Two land-use resolutions are expected to come up before the Wilmington City Council at its meeting Tuesday evening, according to the council's agenda.

One resolution supports a land swap that would enable Cape Fear Community College and the City of Wilmington to exchange parcels of land downtown. City spokeswoman Malissa Talbert said each entity owns a piece of property that is contiguous to property owned by the other.

By swapping the parcels, which assessors have shown to have roughly equivalent value, the city and the college would each have a larger expanse to develop.

No compensation would be involved in the transaction, Talbert said Tuesday afternoon.

The property that the city would acquire from CFCC is at 900 N. Second St., according to agenda documents. The land has a structure currently used by the college for storage and maintenance.

In exchange, the city would give CFCC a parcel at 320 N. Front St. The property is currently leased to Bullock LLC for Cotton Exchange merchant parking, the documents stated.

In a cover letter dated Tuesday that accompanied the resolution and other materials, city manager Sterling Cheatham explained the thinking behind the land swap.

“Staff believes that combining the property owned by CFCC with the City’s three adjacent parcels is a proactive step to stimulate future economic development in the northern [Central Business District],” Cheatham wrote. “The land and any buildings can then be demolished or made available to public or private developers in the future.”

There are no immediate plans for development of the city-acquired parcel or adjoining land, Talbert said.

If the city council approves the resolution, the transaction must still be approved by the state officials.

On the agenda also is a resolution that “encourages the NC DOT to proceed with steps related to the eventual completion of Independence Blvd. north to the MLK Parkway.” The resolution, sent from Cheatham to the mayor and council members early Tuesday, encourages  the N.C. Department of Transportation to complete a draft environmental impact statement for the proposed project and to select a “preferred corridor” for the extension.

The resolution also encourages the state transportation department to develop a design that minimizes impacts to the surrounding community and to further evaluate a new corridor that would extend 17th Street to 23rd Street. In an effort to promote additional north-south traffic capacity, the resolution also encourages NCDOT to “continue efforts to fund the Kerr Avenue widening and extension.”

A final point in the resolution encourages NCDOT, the Metropolitan Planning Organization and CSXT to study the feasibility of laying a new CSXT rail line across the Cape Fear River to improve access to the Port of Wilmington and “eliminating or drastically reducing rail-vehicular conflicts” in the city.

City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. Click here for the agenda.