, was used in the program to calculate land use acreages for parcels without acreage information. These values are shown in Tables 5, and 6 of this report. 2. Methodology for calculating 1985 statistics for the combined - area of the Unincorporated County and City of Wilmington. Land use statistics for 1985 for the combined area of the unincorporated County and the City of Wilmington were calculated by a computer program. This program summed the parcel acreages for each land use type specified in the County's PCS code, as listed in Appendix Two of this report. This land use information is maintained by the County Tax Department as part of its appraisal system. Acreage information was sometimes omitted in the computer files for parcels less than one acre. Therefore, an average figure of 0.625 acre/ lot, based on a survey of lots without acreage information, was used to calculate land use acreages for parcels without acreage information. 22 APPENDIX TWO 0 LAND USE CODES As indicated in Appendix One, the land use codes assigned by the County Tax Office served as the basis for determining the existing use of each land parcel in 1985 and 1990. The following list represents the manner in which these codes were grouped for this survey and analysis. The numbers shown are those assigned by the Tax Office for each land use. Single Family Residential 01................................... Family Residential 04................................... Season Residential (1) Family 19................................... Other Residential Mobile Homes 10................................... Mobile Home 14................................... Mobile Home Park Multi -Family Residential 02................................... Family Residential 03................................... 3 or more Family Residentail 05 ................................... Season Residential 2+ Family Office and Institutional 61................................... Finance and Real Estate O65 ................................... Physicians and Dental Services 65A................................ Hospital Services 65B................................ Sanitoriums, Convalescent and Rest Home Services 65D................................ Other Medical and Health Services 65E................................. Legal Services 67................................... Governmental 68................................... Educational 69A................................ Religious Activities 69B........II ........................ Religious Activities and Educational School 12................................... Group Quarters Commercial 52................................... Retail - Building Materials, Hardware, and Farm 53................................... Retail - General Merchandise 54A................................ Groceries - Retail Convenience Food 54B................................ Fish and Seafoods - Retail 54C................................ Other Retail Trade - Food 55................................... Retail Auto 55A Tires, Batteries, and Accessories - Retail 55B................................ Gasoline Service Stations 55C................................ Marine Craft and Accessories - Retail 55D........ .................:...... Marina - Marine Craft Docking and Services 55E................................. Retail Trade Auto, Marine Craft, Aircraft, Accessories 56 Retail Apparel 57................................... Retail Home Furnishings 58A................................ Eating Place - Consumption on Premises _ _ 23 Commercial Continued 58B................................. Fast Food Services 58C.................................. Drinking Place (Alcoholic Beverages) 13................................... Residential Hotel 6..................................... Travel Trailer Park 73 ................................... Amusements 84A................................. Sport Fishing 84B................................. Commercial Fishing 84C................................. Other Fishing and Related 62................................... Personal Services 64................................... Repair - Auto Services 66................................... Contract Construction 59.. Other Retail 15................................... Transient Lodging Transportation, Communications, Utilities 41................................... Rail Transit 42................................... Motor Vehicles 43 ................................... Aircraft 44................................... Marine Craft 45................................... Street Right -of -Way 46 ................................... Auto Parking 47................................... Communications 48................................... Utilities 49................................... Other Transportation, Communication, and Utility Wholesale, Warehousing, and Distribution 51................................... Wholesale Trade Industrial (Intensive) 21................................... Food and Kindred 23................................... Apparel and Similar 27................................... Printing and Allied 34................................... Fabricated Metal 35................................... Professional, Scientific and Controlling Instruments 36................................... Boat and Ship Construction 39................................... Miscellaneous Manufacturing 84................................... Fishery Industrial (Extensive) 22................................... Textile Mill 24................................... Lumber and Wood 25................................... Furniture and Fixtures 26................................... Paper and Allied 28................................... Chemical and Allied 29................................... Petroleum, Refining and Related 31................................... Rubber and Plastic 32................................... Stone, Clay and Glass 33................................... Primary Metal 85................................... Mining and Related 101 EO NO 24 w Recreation 71.................................... Cultural or Nature Exhibition 72.................................... Public Assembly 74.................................... Resorts and Camps 76.................................... Parks Undeveloped and Agriculture 81.................................... Agriculture 82.................................... Agriculture Related 83.................................... Forestry and Related 91.................................... Unused Land 92.................................... Non -Commercial Forest Miscellaneous 89.................................... Other Resources 69C................................. Other Services 79.....................................Other Cultural, Entertainment, and Recreation 94.................................... Vacant Floors 95.................................... Under Construction __ 25