City Council - Regular Meeting

I'd like to call the meeting to order of the Wilmington City Council. I'd like to welcome all those who are with us 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 call on Pastor Nikki Stevenson of the Divine Faith and Restoration Church for the invocation. I ask that everyone remain standing and then standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. Everyone welcome.

Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We have several presentations this evening. Our first presentation, I'd like to recognize Mr. Atiba Johnson, who's the executive director of the Minority Chamber of Commerce, a proclamation naming October the 5th, 2026 through October the 10th as Minority Enterprise Development Week. If Atiba will meet me in the front. Council would like to join me. It's always good for everybody to see council. Hello, everybody. Hel

Okay, we'd like to recognize Ms. Mandy Aruras. Mandy, come on over here. Outreach Director of Domestic Violence Shelter, proclaiming and naming October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Keep going. Oh, wow. Hooverous. Hooverous. Oh, my goodness. Come over here.

City of Wilmington, North Carolina Proclamation, whereas domestic violence transcends all ethnic, racial, gender, and socioeconomic boundaries, weakening the very core of our community, and whereas many persons throughout Wilmington, North Carolina, and the United States find themselves in abusive relationships and need to find a safe and empowering environment, and whereas the effects of domestic violence are far-reaching and have lasting implications on the wellbeing and security of individuals, families, the criminal justice system, and our community as a whole. Whereas Domestic Violence Sh

Thank you. Thank you. We have a question. Our last presentation this evening, Mr. Thomas Inslee of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, proclaiming October as Nuclear Science Week. That's interesting. Thank you.

City of Wilmington, North Carolina proclamation reads, whereas nuclear science and technology play a critical role in the lives of many Wilmington citizens, especially those who work locally in the industry or are students pursuing an education in nuclear science and providing essential energy that ensures the continued flow of critical services, commerce, tourism, and visitors to our region. And whereas nuclear science and technology have an immense economic impact on Wilmington, and whereas Nuclear Science Week offers a unique opportunity for citizens of Wilmington and the surrounding areas

Thank you very much. Thank you, everybody.

The next item of business is our consent agenda. We have three items on our consent agenda. Are there any items that any council member would like to hear separately? If not, what are the wishes of council in respect to consent agenda one through three? We have a motion to approve by council member Celetta Andrews, seconded by council member Chiquima Quintana. Any other discussion? All in favor of that motion, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? That item passes unanimously. That brings us to our next item of business, which is our public information segment. We have two speakers

Yeah. Thank you. Next speaker is Sonya Benetton-Patrick, a non-city resident, will be speaking to us about law enforcement in Wilmington.

Thank you. Brings us to our next item of intervention, which is our public hearings, which is item PH1, which is an ordinance submitting the official zoning maps of the city to rezone property containing 12.126 acres located at 2225 Stone Crop Drive and the 1124 Gallery Park Boulevard from an existing ONICD office and institutional conditional district to a new ONICD office and institutional conditional district to allow for a future of mixed use I have been instructed by staff is asking that this item be continued to our council's October 20th meeting. Is that correct, Madam Clerk?

Okay. So do I have, can I have a motion to continue this item to October the 20th, 2026? Motion to approve by Councilmember Andrews, second by Councilmember Santaguida. All in favor of that motion, please indicate by saying aye.

Any opposed? Item passes unanimously. That brings us to our next item of business, which is item PH2, which is an ordinance amending the official zoning maps of the City of Wilmington to rezone property containing 2.176 Acres located at 120 Canal Street and 124 Canal Street from R20L Residential Legacy District to R7 CD Medium Density Single Dwelling Conditional District for residential development. At this time, I'd like to recognize our city manager, Ms. Becky Hall. Ms. Hall.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This is a staff question, but it may not be your department. But the site drains directly into the intercoastal. Do we do extra silt fence inspections or anything like that? Is it different when it drains straight into the waterway like that?

Um, so along those lines similarly, are the 25% impervious limit and preservation of all five specimen live oaks clearly secured in the plan that we're approving?

Okay. And then how will the stormwater design account for groundwater and tidal conditions and avoid increasing flooding on neighborhood properties?

Okay. And then just one more, if I could, Mr. Mayor. So residents asked about short-term rental restrictions, and has the applicant committed to those, and where would that commitment be documented?

Thank you, sir. Thank you. Just telling to recognize the applicant.

Any questions of the applicant? Mayor Pro Tem.

Cindy, what's the price point for these townhomes?

Right. I wouldn't even go into the affordable housing conversation this time.

I'm gonna go a different angle this time. So I was doing some research this week and you're right. So there are, we are missing housing in general. We are in a housing crisis, right? But I think when With what we're doing when we're adding housing at different price points, we are helping to exacerbate the displacement of people with low to moderate income. And that's a problem that we have in this area. So I mean, that's not necessarily your problem right now when it relates to this, but it's definitely a thought that came to mind when I was looking at this agenda item and also just thinking

Yeah, I was looking through the documentation and I saw all these.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I wanted to follow up on the question about short-term rentals and that feedback from the surrounding neighborhood. Is that a condition that you all are willing to adhere to, to not have short-term rentals?

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. First of all, I want to say how much I appreciate the site plan's preservation of so many, of all the specimen trees, actually. So I appreciate that. And working with the sidewalk there on the corner to make sure we stay as far out of the critical root zone as we can. I appreciate that design. and I have all the confidence in the world of our stormwater team. My question was mostly about during construction, because I've seen some sorry silt fence, and this is specifically a very sensitive area, of course, but I know that between the city and the county inspectors, if the

Thank you, Cindy. I'm sure if there's any questions, we'll ask you to come back up to explain them. At this time, I'm going to open up the public hearing and ask if anybody in the public wishes to speak on this particular item. The public hearing's limit is 30 minutes. So if anybody wants to speak, if you'll please come forward and name your, state your name for the record. And each speaker will be allotted three minutes.

Thank you. Anybody else? Anybody else? Okay, Cindy, you wanna address that?

All right. Any other questions? Anybody else? No other comments from the public. I will close the public hearing and ask if the council has any additional questions. And if not, what are the wishes of council? We have a motion to approve by Councilmember Andrews, second by Councilmember Joyner, and I will note that whoever makes the motion, which is Councilmember Andrews, you must read the consistent statement for the record, please.

Before you go there, Madam Clerk, are there any additional comments that you have received on the property? No, sir, I have not. Okay, very good. Council Member Mendez. Okay.

I move to approve the proposed amendment to rezone property located at 120 and 124 Canal Street from R20L Residential Legacy District to R7CD Medium Density Single Dwelling Conditional District for an eight-unit residential development and find it consistent with the relevant policies in the comprehensive plan based on the application materials and the information provided at the public hearing and in the staff report and with the additional condition of limiting of no short-term rentals. and to find approval of the rezoning request is reasonable and in the public interest for the following re

Okay, any questions? All those in favor of that motion, please indicate by saying aye.

Any opposed? That item passes unanimously on first reading. Is there a motion to waive second reading? Motion made by Council Member Clinton Quintana, second by Council Member Lau. Any further discussion? All in favor of that motion, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Item passes unanimously on first as well as second reading. That brings us to our next item, which is item PH3, which is an ordinance amending the official zoning maps of the City of Wilmington to rezone property containing 2.02 acres located at 3301 Burnt Mill Drive, from LI, Light Industrial Industry, to ONI, Offi

Just a question, are there any ONI uses that would materially change the impacts on this area beyond the existing office operation? Because it's a general rezoning, so we need to understand the full permitted range.

Thank you. This time I'd like to recognize the applicant.

We'll now open up the public hearing and ask for anybody in the public wishes to speak on this particular item. Seeing none, are there any, Madam Clerk, have you received any additional comments?

Any further questions from council? Okay, I will now close the public hearing and ask for the wishes of council. We have a motion to approve by Councilmember Joyner, seconded by Councilmember Clinton Quintana. Mr. Joyner, will you please read the consistency statement for the record, please?

Yes, sir. I move to approve the proposed amendment to rezone property located at 3301 Burnt Mill Drive from LI Light Industrial to ONI Office and Industrial District and find it to be consistent with the relevant policies and the comprehensive plan based on the application materials and the information provided at the public hearing and in the staff report. and to find approval of the rezoning request is reasonable and in the public interest for the following reasons. The proposed rezoning is consistent with adjacent properties and is compatible with the surrounding area.

All in favor of that motion, please indicate by saying aye. Opposed? Aye. Passes unanimously on first reading. Is there a motion to waive second reading? Motion made by Councilmember Santa Guida, seconded by Councilmember Andrews. Any further discussion? All in favor of that motion, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Item passes unanimously on first as well as second reading. That brings us to our next item of business, which is our ordinances. Item 01 is an ordinance making supplemental appropriation in the amount of $193,825. from Committed Revenue Funds for Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park and the Hugh Morton Amphitheater at G

Are there any questions, staff? Mayor Pocha?

Ms. Lee, this question may not be for you. It may be for the city manager. What's the price, what's the cost of replacing the bridge? The Lyons Bridge. At Greenfield? Yes.

OK, great. Mr. Johnson alluded to it earlier, but I don't know if it was this week or last week. Somebody was raking us over the coals about some of the stuff that we were doing, but we haven't addressed that bridge yet. So I just wanted to ask. So thank you. And I do know the difference between this bridge and the other bridge.

Any further questions, staff? Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. Any further questions from council? Questions? If not, what are the wishes of council in respect to the ordinance? We have a motion to approve by Councilmember Clinton Quintana, second by Mayor Pro Tem Spears. Any further discussion? All in favor of that motion, please indicate by saying aye.

Any opposed? I didn't pass unanimously on first reading. Is there a motion to waive second reading? A motion made by Councilmember Clinton Quintana, second by Councilmember Joyner. Further discussion? All in favor of that motion, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? The item passes unanimously on first as well as second reading. That brings us to our next item of business, which is a resolution. There's three parts to this one. We have item R1A, which is a resolution authorizing an interlocal agreement between the city and Cape Fear Public Utility Authority for reimbursement of up

Good evening, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, and members of council. Bring that thing up a little bit so we can hear you.

Is most of that water coming off of the Sound Road? I'm sure, I mean, I know that a certain amount of it is being captured within the subdivision itself and the properties there, but is the vast majority of that coming from the Sound Road?

But isn't that, I mean, when that area was developed, I guess that shopping area there, there's a stormwater retention facility there. I know when Pirate's Cove was built, they didn't have stormwater regulations in those days. And I'm seeing that it's coming through the back there, so it's not part of a regulated development. So is it coming upstream from there?

Just wondering how much of it is being captured that wasn't captured by stormwater ponds of newly developed property. I guess this is old stuff that we're capturing that did not have it.

I know that doesn't seem to be impacted, but it does seem as you get further down, some of the older stuff that did not have it is. That's correct.

I will take one at a time. What are the wishes of council in respect to the resolution, which I've already read it into the record, which is item R1.a. We have a motion to approve by Councilmember Joyner, second by Councilmember Liao. Any further discussion? All in favor of that motion, please indicate by saying aye. Any opposed? That item passes unanimously. That brings us to item 01, Point B, which is the ordinance, which will need two votes on. What are the wishes of council in respect to that? We have a motion to approve by Councilmember Santa Guida, second by Councilmember Clinton Quintana. Any further discussion? All in favor of that motion, please indicate by saying aye.

Any opposed? Item passes unanimously on first reading. Is there a motion to waive second reading? Motion made by Councilmember Clinton Quintana, second by Councilmember Santa Guida. Any further discussion? All in favor of that motion, please indicate by saying aye.

Any opposed? Item passes unanimously on first as well as second reading. That brings us to item R1.C, which is another resolution. What are the wishes of council in respect to item R1C? We have a motion to approve by council member, Senator Guida, second by Mayor Pro Tem Spears. Any further discussion? All in favor of that motion, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? The item passes unanimously on first and only reading. That brings us to our next item of business, which is item R2, which is a resolution to adopt a detailed staff comments on the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge North Caro

Y'all aren't about to read this whole packet, are you?

Is this different from what we already have?

How many documents should we be getting right now?

Yes, I did find one inconsistency that I think needs to be addressed. So this is on page 45 of the clean draft that's ahead, that's in front of us. And two paragraphs above section 9.3. It talks, in the last sentence there, this is in 2025, the bridge recorded 69 openings, most of which were for maintenance and training. These values have continued to decrease year after year. Well, that second, that very last sentence, I think, is correct. I have the 2025 lift logs. They have 94 operations, including 57 vessel-related operations. I don't think that there was really a breakdown in 2025 that I

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I guess I want to say first to our staff and consultants, thanks for all the work that you've put into this. I don't know how you found all the hours in the day, but you did. So thanks for putting this together so quickly. What did you say, 54 days? That's pretty quick. Is that right? Did I get it right? That's right, 54. Just checking that I was paying attention. So I do, I guess, have a number of questions. I will start with the options that Wilmington came up with for the bridges. Could the federal grant funds be used for those options? I'm just curious why that fundin

My next couple questions I think are going to be for Susan. When you were talking about the traffic analysis and the way that that was done, it sounded like there was one type of analysis done for the no build option and then the estimates from there used a different methodology for options A and B in the EA. I'm just curious. because I'm not a traffic engineer. What are the best practices when doing that kind of analysis? It seemed like there was maybe something missing, and I just didn't understand what the miss was from best practices.

And neither of those were present. A growth factor, it sounds like, was present, but we just don't know how they got that.

And then my next question, I think, is also for you. This is from an education. You were talking about mitigation costs not being included. Can you give an example of what those costs would be, or some examples of what those are?

Thank you. My last question is about tolling, so I don't know who that's for. So if I'm reading this table about the economic impact of a toll correctly, it looks like with option B, there could be a $28 million a year economic impact in Wilmington for a toll facility. I also want to add that this project is estimated to cost a billion or more dollars. We have this $242 million federal grant, $85 million from the state. There's a lot to make up there, which is why a toll facility is being considered. I think everybody in this room follows the news. I have been following the fact that the Gener

Well, I think we want to take it. It's a very good question because that was the same question I was going to pose to staff. And I think we need to ask that of the state since I believe when they tell me that the gas tax is going down because of fuel efficient vehicles. When we look at the state budget, they collected $8 billion in gas tax and we'll get none. and we got 20 some billion dollars in the Randy Dill Fund, we're getting none. So we're being asked as a community to pay 80% of the cost of this, and they'll tell us what type of bridge we're gonna build. And my concern, and this is I th

That's the other concern, and for those that are watching us, this is the first road in this state's history where you have an existing road that has been used for almost 60 years that now you're going to have to pay to cross. And as Dennis alluded to, if it happens in Wilmington, it can happen anywhere else in the state. It can. And this is a big project for this entire community and for this entire region. And through the public hearings that I have attended, as well as all the other council members here, we have seen the huge amounts of people that have come out and shared their concerns wi

Can we get back to the slide with the timeline? The timeline slide, please. Right there. Thank you. So can we talk about what next steps are if we approve this tonight?

And their public comment or public feedback has a requirement that they have to respond to every comment, correct?

And then what is the merger team or WMPO, who's the decision maker that makes the next move?

Understood. All right. I say let's get the ball moving. Thank you. Thank you.

Anybody else? JC, you have any questions?

I have a few questions. I'm trying to digest the new stuff, so if they've been addressed, just let me know if they've been addressed in the new comments that we just got since we've been sitting up here. In the one we were delivered in our packet, it's page 45, I don't know what that is now. It starts on page 45 and 46. Under design one, would have a proposed 200 foot horizontal opening, but on the next page on 47, it says that the clearance above the mean, that top paragraph, the clearance above the mean high water in the open position and at least 250 feet of horizontal clearance through the

Okay, great. Thanks. I want to make sure I understood your point. And that was exactly what I was thinking if there wasn't a discrepancy in the economic I think this was outside of your scope, so that's fine, but was there a directive to look at the economic benefits to the rest of the region and city, or we were just focused on the harm it would cause?

That would be the conclusion of the downtown area. Also, the rest of the city was a part of the scope.

All right, another Justin question. Can you look at that, the rendering that, I think it was from DOT, but it hadn't been on their website long, that shows the landing? Because I had asked them for that, and I didn't think they were gonna put it together, that's it. So I didn't look at it, look for it again, so I wanted a minute with it. Specifically, just for an example, Justin, on Wooster Street, where the landing is there next to, I guess that's where the Pearl and some of those apartments are. What is the, how do you build a bridge that close to the buildings without damaging them, is I gu

Thanks. I think one of the, I lost the page, but one of the places in the report suggested, and maybe it's been taken out again, I haven't gotten all the way through the comments we were handed, says we recommend that the DOT looks at a bridge lower than 65 feet.

I understand the logic, but I think the goal is to get it as low as possible. It's already that height, so that's my only comment, question, if anybody has a thing to say about that.

okay council member andrews i withdrew because those were some of my questions as well about the the 2022 study so we have so many smart people in this community that keep emailing us every day and we just got one this morning about the 2022 study the 65 feet and all of that that was already discussed thank you council member santa guido

Thank you. I have a very detailed question. I'm looking at, in our agenda packet, appendix A. I'm on page, what page am I on? Hang on. This is the Appendix B detailed results of the economic impact. Are you tracking with me? It looks like under the category of commuter and visitor spending, the projections show that we would be losing just over $9 million a year Do you have a ballpark? Does anybody in this room know what the economic impact is annually? So what would that $9 million be subtracted from?

pretty modest uh reduction even in uh commuters and visitors who are going to downtown i appreciate that explanation thank you my i think my question is that's nine million dollars of how much so i understand that we would be losing nine million dollars but what is what is the num what is the total number the denominator yeah that's an annual figure that's nine million dollars annually I don't think my question is, I don't think I'm asking this the right way. Are you going to help me, Dennis?

Right. How much are we generating in that category annually right now is maybe a better way to phrase that.

Yeah, I appreciate that. Maybe we can just have that as a follow-up, but what is the economic output downtown? Yes, we'll work on that. Okay, thanks. I said downtown, I meant in the city, sorry.

Okay, anybody else? Thank you. Thank you to staff. Thank you to everybody here tonight. This is a very important and significant issue for not only the city of Wilmington, but the entire region. And we're taking this very seriously and I hope everybody understands our concerns and our angst on a lot of different issues here. And hopefully we'll come to a good resolution. What are the wishes of council in respect to the R2, which is the resolution adopting the detailed staff comments? We have a motion to approve by Mayor Pro Tem Spears, seconded by Councilmember Clinton Quintana. Any further di Any opposed? The item passes unanimously. This concludes the regular agenda. Are there any ayes to be brought forward by our City Attorney?

Just while we're on the topic, just to remind everybody that the comments, public comments are due October 15th, next week. And if you go to WilmingtonNC.gov, right at the top of the page in the orange, you can get all the information you need about how to submit comments, and we hope that everybody does.

Yes, sir. Back from vacation, well needed. I'm a year older, feel amazing. I wanna thank, on Saturday I had the opportunity to be honored by the North Carolina Project Lead, White Lotus, as an emerging leader. and I was in the company of some really phenomenal people in this region. And so I just want to thank NC Project LEAD for putting together an amazing program and just an amazing night. And then I want to do this for a friend of mine there. People, oftentimes we see in this community where people won't allow you to grow, right? So they won't allow you to experience growth. They won't allo

I'll simply just remind everyone that we are in the month of October, and this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, National Bullying Prevention Month, and Cybersecurity Awareness Month. And I think all of those things have probably touched many of us. I know it's hard to believe, but I was bullied when I was younger. Yeah. But I got past that and kicked a few butts, and here I am. So no bullying. All right? Thank you.

On the topic of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we had the presentation earlier today. And domestic violence shelter and services in Wilmington gives out the Impact Award every year. So I wanted to recognize WPD Corporal Michael Scott and Deputy Chief Kelvin Hargrove, who are nominated for the Impact Award this year. and recognize the work that they do in our community each day and that so many in the WPD do each day to fight and prevent and hold accountable domestic violence and to look forward to seeing how that nomination goes and perhaps we find out that they're the award winners at the

Thank you. With that, thank you for taking an interest in your government. We stand adjourned.