WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – The Wilmington City Council met Tuesday night and passed a short-term rental ordinance amendment, South 3rd Street intersection traffic signal installation and authorization for five WPD officers to aid in enforcing ABC laws.
Amendment to short-term rental ordinances
Several citizens asked the council to go further with restrictions against short-term rentals, but leaders did not.
The amendment, which passed unanimously, will ensure lodging uses will follow state regulations that were established after the Schroeder v. City of Wilmington decision.
Specifically, the amendment will eliminate the annual registration requirement for all lodging uses, remove the cap and separation requirements and delete references to penalties for violations of laws that are not part of the Land Development Code.
South 3rd Street traffic signal intersection installations
Council unanimously approved a resolution that would devote $2,430,400 to install two traffic signals and pedestrian signs at the intersections of South 3rd Street with Orange Street and Ann Street.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation recommended installing the signs at the roads after obtaining traffic data from five traffic signal analyses.
Residents asked Council to approve the changes to add a stoplight at intersections along 3rd street at Market and Castle Streets. Within the past few years, 50-55 recorded accidents have occurred and two pedestrians have been hit on that crosswalk.
With the resolution passed, the City of Wilmington will appropriate $486,080 and apply to the WMPO for the remaining $2,057,300 to pay for the installation.
Five Wilmington Police Department officers authorized to enforce ABC Board liquor laws
An ordinance to authorize training for five WPD officers to aid enforcing ABC laws was unanimously approved.
With increased tourism in Wilmington this year and more people going to bars, breweries and restaurants in the Central Business District, the officers will assume non-exclusive responsibility for liquor law violations from the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge to the Isabel Holmes Bridge and from 5th Street to the Cape Fear River.
The five officers chosen will be required to complete a training program by State Alcohol Law Enforcement.
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