(This story has been updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy. The ordinance must pass a second reading to take effect.)
The city of Wilmington has toughened its stance on public camping while at the same time making concessions.
A controversial ordinance prohibiting camping on any property owned by or leased to the city was passed by the Wilmington City Council on Sept. 9, which could impact the city's homeless population.
The ordinance makes it unlawful to occupy, camp, sleep or place, erect or utilize any tents, cooking equipment or bedding between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. “or such other times as prohibited by signage, rule, policy, regulation, or law.”
In addition, personal effects, such as clothing, food and bedding, left unattended may be deemed abandoned and forfeited to the city for disposal. Any uses of entrances to city facilities and associated areas other than for ingress and egress to city facilities are prohibited.
The council voted 5-2 in favor, with council members Salette Andrews and Kevin Spears voting against. A motion to waive the second reading passed, 5-2. The second reading, which is required for the ordinance to take effect, is set for the council's Sept. 23 meeting, said the city's communications office.
A motion by council member David Joyner to remove a section of the ordinance prohibiting city parking decks and surface parking lots for uses other than parking and associated activities was accepted.
In addition, the council lessened the penalty from a Class 3 misdemeanor to an infraction. City attorney Meredith Everhart said an infraction is a noncriminal violation that is not punishable by imprisonment.
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In attendance for the meeting at City Hall at Skyline Center were opponents of the ordinance, some holding up signs related to the city’s homeless. Following the vote, audience members yelled: “Shame!” “Shame on you!” “Vote them out!”
Nine speakers in opposition to the ordinance approached the podium during the public information segment. Concern was expressed for how the city’s homeless population would be impacted by the ordinance, which some feared would criminalize homelessness.
Don Skinner said he has worked with the homeless population for 23 years. “They’re not human garbage,” he said. “They’re human beings like you and I.”
Concern from downtown business owners in support of the ordinance was a “major driver” in its consideration, said council member Luke Waddell.
“I think their voice certainly matters and deserves to be heard as well,” Waddell said.
Andrews argued that the ordinance doesn’t solve homelessness. “It just punishes people for being homeless,” she said.
Moreover, she said, the ordinance undermines constitutional principles such as free speech and assembly, and disproportionately affects the homeless.
“This is not an abstract or an abstract legal debate,” Andrews said. “Tonight's decision will shape how we treat both our unhoused neighbors and our constitutional traditions.”
Mayor Bill Saffo said this has been an emotional issue.
“If it was easy to fix, it would have already been fixed because every major city in America is dealing with it,” he said, noting that insufficient affordable housing, mental health and substance abuse also factor into the complicated problem.
Saffo said Wilmington has done more than any other area local government to address homelessness by committing $2.3 million to provide stable housing options in the current budget and contributing over $5.5 million in homeless services over the past five years.
The city, Saffo said, needs to strengthen partnerships with other governments, nonprofits, health care agencies and the private sector to attack the problem further. He said he will ask the area’s counties to reengage with the city on this topic “because we’re going to need their resources, folks. This is not going to be done alone by us.”
Saffo said he will ask city manager Becky Hawke to evaluate city-owned properties the city could give to an organization to serve as a low barrier shelter for the homeless. He also wants the city to hire four social workers to engage with the homeless.
The Cape Fear Homeless Continuum of Care, in its most recent such report, stated that 558 people in Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties experienced homelessness on a given night in 2023.
Bob Liepa is the city of Wilmington and public safety reporter for the StarNews. You can reach him at [email protected].