Comprehensive Plan Update

In 2024, New Hanover County retained Clarion Associates and its teaming partners to support key deliverables as part of the Plan NHC Destination 2050 comprehensive plan update project, currently underway. A coastal county in eastern North Carolina, New Hanover County's population is approximately 240,000 as of the 2020 U.S. Census. The unincorporated area of the county saw more population growth than the City of Wilmington since 2010. Clarion was joined by multidisciplinary teams to partner with staff on interconnected technical reports to support the comprehensive plan update, including:

• A statistically significant public opinion survey and report to identify core values and critical issues of the community conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Survey and Evaluation Research Laboratory. The public opinion survey results supported and informed the housing needs assessment.

• A housing needs assessment by Root Policy that analyzed housing trends, evaluated housing supply and demand, and reported on housing needs through a Gaps and Barriers Analysis.

• A real estate and market analysis by Rose & Associates to identify key areas and corridors that may be supportive of mixed-use development and evaluated the market demand for commercial types and helped to identify projects for future developments to support the land use scenarios work.

• Development of land use scenarios, led by the Clarion team in partnership with staff, which incorporated a fiscal and economic impact analysis (TischlerBise) and transportation analysis (Clearbox and Davenport). This exercise supported the New Hanover County Planning and Land Use staff’s development of policy guidance for the comprehensive plan update. The alternatives explored the impacts of growth on future capital, operational, and transportation demands. This work informed the direction of the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) and related place types.

The New Hanover County Planning and Land Use staff team drafted the comprehensive plan update in the fall of 2025, built upon the existing conditions data and resident input and with guidance from the Board of Commissioners.