Not a EB member, but a modder; still here goes:

1. Currently not a high priority as per one of EBII press releases(can't be bothered to check which post exactly).

But this is a matter of concern for me as well since unlike RTW the entire settlement battlemap system will have to be rehauled. To appreciate the complexity of the matter consider the following that the murrus gallicus was finally implemented after 1.0 and that was only a single building.

So my ETA for a EBII with new settlement battlemaps is christmas 2011 or later. Those who cosider me overly pessimistic are advised to wait and watch.

2. One word : Hardcoded