Wilmington City Council swears in new police chief, passes amended camping ordinance, and approves social district

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The Wilmington City Council held its biweekly meeting Tuesday night, which began with the swearing in of the city’s new police chief.

Ryan Zuidema was sworn in, surrounded by his wife and the members of the city council.

Zuidema had served as the chief of police for the City of Lynchburg, Virginia, since 2018 and had been with that department for nearly 30 years.

Several members of the Lynchburg Police Department made the trip to the Port City to support Zuidema, who said he looks forward to leading the Wilmington Police Department.

It’s certainly a community that has a lot of similarities,” Zuidema said. “I thought that I could bring my skill set there from there here. I thought it was a good match and opportunity to continue to work with the citizens here in Wilmington that the police department’s been doing a great job for years and hopefully to just build on that and make this a great place to live.”

Zuidema then presented several safety awards to two police officers and 3 EMTs for actions they took in saving lives during separate events earlier this year.

Council also discussed and voted on Councilman Luke Waddell’s camping ordinance.

It was passed by a 4-3 vote, but a vote to not hold a second reading was not unanimous, so the ordinance will be heard at the council’s next meeting.

Several more changes were made, with Councilwoman Salette Andrews removing the word “occupy” from the ordinance’s language.

Councilman David Joyner, who had removed language referring to sleeping in cars during the council’s last meeting, added back in some language.

The changes would make it illegal to sleep in your car when parked in a city parking deck.

Sleeping in your car when it’s parked in a surface lot will still be allowed.

Waddell said he is confident the ordinance will pass at their next meeting.

“Obviously, it’s something everyone cares about and has ideas on,” Waddell said. “But ultimately, I think that the City Council came together, discussed a difficult topic that affects every member of our city, and addressed it and got it across the finish line.”

The ordinance will be heard and voted on again at the council’s next meeting on Tuesday, October 7th.

Council also approved the creation of a social district in the Brooklyn Arts District, by a 5-2 vote, with Andrews and Kevin Spears voting against.

Starting next month, people will be allowed to purchase alcoholic beverages and walk from participating bars and restaurants in the district on the first and third Saturdays of every month for a six-month trial period.

Mayor Bill Saffo said he would like a report from staff after that period to discuss any issues and the possible need for further changes.