Wilmington City Council to vote on weakening stormwater restrictions to encourage development

Wilmington City Council to vote on weakening stormwater restrictions to encourage development

The current regulations, put in place nearly a decade ago, were intended to prevent water runoff containing pollutants from reaching local waterways.





Flooding at Lake Park Boulevard and Spartanburg Avenue in Carolina Beach, Monday, September 18, 2018. (Port City Daily photo | Mark Darrough)

WILMINGTON — Stormwater regulations in Wilmington could be getting less stringent thanks to an ordinance coming before City Council; the new regulations would loosen restrictions for developers.

The City of Wilmington’s Planning Commission continued the item twice over the past year, once on the request of city staff, once because the Commission could not reach a consensus to vote.

According to City Manager Sterling Cheatham, the amendment would change regulations he says discourage the redevelopment of properties that are currently “fallow.”

“The Land Development Code (LDC) currently includes a threshold of 50-percent new impervious surface coverage beyond which 100-percent of a redevelopment site must be brought into compliance with the stormwater regulations. This compares to treating only the disturbed area of an undeveloped site– rather than 100% of the parcel. The code also includes some flexibility for redevelopment sites. The proposed amendment would do away with the 50-percent threshold for redevelopment sites. It would reduce the required water quality treatment volume for surfaces for redevelopment projects,” Cheatham wrote in the City Council’s agenda for Tuesday.

More at link.

https://portcitydaily.com/local-news/2018/10/15/wilmington-city-council-to-vote-on-weakening-stormwater-restrictions-to-encourage-development/