WILMINGTON — The Wilmington City Council passed two items Tuesday night: one with a long history of dialogue — an ordinance targeted at prohibiting camping behavior associated with homeless individuals — and another involving the city expanding greenspace, though with very little backstory.
The Wilmington City Council voted 6-1, Kevin Spears dissenting, to allow staff to pursue the acquisition of an unnamed property to be used as a park.
The resolution earmarks up to $1 million from the city’s fund balance for the purchase but notes it would not be enough to buy the land. Therefore, the resolution also directs staff to confer with the New Hanover County commissioners, along with The Endowment and other grant partners in a collaborative partnership.
As reported by Port City Daily last week, the request was a surprise to some council members unaware they would be taking up the resolution Tuesday. The county commissioners were also startled by the city’s resolution, as discussed at their meeting on Thursday. County manager Chris Coudriet told commissioners to expect more clarification at either of the council’s meetings this week.
However, little more was revealed about the property and the resolution.
City manager Becky Hawke did not provide the name of the property at Tuesday’s meeting. Currently, all that is publicly known is the property is located in an area currently lacking notable park amenities and the owner is considering selling the parcel for development purposes.
At the city’s agenda review on Monday, council member Salette Andrews questioned why she had to learn about the proposed resolution from the media, specifically Port City Daily.
Hawke replied she spoke with Coudriet last Wednesday to ensure the resolution’s wording would be “amenable” for commissioner consideration.
“It was a broad conversation,” Hawke said. “It was not soliciting support from the county so much as just making sure there was an awareness of the wording that was going on with the agenda item,” Hawke said.
Andrews replied: “The county manager did the right thing and notified his elected officials.”
On Tuesday, Hawke admitted the resolution’s advance to council without forewarning was out of the normal routine. She said it was an extenuating circumstance due to the potential property acquisition and partnerships having a lot of “moving parts.”
“But we need permission from council before we were to start down any of those paths,” Hawke said.
She explained another component of the resolution would be to enter into a no-obligation contract over the property to “lock in” its price. According to Hawke, the parcel’s identity would be discussed in public session in the future, as council would need to approve multiple steps in the due diligence process before approving the final sale.
Anti-camping ordinance
After months of discussion, council also passed council member Luke Waddell’s anti-camping ordinance. Tuesday night’s vote was a second, second reading; its first reading passed on Sept. 9, but the proposed ordinance was further amended when it came back for a second reading Sept. 23, prompting the need for another second reading.
Tuesday’s vote passed along the same lines as last month, with Andrews and Spears dissenting, along with Mayor Pro Tem Clifford Barnett, who voted in favor of the ordinance on the first reading.
The ordinance slightly expands what the city already has on the books and includes:
- No camping, sleeping, erecting any tents, or using any cooking equipment or bedding between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., unless otherwise allowed
- City parking decks and surface lots are for parking-related activities only, with the exception that it will not be a violation for an individual to sleep in an otherwise lawfully parked vehicle in a City surface lot
- No leaving personal effects unattended and deeming them abandoned to the City for disposal
- No use other than ingress and egress for any entrances to City facilities and associated areas
Again, council did not discuss the ordinance Tuesday, Waddell noted a “robust” discussion occurred over the course of the last meetings.
Still, several residents spoke against passing the ordinance during Tuesday’s public comment.
“I look at this beautiful building and I can’t get fully excited as that’s where our tax dollars went when there are so many people that are most vulnerable and in need,” local activist Sonya Bennetone-Patrick said.
When the ordinance was first voted on, Mayor Bill Saffo proposed pairing it with two other strategies for the city to tackle homeless: using one of its surplus properties as a low-barrier shelter and paying for more social workers to conduct outreach in downtown Wilmington. Council approved four social workers to be embedded into the Wilmington Police Department at their last meeting; the shelter proposal is still in the works.
“No matter how much lip service you all pay to the alternative options to help the unhoused, none of that will mean anything if you also vote to criminalize them,” public commenter David Braga told council Tuesday.
After they voted to pass the ordinance, several members of the crowd booed? and raised their voices from the audience, condemning the vote and chanting “shame.” Saffo directed law enforcement to remove them from council chambers.
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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