There are two types of street closures: temporary (for construction, events, etc.) and permanent. Temporary street closures can be approved administratively through the issuance of a right-of-way permit, whereas a permanent street closure requires action of the Planning Commission and City Council. All applications for street closure are reviewed for consistency with the Create Wilmington Comprehensive Plan, including but not limited to the following policies:
A pre-application meeting is required prior to submission of an application for street closure. The purpose of the pre-application meeting is to provide an overview of the application process and general guidance on the proposed street closure and development concept, if applicable. Pre-application meetings may be scheduled by emailing the Development Review team or calling 910.254.0900.
Public comment on pending applications is accepted in advance of both the Planning Commission and City Council public hearings through on-line portals. Members of the public may also contact the Development Review team with any questions they may have on pending applications.
The Planning Commission will hold a legislative hearing on the proposed street closure at a regularly scheduled meeting. Prior to the hearing, planning staff will publish a case summary providing an overview of the request and recommended action. The case summary will be available on the Planning Commission webpage as part of the agenda packet for the meeting.
If the Planning Commission recommends approval of the proposed street closure, staff will initiate the street closure process through the City Council. The first step in this process is Council consideration of a Resolution of Intent to Close a public right-of-way. If the resolution is approved, a public hearing will be scheduled as directed in the resolution and the public hearing will be advertised once a week for four successive weeks prior to the scheduled hearing.
If the City Council does not approve the Resolution of Intent to Close, the process ends and the right-of-way will remain public.
If the Planning Commission recommends approval of the street closure application and the Council approves a Resolution of Intent to Close, a legislative hearing will be scheduled before the City Council.
All applications must be submitted electronically by emailing the Development Review team.
Please contact the Development Review team to make arrangements for files that exceed email limits.
Professional seals (engineers, land surveyors, architects, etc) on digital plans must be redacted from digital copies submitted to the city for review. Please be sure to mark, strike through, or otherwise conceal any professional seal located on your digital (re)submittals (e.g., PDF).
$250* plus advertising fees associated with the City Council hearing
Regardless of whether the application is approved or denied by the City Council, the responsibility for all fees associated with the hearing process, including advertising fees for the City Council public hearing, lies with the applicant(s) or their designated representative. Signing the petition for street closure indicates the applicant (or their designated representative) accepts this financial responsibility.
*A mailed notice fee of $0.85/notice shall apply to all applications received on or after July 1, 2024. This fee will be determined during the review process and a separate invoice issued. The supplemental fee must be paid prior to a hearing on the application.
If you plan to pay in advance, planning staff must first notify the collections department to enable acceptance of payments.
Payment by Phone (910. 343.4745)
Payment in Person
Payment by Mail
929 North Front Street, 1st Floor Wilmington, NC 28401
Street closure applications are accepted on a monthly basis according to the Planning Commission schedule.(PDF, 114KB)
Applications received after the established deadline will be included with the following month's review cycle submissions.