Purpose

The City of Southport, North Carolina is seeking qualifications from qualified, professional consultants to assist the City in the creation of a new Comprehensive Plan for the City. This Plan shall also function as the statutorily required CAMA Plan for the City. The existing CAMA Core Land Use Plan for the City was originally adopted in 2014 by the City and by the Coastal Resources Commission, with a subsequent small update occurring in 2020. Since that time, the City has experienced significant growth within its planning jurisdiction and outside of it within surrounding areas of Brunswick County.

The selected consultant(s) will assist the City in the development of a CAMA certified comprehensive plan that incorporates land use, transportation, utility, and other plans previously adopted by the City. The updated plan will focus on responsible growth and development while providing conservation of our natural resources. This plan will create the policy framework for the update and implementation of our development ordinances, capital projects, and any other relevant municipal operations or endeavors.

The consultant(s) awarded this contract will have the primary responsibility of developing the Comprehensive Plan document and will work primarily with the City of Southport's Development Services Department and City Manager's Office.

Background

Southport, North Carolina is a small City located in the southeastern corner of Brunswick County, along the shores of the Cape Fear River just inland from Cape Fear itself. The city was originally incorporated in 1792 as Smithville before changing its name to Southport in the 1880s. Southport served as the Brunswick County seat until 1977, when the seat moved to Bolivia following a county-wide referendum. See the current CAMA Land Use Plan for the City for a more detailed history of the community.

The City has a full time population of approximately 4,000, though this population swells significantly in the summer months from visitors and day-trippers from neighboring areas such as Oak Island, Bald Head Island, and New Hanover County. The historic core of Southport along the banks of the river, long serving as the "downtown" of Brunswick County, has driven significant growth within the City's planning jurisdiction and to its north and west, particularly along the NC 211 corridor between Southport and US HWY 17.

As part of the City's previous land use planning effort, the following were established as key goals for Southport to accomplish:

• Preserve the city's historic character;
• Protect the City's shoreline vista;
• Continue to support a vibrant Central Business District;
• Preserve the City's residential areas; and
• Protect the City's Areas of Environmental Concern consistent with 15A NCAC 7H

Through the years following the adoption of the CAMA Land Use Plan in 2014, Southport has experienced numerous events that challenged their ability to meet those key goals, including rapid growth in the residential areas and redevelopment in the Central Business District, and numerous natural disasters, most notably Hurricane Florence in 2018. Southport has still be able to rise to 3 those challenges though, including the creation of a local historic district, as well as many development code amendments to protect the residential and commercial areas, including a comprehensive Unified Development Ordinance rewrite in 2020.

Existing Plans

The City's existing land use and transportation plans are available online at https://cityofsouthport.com/development-services/#planning--zoning or through other sources.

• CAMA Core Land Use Plan, 2014 (Original) & 2020 (Update)
• Unified Development Ordinance, inclusive of zoning, subdivision, and floodplain regulations
• Code of Ordinances, Specifically Chapters 4, 8, 9, 10, 13, 16, and 18
• Brunswick County Comprehensive Transportation Plan, currently being finalized.
• Comprehensive Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Master Plan, 2014
• Southeastern North Carolina Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2021
• Emergency Operations Plan, currently being updated.
• 2023-2028 Parks and Recreation Master Plan, 2023 (https://cityofsouthport.com/parks-rec-master-plan-28/)
• Utilities Master Plan, currently being updated.

Expectations of Consultant:

1. Initial meeting with City Staff to review a project timeline, schedule meetings and begin the process of data acquisition.
2. Review all existing plans, maps, documents, data and other materials relevant to the project. The City will provide all available existing documentation to the consultant. The consultant will study and consolidate applicable materials into the Plan.
3. Conduct meetings with key elected and appointed officials, stakeholder groups, and the public. The selected consultant will lead stakeholder outreach and participation efforts.
4. Plan and implement an extensive stakeholder and public outreach process using a range of methods to inform and involve stakeholders, citizen organizations and the public. Address the public hearing process and meetings with City staff, citizen groups, applicable advisory committees, school districts, local units of government, etc.
5. Develop Plan goals, objectives and implementation strategies based on technical data and public input.
6. Draft materials for review and comment by the City in accordance with a schedule developed at the beginning of the planning process.
7. Confirm the final Plan conforms to existing North Carolina General Statutes including NC Coastal Area Management Act requirements, as well as NCGS 160D.
8. Analyze consistency of current City ordinances and policies in relationship to the Plan goals and objectives.
9. Prepare draft documents for public review and comment, and present to Planning Board and Board of Aldermen. The plan should be presented in a format and language that is user-friendly and easily understood by the public.
10. Prepare final draft documents and present at all associated meetings and public hearings for adoption of the plan.
11. Provide at least weekly updates, primarily via e-mail or telephone/video and occasionally in-person, to update City staff on project status, discuss issues and review drafts. Periodic written status reports and status update presentations may also be required to the Planning Board and Board of Aldermen.

4 Plan Contents:

• The Plan document will include assembling and analyzing data regarding existing conditions within the established planning area and utilizing that data to develop policies, actions, and an implementation plan to guide future development and decision making over a 30-year timeframe. The Plan will have to meet the State's Coastal Area Management Act Planning Requirements as outlined in 15A NCAC 07B.
• Community Assessment — population, housing, demographic, and economic trends and projections.
• Natural Resources, including from the resiliency and hazard mitigation perspective, taking into account climate change and sea level rise and its impact on existing and new development.
• Historic, Cultural, and Heritage Preservation and Enhancement
• Land Use and Community Design — existing land use and framework for place-based neighborhood nodes and transects.
  • Identifying specific nodal areas and development of recommendations based on public input and best practices, with an aim toward fostering the unique characteristics of these areas.
    • They include:
      • Central Business District/Downtown
      • Yacht Basin
      • Howe Street Corridor
      • And others identified through the public input process.
  • Future Land Use Map
  • Redevelopment Strategies
  • Potential for Economic Development Initiatives.
• Housing — review of housing needs and trends (both within Southport and within the broader "SE Brunswick County region") and recommendations that will create strong neighborhoods that support lifelong housing needs, including attainable, or "affordable" or "workforce" housing strategies.
• Transportation — bicycle and pedestrian facility recommendations including trail systems, collector street network if applicable, street infill recommendations, and recommendations for applications of street types for new and existing networks.
• Utilities — coordination with all existing water/sewer/stormwater/electric projects is required.
• Implementation — specific goals, policies, objectives to implement each element of the plan, including anticipated timing.

Plan Design and Format

• The Plan should be concise, engaging, and readable to the average citizen.
• It is anticipated that the primary content will be in narrative format, supplemented with the use of photographs, renderings, graphics, tables, charts, and other techniques that clarify the message. Creative presentations of plan recommendations including digital formats are encouraged.

Scope of Work

• Public and Stakeholder Engagement o Leading an assertive, creative, and far-reaching public input strategy, including
• Workshops and visioning sessions for citizens, property owners, and other stakeholders.
• Presenting formally to the Board of Aldermen and Planning Board for public input, plan consideration, and final adoption.
• Hold regular meetings and calls with City Staff and the Steering Committee to provide updates on progress and solicit input.
  • Recommendations for continued neighborhood engagement following the adoption of the Plan is also desired.
• Plan Development
  • Development of full Comprehensive Plan with strong graphics, frequent illustrations, and minimal planning jargon
  • Capture existing conditions.
  • Provide goals, objectives, and policies for decision makers to follow, and recommended actions for implementation of the plan.
  • Incorporate anticipated elements listed in project description.
  • Prepare Future Land Use Map and other relevant maps for the City's Planning jurisdiction and provide all GIS data, maps, and other digital files related to the Plan to the City.
  • Provide an agreed upon number of paper copies of the completed Plan to the City upon completion of the project.

Submittal Process Interested firms shall submit six (6) paper copies and one electronic copy (PDF) of the complete proposal either in person to the City of Southport Development Services Department or mailed to:

City of Southport, North Carolina
ATTN: Travis Henley, Development Services Director
1029 N. Howe Street
Southport, NC 28461