Residents ask Whiteville to consider minimum-housing rules after reports of homes without utilities

Residents urged Whiteville officials to examine whether the city should adopt a minimum-housing ordinance to require potable water and sewer hookups for occupied dwellings.

"Is there a minimum housing ordinance that we have that will cover making sure that they have potable water source and that there is sewer on water that's hooked up if they're using it?" said a resident who identified they were speaking "for business" but provided no affiliation (Resident, S1). Carol John Caldwell, who said she lives on West Ham, told the council she had spoken with city staff and been told there is no existing ordinance forbidding occupancy of dwellings without electricity or water. "I ask that the city look into putting in place some sort of ordinance or something that will protect all of the citizens of Whiteville," Caldwell said (Carol John Caldwell, S3).

City staff later said police had contacted property owners in at least one case and that nuisance-abatement procedures were used previously in other neighborhoods; however, staff also noted budget limits can constrain the city's ability to demolish or abate unsafe properties. The public comments prompted staff to describe options the city uses—owner notification, letters, and, when funding allows, abatement or demolition—and to highlight that some enforcement steps require funding or additional administrative steps.