Wilmington City Council Regular Meeting - August 5, 2025
Wilmington City Council Regular Meeting - August 5, 2025
The Wilmington City Council held its regular meeting on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at 6:30 PM at City Hall. The meeting included presentations on the Workforce Housing Advisory Committee (WHAC) and Community Relations Advisory Committee (CRAC), approval of a consent agenda, public hearings on an alley closure and land development code amendments, a lengthy debate on a proposed camping prohibition ordinance, resolutions supporting a property sale and additional early voting locations, and reports on employee evaluations. The meeting recessed into a closed session for economic development discussions.
Consent Calendar
- Approved minutes from the July 14 and July 15, 2025 meetings (unanimous, 7-0).
- Adopted Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to enter into an agreement with SoundThinking, Inc. for continued lease of the ShotSpotter system for FY26 (unanimous, 7-0).
- Adopted Resolution Authorizing a three-year contract with The FMRT Group, LLC for Wilmington Police Department pre-hire, post-hire, and post-critical incident evaluations (unanimous, 7-0).
- Adopted Resolution declaring Police Mount Comet as surplus and transferring ownership to retired mounted police officer Jon Gordon (unanimous, 7-0).
- Adopted Resolution Authorizing an interlocal agreement between the Wilmington Housing Authority and the City to assign three Wilmington Police Officers to WHA property (unanimous, 7-0).
- Adopted Resolution Authorizing purchase of 48 sets of firefighting coats and pants from NAFECO for $209,210 through a cooperative buying agreement (unanimous, 7-0).
- Item C7 pulled: Resolution rejecting all bids for Hooker Road MUP, Hinton Avenue MUP, and Wrightsville Avenue/Greenville Avenue intersection improvements — approved after discussion (unanimous, 7-0). The City Manager attributed the bid rejection to an error in disseminating bid information and said future bids will be centralized online.
- Item C8 pulled: Resolution providing approval for Wilmington Housing Authority’s financing of Avenue Flats multifamily facility with multifamily housing revenue bonds not to exceed $28,000,000 — approved (unanimous, 7-0). The City Manager clarified the City acts as a conduit and does not assume the debt.
Public Comments & Testimony
Members of the public spoke on a variety of topics, each limited to three minutes:
- Ginger Connett (representing 1,340 Galleria Watch petition signers) asked for an updated traffic impact analysis for The Haven at Galleria development and suggested making Phase 3 property a city or county park to preserve tree canopy.
- Tom Harris urged a downtown camping ban as a short-term solution, stating downtown has borne a disproportionate share of homelessness.
- Josh Cranford (Downtown business owner) expressed fear and concern about aggressive panhandling, vagrancy, and violence, and asked council to act immediately.
- Tina Newsham supported additional early voting sites and opposed the proposed camping ordinance, arguing that criminalizing homelessness does not address root causes.
- Ed Ablard proposed creating “left luggage” facilities for homeless individuals to store belongings.
- Jamieson Scott (poll greeter) supported multiple early voting locations, citing long lines.
- Joseph Apkarian (owner of Eagles Dare, Taco Baby, Pour House) described aggressive panhandling, lewd acts, open drug use, and feces outside businesses, and urged council to act.
- William Mellon (downtown resident and business owner) asked for empathy for business owners and more police presence.
- Joel Barrio called for a national boycott of Avelo Airlines due to its $151 million contract with ICE, and urged the city to pressure the Tourism Development Authority and Airport Authority to support the boycott.
- Chad Wallace (owner of two Front Street businesses) described having to remove homeless individuals threatening patrons and cleaning up feces daily; said employees avoid downtown due to safety concerns.
Presentations
Workforce Housing Advisory Committee (WHAC): Housing Director Rachel Schuler presented a history of the committee, noting New Hanover County withdrew participation in July 2025. She outlined housing affordability definitions, a 2025 statewide housing needs assessment showing gaps by income, and the city’s strategic plan. Options presented: sunset the committee, review other avenues, establish a new city-run committee, or create an ad hoc committee. Mayor Pro Tem Barnett and several councilmembers expressed support for continuing the committee as a city-centric body with expanded scope. Council directed staff to restructure the committee and bring back revised bylaws.
Community Relations Advisory Committee (CRAC): Deputy City Manager Mary Vigue presented the history, duties, and the county’s withdrawal, which left the committee without a quorum. Four options were given: sunset, pause pending state legislation, review gaps, or establish a new city committee. City Attorney Meredith Everhart noted that a vetoed state bill on DEI initiatives could affect funding. Councilmembers expressed strong support for continuing the committee, emphasizing its human rights focus. Council directed staff to revise bylaws for a city-only committee and bring them back for approval.
Public Hearings
PH1 – Ordinance closing a portion of Aubrey Alley between Parsley Street and Davis Street: The Planning Commission recommended approval. No public comment. Approved unanimously on first reading (7-0) and second reading waived (7-0).
PH2 – Ordinance amending Land Development Code Chapter 18 to reduce the number of uses permitted by Special Use Permit: This was continued from June 3, 2025. Staff presented a revised proposal maintaining special uses in commercial and industrial districts but allowing some uses by-right with conditions. One written comment was received. Council approved unanimously on first reading (7-0) and second reading waived (7-0).
Discussion Items
Ordinance O1 – Adding Section 6-10: Certain Actions Prohibited on City Property (proposed camping ban): City Attorney Meredith Everhart explained that existing ordinances already address most behaviors, and the proposed ordinance would consolidate them and add a prohibition on sleeping/camping on surface parking lots and between 10 PM and 7 AM on all city property. She cited the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision and a Trump executive order on urban camping. Federal funding of $9.5 million could be at risk if criteria are not met. Interim Police Chief Ralph Evangelous stated the first line of defense is not arrest; social disorder breeds crime. He noted 15-20 new homeless individuals from other states arrived in the last 30 days. A lengthy debate ensued. Councilmember Waddell supported immediate passage, citing videos of aggressive panhandling. Councilmember Andrews and Joyner argued for addressing services and housing first. Mayor Saffo proposed continuing to the September 9, 2025 meeting to allow a broader service discussion. A substitute motion to continue passed 5-2 (Rivenbark and Waddell voted no).
Resolution R1 – Authorizing sale of surplus property at 1702 Burnett Boulevard to NCDOT: Economic Development Director Aubrey Parsley presented a $4,251,800 contingent offer from NCDOT for the South Front Street widening project, with a leaseback. Approved unanimously (7-0, with Councilmember Waddell not seated at vote).
Resolution R2 – In support of additional early voting locations: Councilmember Andrews read and corrected the resolution. Councilmember Waddell clarified that the decision for one site was due to a missed email, not budget cuts, and asked Andrews to correct a Facebook post. After amendments, the resolution approved unanimously (7-0).
Report RP1 – Council’s Evaluations Committee Report: Councilmember Spears reported that City Attorney Meredith Everhart and City Clerk Penelope Spicer-Sidbury both met expectations. New salaries: City Attorney $208,819; City Clerk $116,638, retroactive to FY26 start. Approved unanimously (7-0).
Key Outcomes
- Workforce Housing Advisory Committee: Council directed staff to restructure as a city-run committee, incorporate affordable housing, and bring revised bylaws to a future meeting.
- Community Relations Advisory Committee: Council directed staff to draft new city-only bylaws, with intent to continue the committee’s work.
- Ordinance O1 (Camping Ban): Continued to the September 9, 2025 council meeting (5-2).
- Property Sale at 1702 Burnett Boulevard: Authorized sale to NCDOT with leaseback.
- Early Voting Resolution: Amended and approved, urging the New Hanover County Board of Elections to add back downtown and College Road early voting sites for the 2025 elections.
- Employee Evaluations: City Clerk and City Attorney received raises effective retroactively.
- Closed Session: Council voted unanimously to enter closed session for economic development negotiations.
Meeting Transcript
Call the meeting in order of the Wilmington City Council. I'd like to welcome all those who are with us here this evening and all those who are watching us at home. Thank you for taking an interest in your government. At this time, I'd like to introduce Captain Joe Michael James of the Wilmington Fire Department. If you'll please come forward to give our invocation. If everyone will stand or remain standing afterwards for the Pledge of Allegiance. So we pray that you will bless our time together, bless the thoughts, the words, made the things that we do will help to prove to make Wilmington a better place to live. But we ask it all in your name. Amen. Amen. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. Thank you, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, members of Council. This is the consideration of the Workforce Housing Advisory Committee. Just again, a brief history starting in twenty fourteen with the Pathways to Prosperity report that was commissioned by New Hanover County, more commonly known as the Garner Report, which identified opportunities and challenges in the economic development, including housing options. This led to the twenty fifteen Mayor's Roundtable steering committee, where these opportunities and challenge were discussed with business leaders, local leaders, and organizations. Recommendations from that committee led to the joint city county ad hoc committee for workforce and affordable housing. This task force looked at best practices from other communities and brought forward strategies and recommendations in their final report. Among those recommendations was a permanent advisory committee. That led to the resolution to establish the workforce housing advisory committee by both City Council and the Board of Commissioners. In 2025, last month, New Hanover County voted to withdraw their participation from this committee. The committee that was established in 2019 had 13 members, six appointed by council and six appointed by the commissioners, along with the chair of the joint community relations advisory committee. The members consisted of various backgrounds to bring different thoughts and ideas around the idea of workforce and affordable housing. They had specific duties shown here, including a workforce housing study and survey, a public awareness campaign on the topic of workforce housing, recommending an advisory capacity, procedures, programs, and policies to promote workforce housing, providing annual reports, which were typically done in January, conducting other duties as assigned, and to meet quarterly, though they elected to meet monthly. Other highlights from the interlocal agreement include defining workforce housing at a community level at 60 to 120% of the mayor area median income. The county also agreed to dedicate one employee to help with the support the housing committee as well as the issue of workforce housing. The city appointed a staff member to be a liaison for the committee as well. Getting into some discussion from the agenda briefing yesterday, really defining housing affordability. Housing affordability is really talking about housing that is attainable for households, so not costing more than 30% of the person's monthly income. There's a big difference if somebody's earning a thousand dollars a month, what they have left over versus if they were earning 10,000 a month. And so that where it really becomes more evident is when we talk about more that capital A affordable housing, which is for uh households under 80% of the area median income. That is the HUD way of looking at it. That's where our funding is resourced for those households. That workforce housing definition has been more local for that 60 to 120 percent of area median income. It's not industry specific, though it can include people like firefighters, police officers, nurses, teachers, or senior citizens and people with other sources of income. This is more of a community-based definition that is used for this committee. As part of the workforce housing advisory committee's work, they did establish a strategic plan shown here, really focusing on two sides of the house, balancing housing costs with wages, and increasing the diversity of housing. Through different strategic objectives and outcomes, there were different measures to look at the progress that was made. Shown here is an example of the city funded, as well as some of the density incentives that have taken place since really before the committee was formed with the Arboretum West project. So you can see in the column with how much funding the city has invested, as well as a total project costs, and the number of units that were produced overall and the ones that are dedicated for workforce housing, where there's a difference, and it's not a hundred percent project, those are the ones that have utilized that uh density incentive through planning. This the work of the committee has really been driven by a lot of the studies. This year, the North Carolina Chamber Foundation, in partnership with the home builders and the realtors, conducted a statewide housing needs assessment with Bowen Research. Shown here is a New Hanover County, it was a county by county study showing the depth the different housing gaps by income ranges that are needed over the next five years. It's broken down by rental and for sale for the different income brackets, and as you can see on the numbers, there are some that the market may take care of naturally, and there are others that will need subsidies or assistance, whether that's the density incentives or the actual funding to get to those numbers. Building off of that, uh some existing engagement that is happening, uh, citizen participation that is embedded in all of our planning processes across all of the organization in the different departments. Any plan that is put forward has citizen participation, where we are able to speak directly to stakeholders and hear their unique perspectives in all of the work we do. The Cape Fair Homeless Continuum of Care, it is a fiscal agent, but they serve to really bring the collaboration of the different agencies and partners to help uh really move forward those who are experiencing homelessness in our community, finding different solutions and strategies to help move that needle. And then the Cape Fair Housing Coalition is a regional effort that involves the City of Wilmington, New Hanover, Pender, Brunswick, and other uh communities to really move the needle on affordable housing options and really housing across the spectrum. Additionally, in the City of Wilmington strategic plan, the focus area of creating a thriving, inclusive and affordable community of neighborhoods is one of the objectives that have been identified. You can see the objective of approving availability and options, and some of the initiatives to really help get there are identified. Just a few uh baseline studies from across the state.
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