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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

CoastLine: NHC's Special Use Permit — Environmental Gatekeeper or Economic Liability?

This broadcast of CoastLine originally aired on November 19, 2014.

The Special Use Permit is only about three years old in New Hanover County. 

Since its creation in 2011, it’s served as a gatekeeper – giving local officials the final say over whether an industry can set up shop within the County.  But the County recently paid nearly 100-hundred thousand dollars  for an economic development study entitled Pathways to Prosperity:  New Hanover County’s Plan for Jobs and Investment.   Also known as The Garner Report, the study concludes that the SUP is a major deterrent to potential investment.    

Not long ago, Planning Board officials worked on a text amendment to the Permit.  After months of negotiations among business leaders and environmentalists, the Board recommended a new version to the Board of Commissioners in June. 

The vote ended in a tie – meaning no action would be taken and the existing SUP remained in place. 

On this edition of CoastLine, we explore what the role of the SUP should be in the County, whether it is, in fact, putting the kibosh on economic development, and what options exist to bridge the gap between those who want to keep the SUP in place and those who don’t. 

To help us sort through some of these questions, we invited three guests to the CoastLine studios:

Ted Shipley, Chairman of the New Hanover County Planning Board -- SEGMENT 1

141119SEG1.mp3
Listen to Segment 1 featuring Ted Shipley here.

Mike Giles, North Carolina Coastal Federation -- SEGMENTS 2 & 3

Peter Fensel, Executive Committee Member, Coalition for Economic Advancement -- SEGMENTS 2 & 3  

141119SEG2.mp3
Listen to Segment 2 here featuring Peter Fensel and Mike Giles.
141119SEG3.mp3
Listen to Segment 3 here featuring Mike Giles and Peter Fensel.

Do you have a question about the show, want to suggest a show topic, or have a comment for an upcoming show? 

Send us an email:  coastline@whqr.org, Tweet us @coastlinehqr, or leave us a voice mail at 910.361.coast.

Rachel hosts and produces CoastLine, an award-winning hourlong conversation featuring artists, humanitarians, scholars, and innovators in North Carolina. The show airs Wednesdays at noon and Sundays at 4 pm on 91.3 FM WHQR Public Media. It's also available as a podcast; just search CoastLine WHQR. You can reach her at rachellh@whqr.org.