WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – The Wilmington City Council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night opposing recently proposed state legislation that would restrict local governments’ say in development.

House Bill 765, filed on April 3 with bipartisan support, would make sweeping changes to development oversight in North Carolina.

Among other changes, it would allow developers to sue local officials for positions they take on development projects, create minimum density requirements based on population size and cut into local governments’ rights on zoning decisions and parking standards. Its proposals have caught the attention of officials in Southeastern North Carolina.

“It’s just an omnibus bill that we think has no business being passed,” Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo said. “We’re gonna be in opposition to it.”

Saffo introduced Tuesday night’s resolution, which urged the General Assembly to “leave planning and zoning decisions to locally elected Boards and their citizens” and asked for the bill—and other similar ones—to be terminated “immediately.”

Council members voted on the resolution without debate. Saffo said he had talked about it with each council member beforehand and all were against the legislation.

“It would take away a lot of the local control from local governments,” the mayor said. “That’s what we get elected to do, is to serve the community, to serve citizens that elect us.”

The resolution expressed concern that H.B. 765 would subject local officials to legal penalties during “routine land-use planning decisions” while creating “unprecedented conflict-of-interest rules.” It also said the legislation would lead to unregulated development, hurt housing affordability, damage existing property values and even threaten the future of Wilmington’s Historic District, which features some of the city’s most well-known structures.

“We’re really concerned that if these bills continue to be proposed if we see these things get passed, we’ll say goodbye to the Historic District,” Councilmember David Joyner said.

The bill would amend requirements for the establishment of Historic Districts around the state; it says 75% of property owners in the district would have to sign a petition requesting designation of the district and that governing boards — like city council — would have to unanimously approve the adoption of the district, too. Saffo called these requirements “ridiculous.”

“We love our historic district, the people that live there, that buy these homes, fix these homes up,” he said. “It’s a thing of love for them.”

Council’s resolution also said local governments are the ones “best suited” to represent their citizens on local matters and the bill would remove their ability to “pursue…unique visions for our community, which are critical to attracting new residents, new businesses and maintaining our quality of life.”

“We want to make sure we have affordable housing and good zoning policies in Wilmington, but they have to be developed in Wilmington—not in Raleigh,” Joyner said.

The legislation passed its first reading on April 7 and continues to make its way through the statehouse.

Council also approved spending $2 million dollars to reimagine two of the busiest streets in town.

The plan is to resurface Dawson and Wooster Streets from 3rd to 17th Streets.

City crews will complete the work and the North Carolina Department of Transportation will reimburse the actual cost of the pavement resurfacing work.

Council also approved and ordinance to put $70,000 toward setting up the new sting center offices at the Skyline Center.

Wilmington Police Department is in the process of moving the STING Center to the Skyline Center.

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