Wilmington City Council Meeting – April 7, 2026

The Wilmington City Council met in regular session at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Council Chambers at Skyline Center, 929 N. Front Street. Mayor Bill Saffo presided with Mayor Pro-Tem Kevin Spears and Councilmembers David Joyner, Salette Andrews, J.C. Lyle, Cassidy Santaguida, and Chakema Clinton-Quintana. The Council honored the Leadership Wilmington Class of 2026, proclaimed April 9, 2026 as Local News Day, approved the consent agenda, denied two rezoning requests, approved all remaining ordinances and resolutions unanimously, and later reconvened from closed session to authorize a settlement.

Consent Calendar

• Approved minutes of special meetings on Feb. 9, Feb. 27, Feb. 28, and March 23, 2026.
• Authorized a professional services agreement with CIGNA for medical insurance and administrative services.
• Adopted the 2026 Southeastern North Carolina Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan.
• Authorized a contract with Odyssey Mechanical LLC for HVAC replacement in the Skyline Center main data center.
• Authorized application for a $17,500,000 U.S. EDA FY2025 Disaster Supplemental Grant with a required $3,500,000 local match for the Riverfront Bulkhead Replacement Project.
• Authorized a $1,500,000 contract amendment with JYMCO Construction for annual sidewalk maintenance.
• Authorized a $3,000,000 contract amendment with Highland Paving Company for annual roadway maintenance.
• Authorized application to NCDOT for a 2026 Multimodal Network Planning Grant.
• Approved as a block, 7-0.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Susan Bullock, speaking on behalf of citizens along the Eastwood Corridor and the Wrightsville Beach Chamber of Commerce, urged Council to revisit the Military Cutoff/Eastwood Road overpass project (U-5710). She said scheduling it with the three-bridge repairs would hurt businesses for four to six years, the cost has grown from $80 million to $100 million, and NCDOT/WMPO did not respond to earlier requests. She expressed support for an at-grade alternative with smart lighting and added lanes.
• Genesis Espinoza asked Council for clarification and accountability in the death of her brother Edilberto Espinoza Sierra, who was killed March 8, 2026 by Wilmington police and sheriff's deputies. She said the family was not notified in person, identified him only through his ID, and did not see his body until March 18. She asked that officers' names be released, officers be fired, and body-camera footage be released.
• Madison Morrison, a city resident, said the judicial system fails citizens, citing the cases of Connor Mahoney, Jason Summers, and Michael Trey. She questioned whether crime is down or underreported and called for accountability.
• Max Hammer and Be Lanier, high school students with the NC Tobacco 21 Coalition, said North Carolina's high-school vaping rate is more than triple the national average and that North Carolina is one of only six states allowing sales to 18-year-olds. They asked Council to support Solly's Law, which would raise the purchasing age to 21, in memory of Solomon Solly Wynn.
• Joy North, Alec Chambers' mother, requested renaming Greenfield Grind Skate Park in Alec's honor and said Filmwerks Inc. has offered to donate toward signage.

Public Hearings

PH1 – 910 S. 8th Street Rezoning

• Staff recommended approval of a request to rezone the property from R-5 (8 units per acre, 35-foot height limit) to UMX, Urban Mixed-Use. Planner Todd Rademacher said the site is beside an 18-unit mixed-use building approved in September 2023 and is in a neighborhood-scale infill area. One opposition comment cited the loss of a single-family home.
• Applicant representative Cindee Wolfe said combining the lot with the adjacent project would add parking and open space; the plan would lose one home but provide 17 more. She confirmed the 18 new units will be market-rate rentals and the existing house is vacant and in poor repair.
• Councilmember Joyner moved to deny, reading a consistency statement that the rezoning is inconsistent with the desired development pattern of the surrounding area. The motion passed 5-2, with Mayor Saffo and Councilmember Lyle voting no.

PH2 – 4118 Market Street Rezoning

• Senior Planner Patrick O'Mahony presented a request to rezone the Studio 6 hotel from RB to MD-17(CD) to convert the motel into 76 dwelling units, including 20 workforce housing units at 80% AMI for 15 years. The applicant received Board of Adjustment variances for density, open space, and parking; the site would provide 5.9% open space versus the 20% requirement and 68 parking spaces versus the 80-space requirement.
• Staff recommended denial because the proposal lacked amenities, usable open space, and site enhancements. The Planning Commission recommended approval 3-1.
• Applicant representative Nicholas Silivanch described the project as adaptive reuse, cited the success of prior conversions at River City Studio Homes and Vivio Apartments, and said units would lease at locked-in HUD High HOME rents plus market-rate efficiency units with utilities included. Councilmembers questioned unit size (about 250 square feet), parking, walkability, rent levels, and whether the rooms meet the definition of an efficiency apartment.
• City Manager Becky Hawke said the units lack a real kitchen (hot plate and microwave only) and argued that true adaptive reuse would combine rooms to create genuine living spaces.
• Three public speakers opposed the request: an unidentified man called the arrangement exploitation of desperate renters; Philip White of 1904 Washington Street, a Zoning Board of Appeals member in Amherst, Massachusetts, said the proposed front green space was not legally usable green space; and an unidentified bank manager said her full-time employees cannot afford the rent and that residents still need cars because WAVE lacks choice ridership.
• Councilmember Andrews moved to deny, and the motion passed 7-0.

PH3 – FY2027 Annual Action Plan for CDBG & HOME Funds

• Community Development and Housing Manager Gilbert Combs presented the draft plan. CDBG funds are down about 6% and HOME funds about 1%, with federal allocations falling by more than $57,000; administrative support would be supplemented by the City's Affordable Housing Fund.
• Survey priorities included homebuying assistance, emergency shelters, job training/apprenticeships, youth services, housing at or below 80% AMI, and permanent supportive housing. The plan also supports the HOP program and owner-occupied rehabilitation.
• The public comment period ends April 10, 2026. This was a public hearing only; no action was taken. Adoption is scheduled for the May 5, 2026 meeting.

Reports

• Council voted 7-0 to waive rules to hear the Naming and Facilities Committee report early.
• Councilmember Clinton-Quintana, committee chair, reported that the rename of Greenfield Grind Skate Park to the Alec Chambers Skate Park was approved unanimously by the committee; the request to rename the tennis courts at Robert Strange Park's 8th Street Center in honor of Lenny Simpson was continued; and the Wilmington Revolutionary 250th Art project was approved.
• Parks and Recreation Director Amy Beatty said the City appropriated $25,000 in June 2025 and selected Canceled Cups by Lauren Pallotta Stumberg and Dumay Gorham from 12 proposals, honoring the women of the Wilmington Tea Walk. Staff recommended considering a temporary installation at the 305 Chestnut Street celebration pop-up park.
• Council approved the committee's recommendations unanimously 7-0, and staff will provide a timeline for the skate park renaming.

Ordinances & Resolutions

• O1: Ordinance reappropriating $1.7 million in Building Improvements capital funds – $1.25 million to a reserve for leased-facility maintenance and $450,000 for broker commissions – was approved 7-0; second reading waived.
• O2: Ordinance appropriating $212,285 in insurance reimbursement funds to the Parks and Recreation Capital Projects Fund for the nCino Sports Complex project was approved 7-0; second reading waived. Staff explained the funds cover damage from a January 2025 freeze and a new inclement-weather plan has been added to the lease.
• O3a/O3b: Supplemental appropriation of $131,078 from the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority and an interlocal agreement for the Front Street Bridge Rehabilitation Project were approved. The appropriation and agreement reimburse the City for work on a 10-inch CFPUA waterline that must remain active during construction. Minutes record unanimous approval; the posted agenda listed the O3a vote as 6-0.
• R1: Amendment to City Policy 212 – Paid Leave was approved 7-0, adding eight hours per year of paid leave for City-sponsored volunteer events and allowing comp time for after-hours/weekend service.

Key Outcomes

• Consent agenda approved 7-0.
• PH1 denied 5-2; PH2 denied 7-0.
• Naming and Facilities Committee recommendations approved 7-0.
• O1, O2, O3a, O3b, and R1 all approved, generally unanimously, with second readings waived for ordinances.
• Council authorized a closed session under N.C. Gen. Stat. §143-318.11(a)(3) and (a)(9). After reconvening, Council voted unanimously to authorize a $344,800 settlement agreement in the case of City of Wilmington v. Gamma Zeta Foundation, Inc.
• Councilmembers announced upcoming events, including a Nicholas Sorenson scholarship volleyball tournament on April 25 and a $15,000 Making Waves Foundation grant for bus passes.
• Mayor Saffo reported on western North Carolina's Hurricane Helene recovery, with damage totaling about $64 billion, and encouraged continued tourism there.
• Meeting adjourned at 10:29 p.m.; the next regular meeting is scheduled for April 21, 2026.