Wilmington City Council Regular Meeting - October 6, 2026

The Wilmington City Council met at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, in City Hall, Skyline Center, Wilmington, North Carolina. Mayor Bill Saffo presided; Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Spears and Councilmembers David Joyner, Salette Andrews, J.C. Lyle, Cassidy Santaguida, and Chakema Clinton-Quintana were present. Pastor Nikki Stevenson of Divine Faith & Restoration Church gave the invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. The meeting adjourned at 9:16 p.m. after unanimous approval of rezonings, appropriations, the Pirate Cove drainage package, and detailed City comments on the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge environmental assessment.

Presentations & Proclamations

• Mayor Saffo and Council presented a proclamation naming October 5-10, 2026 as Minority Enterprise Development Week to Atiba Johnson, Executive Director of the Minority Chamber of Commerce. Johnson said the week would not be possible without City Council and invited residents to support local MWBE businesses.
• A proclamation naming October 2026 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month was presented to Mandy Hourouras, Outreach Director of Domestic Violence Shelter and Services. The proclamation cited 1,061 adults and 85 children receiving direct services in 2025, including 130 adults and any children who received emergency shelter. Hourouras said help is available 24/7 at (910) 343-0703 and highlighted an October 12 faith summit and an October 29 Take Back the Night March with Attorney General Jeff Jackson.
• A proclamation naming October 19-25, 2026 as Nuclear Science Week was presented to Thomas Ensley of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, who promoted hands-on events including a Nuclear Expo on the UNCW campus.

Consent Calendar

• The Consent Agenda was approved on a single motion, 6-0. It included: a resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter a new lease for the seventh floor of Skyline Center with Daniels Tours, LLC; a resolution authorizing a new lease for the fourth floor of 115 N. Third Street with New Hanover Community Endowment, Inc.; and approval of the minutes of the September 21, 2026 agenda briefing and September 22, 2026 regular meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Rodney Dixon, a city resident, described the August 21, 2026 shooting of his son Rodney Wilson. He said his mother called police because his son was acting erratically and had a weapon; police fired about 60 to 70 rounds, with more than 20 hitting his son, and after the gunfire an officer shot his son three more times while he was on the ground. He said his son was moved from Novant Hospital to a prison without a conviction, and that he has no faith in the Wilmington Police Department or the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office.
• Sonya Bennetone-Patrick, Chair of the Black Caucus of the Southeastern Region, stood in solidarity with Rodney Wilson and his family. She said de-escalation was possible and that law enforcement uses excessive force in Black and brown communities but not with white suspects. She demanded mandatory cultural competency, implicit bias, and mental illness training for officers, mandatory community policing, and a complete and thorough investigation with police accountability.

Public Hearings

• PH1 - Continued: Staff requested and Council unanimously voted 7-0 to continue to the October 20, 2026 meeting the public hearing on rezoning 12.26 acres at 2225 Stonecrop Drive and 1124 Gallery Park Boulevard from O&I (CD) to O&I (CD) to allow a future mixed-use development.
• PH2 - Approved with condition: Council held a public hearing on rezoning 2.176 acres at 120 and 124 Canal Street from R-20(L) Residential (Legacy District) to R-7(CD) Medium-density Single-dwelling (Conditional District) for an eight-townhome residential development. Staff reported the townhomes would be three stories with a maximum height of 35 feet, 16 parking spaces would be provided, five specimen live oak trees would be retained, and 12 regulated and 9 significant trees would be removed with mitigation required. Staff also reported no comments in support and one comment in opposition. The site is in an Intracoastal Tidewater Area of Opportunity, and staff found modest policy support. Councilmember Andrews confirmed that the 25% impervious limit and tree protections were secured; applicant representative Cindee Wolf said runoff would be managed through stormwater provisions in front of the buildings. Applicant Nathan Singerman agreed to accept a condition prohibiting short-term rentals. Public speaker Deborah Dobbins, a neighbor across the creek, said she was not opposed but raised concerns about upper-story lighting reflecting into the creek, runoff, pesticides and fertilizers, impervious surfaces, demolition of older homes, and protecting the creek ecosystem. Mayor Pro Tem Spears questioned the price point and said adding higher-priced housing can exacerbate displacement of low- to moderate-income residents. Council approved the rezoning 7-0 with added Condition #5 prohibiting short-term rentals, and waived the second reading 7-0.
• PH3 - Approved: Council rezoned 2.02 acres at 3301 Burnt Mill Drive from LI (Light Industry) to O&I (Office & Institutional District). Staff said the site is occupied by a single-story multi-tenant office building and is essentially an LI island in an O&I area; about 42 acres of Burnt Mill Business Park were rezoned to O&I in 2002. One comment supported the request and none opposed; the Planning Commission recommended approval 7-0. Applicant attorney Andy Van Trigt of Murchison, Taylor & Gibson, PLLC said the request aligns the parcel with its existing use and surrounding zoning. Council approved the rezoning 7-0 and waived the second reading 7-0. The agenda lists the PH3 vote as 6-0; the minutes and transcript record unanimous approval.

Ordinances & Resolutions

• O1 - Supplemental appropriation ($193,825): Council approved an ordinance making a supplemental appropriation of $193,825 from committed revenue funds for maintenance and improvements at Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park and Hugh Morton Amphitheater at Greenfield Park. Staff said the fee schedule includes a $0.50 per-ticket surcharge for nonprofit agencies and a $2 per-ticket surcharge for for-profit productions, with $1 allocated to maintenance. The FY27 allocation was $37,250 for Greenfield Lake Amphitheater and $156,575 for Riverfront Park, totaling 39% of the $494,303 committed revenue. Mayor Pro Tem Spears asked about replacing the Lion's Bridge at Greenfield Lake; City Manager Becky Hawke said the cost is about $1.4 million but grants will reduce the City's share. Approved 7-0; second reading waived 7-0.
• Pirate Cove drainage package: Council approved three related items: R1.A, an interlocal agreement with Cape Fear Public Utility Authority for reimbursement of up to $257,582 for relocating water and sewer lines affected by the Pirate Cove Drainage Improvement Project; O1.B, an ordinance appropriating $257,582 from CFPUA to the Stormwater Capital Projects Fund for the project; and R1.C, a construction contract award to East Coast Contracting, Inc. of Wilmington, NC for $1,096,362. Staff said the project will improve undersized and failing drainage infrastructure, stabilize eroded channels, and reduce flooding; the construction budget is approximately $1.4 million, the construction duration is about 8 months, the corridor is about 0.5 miles, and completion is estimated for fall 2027. Six bids were received, with East Coast Contracting as low bidder. Staff noted part of the runoff comes from older development around Masonboro Loop and Sound Road built before current stormwater regulations. R1.A passed 7-0, O1.B passed 7-0 with second reading waived, and R1.C passed 7-0.

Cape Fear Memorial Bridge (R2) - Staff Comments on NCDOT EA

• Council adopted a resolution endorsing detailed City staff comments on the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge (NCDOT HB-0039) Environmental Assessment. The EA was released August 14, 2026, with public comments due October 15, 2026. Staff said the comments respond both to technical deficiencies and to public concern about tolling, design options, and community impacts.
• Staff opposed Design B, a fixed 135-foot span, because it would land traffic on Fifth Avenue, a residential street, and cause greater impacts to the historic district, traffic, noise, and the human environment. They also said the EA's study area is too narrow and should be expanded, historic-impact evaluations should occur before design selection, and mitigation costs should be included in cost comparisons.
• Staff also opposed tolling, saying a toll could equal 14% of a poverty-level family's annual income, reduce economic output, cost more than 200 jobs, and require a state law change that could set a dangerous precedent.
• City consultants presented three additional design options: a new bascule bridge (four-lane estimate $140 million, six-lane about $780 million); a two-lift-bridge option reusing the existing bridge and adding a new three-lane bridge (six lanes with multi-use path estimated at $585 million, compared with NCDOT's estimates of over $1 billion for Design A or B); and a southern bridge near Shipyard Boulevard (about $6 billion including nine miles of interstate). Staff requested that NCDOT evaluate these alternatives with the same scrutiny as its own designs and complete a Section 216 navigation study with the Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard.
• Council discussion covered the use of federal grant funds for alternative designs, the EA's 3.27% traffic growth factor, mitigation costs, a 2022 Coast Guard horizontal clearance memo, lower vertical clearance, and potential toll diversion to the Isabel Holmes Bridge. Councilmember Andrews reminded the public that comments are due October 15 via the city website.
• The resolution was approved unanimously on a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Spears, seconded by Councilmember Clinton-Quintana.

Key Outcomes

• Consent agenda approved 6-0.
• PH1 continued to October 20, 2026, 7-0.
• PH2 approved with no-short-term-rental Condition #5 and second reading waived, 7-0.
• PH3 approved and second reading waived; agenda lists 6-0, minutes/transcript record unanimous approval.
• O1 supplemental appropriation approved and second reading waived, 7-0.
• R1.A approved 7-0; O1.B approved and second reading waived 7-0; R1.C approved 7-0.
• R2 Cape Fear Memorial Bridge comments resolution adopted 7-0.
• The next regular City Council meeting is October 20, 2026.