Council sends proposed lease-policy revisions back to policy committee after transparency, lease‑term debate

Fayetteville City Council debated proposed revisions to City Council Policy 155.6, the city’s real property lease policy, before voting to send the package back to the policy committee for further work.

The city attorney’s office summarized the most substantial proposed changes: a prohibition against council members and staff renting from the city, a requirement to publish leases of 12 months or less for 30 calendar days before execution, and opening lease renewals to public competition rather than automatic renewal. The attorney said, "there's a proposed prohibition against the council members and staff, renting from the city." Keisha Parker, the city’s real estate manager, and Attorney McDonald were present to answer operational and legal questions.

Council members pressed practical concerns. One councilor noted two residential properties near the airport are currently occupied by city employees and asked whether that housing was a recruitment tool; staff confirmed the airport rentals were in use by employees. Council members also warned that converting city space into businesses such as restaurants or airport hangars can require substantial upfront investment that typically needs multiyear lease assurance. As one participant put it, "If you are converting a space into a restaurant, it is a considerable investment up front" and many tenants would not proceed without multiyear commitments.

Councillors also argued for transparency: "The public should be able to see this online. I shouldn't have to wait 2 weeks to see this as a council member, and the public shouldn't have to wait a second to see this and know what's available," one councilor said. Staff noted there are existing long-standing nonprofit and cultural tenants (Cool Springs, Cape Fear Studios, Fayetteville Dogwood Festival, Jazz Society, Crisis Center, Action Pathways, Manor Church Dream Center) some of which receive below-market rates and provide services to the city.

Speaker 3 confirmed policy intent: most new leases would not include automatic renewal options and would be one-year terms aligned to the fiscal year, with exceptions for certain commercial or airport leases and existing long-term agreements such as Subway's multi-year lease with built-in extensions. Staff also proposed posting lease opportunities through multiple channels (website, MLS/CoStar/LoopNet) to broaden notice.

Faced with concerns about the policy's potential effect on economic stability for businesses and nonprofits, and with several requests for additional detail (lease start dates, exceptions, and marketing channels), Councilman McMillan withdrew his motion to approve the changes and instead moved, and council seconded, to send the revisions back to the policy committee for a focused session. The council instructed staff and the attorney's office to return recommendations and options based on the feedback heard.

Next steps: the policy committee will review the lease revisions in a dedicated session, with staff to provide additional lease start dates, exception language for airport or long-term commercial leases, and a proposed online-posting plan.