At their final regular meeting of the term, the three outgoing Fayetteville City Council members—Mario Benavente, Courtney Banks-McLaughlin, and Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Jensen—were each presented with a key to the city, Fayetteville’s highest civilian honor.
The evening began with additional recognition when Cumberland County Board of Commissioners Chair Kirk deViere presented each of the three with the County Crest award. DeViere highlighted individual accomplishments of Benavente, Banks-McLaughlin, and Jensen before handing them their awards. N.C. Senator Val Applewhite was also in attendance.
Mayor Mitch Colvin then gave each outgoing member an opportunity to deliver farewell remarks. All three emphasized that while they often disagreed on issues, they shared mutual respect and a common desire to do what was best for Fayetteville.
Ninth District Councilman Deno Hondros, participating remotely from home, phoned in his tribute. “You do not replace a Kathy Jensen. You don’t replace a Courtney Banks-McLaughlin. You don’t replace a Mario Benavente; four strong individual characters in their own right. We all appreciate them for who they are,” Hondros said.
City Business: ‘No Parking in Multi-Use Lanes’ Policy Sent to Public Hearing
The council also conducted regular business, including a close vote on a proposed policy that would formalize the process for residents to request “no parking” restrictions in multi-use lanes on neighborhood streets.
Similar to the existing process for requesting speed humps, the proposed policy would allow residents to petition for no-parking zones in multi-use lanes. Under the draft guidelines from the city’s Traffic Services Division, the goal is to improve residential livability and encourage multi-modal transportation by restricting on-street parking in specific areas. The restriction would apply to both sides of the street and be evaluated block by block. Approval would require at least 70 percent of affected residents to support the request.
Currently, a single resident can already ask their council member to initiate a no-parking restriction, which then comes before the full council for a final vote.
Outgoing Councilman Mario Benavente explained, “So if someone uses this process and goes through and gets their neighbors organized and gets that 70 percent threshold, it still comes to council for a yes or no.”
Benavente noted that the ability to restrict parking is already on the books but not widely known. “I think by having a public forum about it, you’re going to let a lot of people know this process is very much in existence.”
Councilman Deno Hondros cautioned colleagues about potential unintended consequences. “While this puts this in the hands of residents, I just want those residents to know they can be negatively impacting the value of their property,” Hondros said. “Most residents, when they purchase a home, just assume they can park in front of their home or their neighbor’s home.”
He cited examples such as funerals, Super Bowl parties, birthdays, weddings, or large Thanksgiving gatherings where guests expect to park on the street. “But if this is established for the block, you can’t park in front of your house, and your invitees can’t park in front of your house,” Hondros said.
Councilman Derrick Thompson responded, “What I want people to understand is this has to be requested by the residents who live on that street. We’re just not going to arbitrarily put multi-use lanes in neighborhoods without them wanting them in the first place. So if there’s a problem, the community will be creating a problem—it’s not the city creating a problem because we’re giving them what they asked for.”
Councilwoman Lynne Green added, “A lot of people in situations will vote on something and not realize the impact. I’m going to be voting for this because I don’t see where a public hearing would hurt that.”
The council ultimately voted 5-4 to move the item from the consent agenda and schedule it for a full public hearing at a January meeting.
Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that Cumberland County Board of Commissioners Chair Kirk deViere presented the honorees with the award.
