A 2027 pilot would let visitors park on 11 residential blocks south of Orange Street for $7 an hour. City Council votes on it Tuesday, Nov. 17.

Drivers without a resident permit could pay $7 an hour to park on 11 residential blocks in downtown Wilmington next year. The Wilmington City Council votes Tuesday on a 12-month pilot that would run from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2027.

The blocks lie south of Orange Street, between Front and Third streets. They are part of the city’s Residential Parking Permit Program, which reserves curb space for people who live there. The pilot’s aim is to separate business parking from residential parking and get businesses to send customers to parking in the Central Business District, according to the staff cover letter for the item.

What would change on the 11 blocks

The pilot guidelines set the same hours on every block:

  • 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily: drivers without a permit may park, for $7 an hour, up to a one- or two-hour limit.
  • 6:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. daily: permit holders only.
  • Payment: by QR code on a cellphone only. Each license plate gets one parking transaction a day across all 11 blocks.
Block Limit for drivers without a permit
200 block of South Third Street, west side (Orange to Ann) 2 hours
200 block of Ann Street (Second to Third) 2 hours
300 block of South Second Street (Ann to Nun) 2 hours
100 block of Nun Street (Front to Second) 2 hours
200 block of Nun Street (Second to Third) 2 hours
400 block of South Front Street (Nun to Church) 2 hours
400 block of South Second Street (Nun to Church) 2 hours
200 block of Orange Street (Second to Third) 1 hour
200 block of South Second Street (Orange to Ann) 1 hour
100 block of Ann Street (Front to Second) 1 hour
300 block of Front Street (Ann to Nun) 1 hour

The one-hour blocks are the residential streets that border the Central Business District, the city’s pilot map shows.

Cheaper meters with a business validation

Eight metered blocks next to the residential area would offer business validations. A business could give a customer an electronic validation that halves the meter rate from $3 an hour to $1.50. Validations would work only through the city’s mobile payment provider.

The validation blocks are:

  • the 00 and 100 blocks of Orange Street (Water Street to Second Street)
  • the 100 and 200 blocks of South Front Street (Dock Street to Ann Street)
  • the 100 block of South Second Street (Dock to Orange)
  • the 100 block of South Third Street (Orange to Dock)
  • the 00 blocks of Ann and Nun streets (Water to Front)

Why the city wants to try it

The permit program began in 1996 on 10 downtown blocks, the cover letter said. Daytime limits for drivers without permits followed in 2002. In 2020, five blocks became permit-only around the clock.

Downtown business has grown “tremendously” since then, city staff wrote. Staff began reviewing the program in fall 2025 and gathered input from businesses, residents and the Downtown Parking Advisory Committee. The committee supports the pilot.

During the pilot, the city would add no new blocks to the permit program, and the other permit blocks would stay as they are. The city manager could change or cancel the pilot at any time. Staff would then report to the advisory committee, and City Council would decide any permanent changes.

Also on Tuesday’s agenda

The full agenda also includes:

  • Street repaving: a $3,772,808 increase to the city’s road maintenance contract with Highland Paving Co. of Fayetteville. Of that, $3 million would start the 2027 repaving program, and $772,808 would finish Rogersville Road, which gets drainage work, widening and speed cushions. About 86.8 lane miles of work is planned for 2027, the Transportation Department’s cover letter said. The item is on the consent agenda.
  • Fire Station No. 2: a public hearing on naming the former station at 602 S. Fifth Ave. a local historic landmark. It was built in 1915 and housed Engine Company No. 2 until 1956, the planning staff report said. It has been a wedding and event venue since 2017. Landmark status makes the owner eligible for a 50% property tax deferral, which staff estimate will cost the city about $1,640.93 a year.
  • Barclay West: a public hearing on rezoning 12.26 acres at 2225 Stonecrop Drive and 1124 Gallery Park Blvd. for mixed-use development. The change would lift the site out of the development’s 2013 cap of 116 homes. The applicant now offers to set aside 7.5% of rental units as workforce housing for 10 years, the cover letter said. The Planning Commission recommended approval 7-0.
  • Opioid overdose program: accepting $600,000 from the N.C. Department of Public Safety to keep the city’s Quick Response Team running with Coastal Horizons. The team seeks out people who have survived an overdose and earlier turned down treatment.

What it means for you

  • The meeting: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Skyline Center at City Hall, 929 N. Front St.
  • If you live on one of the 11 blocks: your permit would still cover you, and only permit holders could park there from 6:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. Daytime visitors would pay $7 an hour.
  • If you visit downtown: parking on these blocks from Jan. 1 would mean paying by phone and watching the one- or two-hour limit. Ask the business you are visiting whether it offers a validation for the nearby meters.
  • To have your say: the parking pilot is not a public hearing item, but the Fire Station No. 2 and Barclay West items are. The agenda and every attachment are on the city’s Granicus page.