Developers are finding new ideas and strategies to balance predicted growth with quality of life. 



While the documentary lays out the ills of 

 coastal urban sprawl — pollution, traffic 

 congestion, loss of green space, degraded water 

 quality, and diminished quality of life — it also 

 explores ways to relieve pressures on coastal 

 resources. 



"In the face of growth along the coast, it's in 

 everyone's interest to plan and to be thoughtful 

 and deliberate about how we use precious coastal 

 resources," Leutze says. "Planning is a valuable 

 tool to help balance economic vitality with 

 environmental sustainability." 



Without sound planning, the very things that 

 make the coastal communities desirable will be 

 lost, he says. "We will have killed the proverbial 

 goose that laid the golden egg." 



New rules for coastal 

 planning 



Leutze sees the 1974 Coastal Area 

 Management Act as a display of enlightened 

 leadership to protect the state's coastal and marine 

 resources. 



CAMA authors created a state-local 

 partnership giving the Coastal Resources 

 Commission authority to require that each coastal 

 county have a land-use plan to protect their 

 environmental resources, explains Donna Moffitt, 

 director of the state's Division of Coastal 

 Management. DCM administers the 

 commission's rules and regulations. 



Last year, the CRC adopted revisions to 

 land-use planning guidelines meant to streamline 

 the process, provide more technical and financial 

 assistance, and give local governments greater 

 flexibility. In August, the new rules are 

 scheduled to kick in. 



"Land-use plans now can be better tailored 

 to local governments' needs," Moffitt explains. 

 "Clearly, it is in their best interest to create plans 

 that help them control their own destinies. With 

 blueprints for growth, each county or municipal- 

 ity can plan where they want to be and what they 

 will look like in the future." 



The CRC guidelines provide a common 

 format and set of issues that must be addressed 

 in the planning process. These topics include 

 water quality, public access, land-use compat- 

 ibility, infrastructure carrying capacity, natural 

 hazard areas and local Areas of Environmental 

 Concern (AECs). 



Though not required by CAMA, many 

 coastal municipalities also use the guidelines to 

 develop land-use plans. Some plan jointly with 

 neighboring towns. Some elect to adopt their 

 county's plan. 



Moffitt notes that for some counties and 

 municipalities, the land-use plan is a jumping-off 

 place for comprehensive resource management 

 strategies or for developing local zoning 

 ordinances. 



Planning is an obvious necessity for the 



"In the face of growth along the coast, it's in everyone's 

 interest to plan and to be thoughtful and deliberate 

 about how we use precious coastal resources. Planning 

 is a valuable tool to help balance economic vitality 

 with environmental sustainability." 



James Leutze, chancellor of the 

 University of North Carolina at Wilmington 



eight ocean-facing counties experiencing 

 explosive growth. "They are looking to protect 

 the very resources that attract people to their 

 communities," she says. 



CAMA counties that are not part of the 

 boom may look to the land-use planning process 

 to help spur economic development. The land- 

 suitability analysis, for example, might help 

 identify natural resources features that could 

 attract ecotourism. 



"Part of the planning exercise is to help 

 people think about issues in the long term," says 

 Courtney Hackney, CRC vice-chair and 

 professor of marine biology at UNC-W. 



Hackney remembers that land-use 

 planning was simpler in the days before the 

 massive migration to the coast. "But even then, 

 objections were raised and the process was 

 criticized. The fact is that land-use planning has 

 prevented a lot of coastal catastrophes in recent 

 years," he says. 



Kathy Vinson, DCM planning manager, 

 has seen a lot of changed attitudes through the 

 years. "Fourteen years ago, eyes glazed over at 

 the mention of land-use planning," she recalls. 



But, as the character of the coast began to 

 change, people began calling her. Vinson still is 

 convinced that land-use planning is the coastal 

 counties' best friend. "The public and elected 

 officials know that land-use planning is 

 especially critical now. If you don't plan, you 

 may lose things you can't get back," she says. 



That is not to say that the rules-change 

 proposal didn't bring a barrage of complaints, 

 Hackney adds. There are those who say land-use 

 planning has no regulatory teeth. However, the 

 state may "bite" by denying coastal development 

 permits for any proposed project that is not 

 consistent with the local land-use plan. 



On the other hand, some critics, including 

 the N.C. Homebuilders Association, charged 

 that CRC had overstepped its statutory authority. 



"Developers and the environment can 



18 HIGHS EASON 2002 



