Department of Land Use & Planning
The mission of the Department of Planning and Development is to improve quality of life for City residents by ensuring that physical, social, and economic development in the City occurs in a rational and comprehensive manner that addresses community needs and governmental priorities.
Land Use & Planning is...
The City's 10th largest department with a total FY 2025 General Fund budget of $4,612,561.
It accounts for 2.4% of the General Fund.
About Land Use & Planning
- The mission of the Department of Land Use & Planning is to prompt and support the responsible and intelligent growth of communities throughout the city.
- The Division of Land Use ensures that all development processes are properly integrated to allow the efficient review and response to all appropriate requests to develop land in Wilmington, which includes reviewing plans and specifications for renovations and new construction.
- The Division of Planning provides and promotes creative and thoughtful prospective direction on how broader urban planning issues and priorities can be identified, researched, and implemented.
- The Department of Land Use and Planning is responsible for guiding construction and development through the issuance of permits, licenses, certificates, and appropriate inspections to facilitate compliance. The Department is tasked with preparing, modifying, and maintaining neighborhood comprehensive development plans, land use regulations, and demographic and social impact studies. In addition, the Department serves as the principal liaison between city government, community organizations, and planning councils and works in partnership with these groups in developing neighborhood plans. The Department assists in the identification of community needs, the determination of governmental priorities, and the design of programs.
Year-to-Date Expenditures by Category*
*Move the slider at the bottom of the graph to see budget and prior-year data.
How Many People Work for the Department of Land Use & Planning?*
*In FY 2023, 15 positions having to do with permitting, plan review, and land development were transferred to the Department of Land Use & Planning from the Department of Licenses & Inspections.
How Many Cases Do the Planning Commissions Hear Annually?
How Many Reviews Does the Department of Land Use & Planning Conduct Annually?
How Many Bulding Inspections Does the Department of Land Use & Planning Conduct Annually?
How Many Zoning Inspections Does the Department of Land Use & Planning Conduct Annually?
City of Wilmington Plans
Wilmington 2028 Comprehensive Plan
Learn more about the draft Wilmington 2028 Citywide Comprehensive Plan here.
Brownfield Area-Wide Planning Grant
Learn more about the U.S. EPA Brownfields Area-Wide Plan here.
Downtown Development District Plan
Learn more about the Downtown Development District Plan here.
City of Wilmington Bike Plan
Learn more about Bike Wilmington here.
Comprehensive Development Plans
Find the citywide and neighborhood-level comprehensive development plans here.
Zoning Map, Zoning Standards Summary, & Zoning Ordinance
The zoning map may be found here, the Zoning Standards Summary may be found here, and the zoning ordinance may be found in the Wilmington City Code Chapter 48.
Land Use & Planning Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Budget
Total FY 2025 General Fund Budget: $4,612,561
Total FY 2024 General Fund Budget: $4,389,296
Total Increase from FY 2024: $223,265
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Major Funding Changes from Prior Year:
Personal Services, an account group that includes salaries and benefits, increased by $164,391, or 5.5%, due to the following:
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Regular Salaries rose by $103,560, largely driven by the implementation of the mid-FY 2024 compensation and classification study that resulted in revised salary and anniversary matrices.
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Temporary Salaries were increased 15% to provide a raise for the split-funded (83% General Fund and 17% State grant) Historic Preservation Planner.
The Materials, Supplies, and Equipment (MS&E) account group increased by $67,681, or 6.9%, largely due to the following changes:
- Consultants increased by a total of $26,000. In the Land Use Division, $16,000 was added to cover anticipated fee increases for professional expertise in the areas of structural engineering, plans review, roofing, and mechanical inspections. In the Planning Division, new funding of $10,000 was added to perform a review of the structure and the administrative cost of the Neighborhood Planning Councils.
- Temporary Agencies increased by $15,000 to cover the cost of file migration from the separately configured networks of Licenses & Inspections and the Planning Division into a single consolidated drive.
- Because the new conference room lies adjacent to busy offices, it is often difficult to conduct meetings without disturbances or to maintain confidentiality. To remedy this, $20,000 for soundproofing was added to Additions & Improvements to Buildings.