ECC's Regional Planning Department serves as a planning resource to our members, citizens and local, state and federal organizations. We coordinate regional initiatives and provide technical assistance to our member communities.
Regional Projects
ECC seeks out various programs, initiatives, and funding sources to assist the local governments and communities across the region. Current initiatives include:
Regional Opioid Asset Mapping Project - All nine counties in our region are collaborating with ECC to develop a comprehensive assessment across the continuum of care for adult substance use disorder for our nine-county region. The primary goal is to create an assessment map of the ECC region to be used to identify gaps that can be addressed through regional collaboration.
The Recovery Alliance Initiative (RAI) is an organization that brings sectors of communities together to explore opportunities for collaboration and solutions to address the opioid epidemic. ECC is partnering with RAI on this project.
Project deliverables include:
- Asset map of resources and services across the 9-county region
- Comprehensive report detailing capacity, needs, and gaps
- Cost estimates and potential economic benefits of addressing gaps
- Repeatable assessment to track progress over time
Regional Digital Inclusion Plan - ECC is partnering with North Carolina State University’s Institute for Emerging Issues (NCSU IEI) and the NCSU Friday Institute on a Regional Digital Inclusion Plan Initiative. A digital inclusion plan is a tool and resource for a community to assess who has the access and resources to utilize, broadband, the internet, computers, and all the resources that come along with that.
Funding for this project is coming through a grant from the NC Department of Information Technology. Additional funding from the Camber Foundation is supporting this effort. Our goal is to have one regional plan with sections on each of the region's nine counties. Developing a digital inclusion plan will help support our region’s efforts to increase computer / broadband access and use, as well as computer literacy. The State’s goal is for all 100 counties to have a digital inclusion plan.
ECC held two Regional Digital Inclusion Plan kick-off events in August 2024. ECC is also hosting listening sessions to learn more about the needs and issues specific to each of the counties that do not have a digital inclusion plan – Craven, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, Pamlico, and Wayne.
As part of this effort, we are asking folks to complete a couple of quick surveys. The Digital Equity Survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete, while the Asset Inventory Survey will take approximately 3 minutes to complete.
ECC’s Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Program - ECC, along with 3 other councils of government, is working with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety on a Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Capability & Capacity Building project. The focus is part of a 2-year program to work with local governments and NC Emergency Management to identify and fully develop 100 individual flood mitigation projects, secure voluntary homeowner participation, and provide administration of such projects in our region.
The ECC portion of the project involves Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Onslow, Pamlico, and Wayne counties. These counties were identified by the State as having the highest concentration of properties insured by the National Flood Insurance Program with repetitive flood damage.
Eligible jurisdictions include counties, cities & towns. Communities applying for FMA funding must be an NFIP participating community.
Factors affecting programming will include jurisdictional decisions for the level of program funding, whether to involve the ECC (which is at no cost to participating communities), or engaging a fee-based consultant, and sequencing through properties that have had severe repetitive losses (SRL) as defined by FEMA.
The FMA program offers the potential to elevate properties, cost sharing between owner and FEMA that is dependent upon a property’s categorization of either severe repetitive loss or repetitive loss (as determined by FEMA), with the homeowner’s cost share not to exceed 25% in any circumstance. The award and funding process is lengthy and will require patience by potential participants.
If you are interested in learning more about this program, contact ECC Community Planner Sara Deskar at sdeskar@eccog.org or at 252-638-3185, ext. 3006.
Technical Assistance
The department offers a variety of land use planning services in the nine-county region. Planning staff advises local governments on current planning issues such as zoning, annexation, ordinance revisions and related land-use issues. Staff also draws on expertise in such areas as the environment, transportation and strategic planning to assist local governments as requested. This work includes:
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Technical Assistance - ECC staff with communities to assist their development of ARP policies, procedures, and reporting. For more infromation, reach out to Senior Community Planner Carlton Gideon at cgideon@eccog.org or at 52-638-3185, ext. 3018.
Ordinance Development and Updates (such as 160D Updates, UDOs, Zoning, Subdivision, Historic Preservation, Public Nuisances, Minimum Housing, Flood Damage Prevention, and other codes)
Plans (such as Comprehensive, Land Use, Bicycle/Pedestrian)
Performing Administrative Services such as Zoning Enforcement and Planning Board / Board of Adjustment support, primarily for municipalities with limited staff
Planning Board / Board of Adjustment Training
GIS Mapping