Planning department wants historical survey

LELAND—Two county agencies have told Brunswick County Commissioners they want to see a comprehensive historical survey for Brunswick County.

At the board’s annual budget retreat last week, planning director Leslie Bell and libraries director Reecie Tate said their departments want to participate in updating the county’s historical survey last recorded in January 1976.

The survey, which would be spearheaded by the planning department, is expected to cost around $100,000. It should be completed by June 2009.

If commissioners approve Bell’s request, the planning department would work with the county’s libraries, which are usually involved with surveys like this, Bell said.

Bell wants to form a committee with members of the Brunswick County Historical Society, the Southport Historical Society and other interested parties to identify the scope of the survey. Tate said the libraries would be involved in the historical survey committee.

To help offset the cost of the survey, Bell said his department would apply for grants from the North Carolina State Historical Preservation Office.

The committee would host a series of community meetings to solicit ideas and historical locations from area residents.

After the committee meets and identifies the county’s historical sites, the group will publish a comprehensive historical resources report.

But the $100,000 price tag does not include identifying and cataloguing the county’s cemeteries, many of which have been neglected throughout the years.

Since Brunswick County is one of the few counties in the state without an updated historical survey, Bell said it is likely Brunswick would be on the top of the priority list for grant funding.

Bell also told commissioners another department goal is to implement the county’s recently-adopted Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) land use plan and future land use map “to facilitate managed and balanced growth.”

Bell said he wants to publish brochures and other public information for county residents by November 2008 for residents to understand land-use regulations and amendments.

In areas of the county considered for land use map changes, Bell said the planning department plans to host quarterly neighborhood meetings to educate residents about the changes. The land use plan map would be revised to be consistent with the county’s Unified Development Ordinance, Bell said.

Bell would also revise the county’s policy that governs towns’ ETJ expansion in urban growth areas “to facilitate managed growth in urban area transitions” by Dec. 31. Bell also asked for a part-time employee to help with the land-use mapping.