Wildwood City Council fails to override mayor’s veto
The Wildwood City Council, on Nov. 10, failed to override Mayor Tim Woerther’s veto of the council’s Oct. 27 approval of legislation that would allow installation of gates at the entrance of certain private residential streets in the city.
While the council voted 9 to 6 in favor of an override, 11 votes were needed for passage.
One resident threatened litigation against the city over its failure to pass the legislation.
However, Woerther, in his rationale for the veto, said homeowners who’ve come forward to support the ordinance change made a choice to live in Wildwood “with full knowledge of the conditions for their respective subdivisions.” Of supporters’ contentions that they want gates due to safety and traffic concerns, Woerther said: “None of these reasons are factual and only serve to foster divide in our community.”
He said restricting traffic to prevent excessive wear on streets “doesn’t hold water,” because streets, if built to proper standards, should remain in good condition for decades.
Regarding security concerns, Woerther said emergency responders, including the Metro West Fire Protection District, have told the city that the presence of gates can delay response to calls for service, many of which are for medical issues in which seconds count.
“Wildwood doesn’t need to trade a false sense of security for real safety,” Woerther said.
But during public comment on the issue, Lisa Waterbury Allen, of Kennedy Crossing Court, showed a smartphone photo of a strange man, whom she said had approached her 5-year-old son four times recently outside her home and whom she’d reported to police.
“I’ve had people walk through my front door,” she said, close to tears, adding that she hadn’t known about the prohibition on gates on private streets when she moved in.
“I will do everything in my power to protect my kids. If you don’t pass (this legislation), I guarantee you’ll see me in court.”
Jeff Tottleben, who lives on Wardenburg Farms Drive, called Woerther’s veto “unfortunate.”
“The mayor is going against the wishes of the majority of residents who care about this issue,” he said, adding that most attending public hearings or responding to surveys on the issue supported the plan for gates.
He said most of the neighborhoods which would qualify for gates would be in Wards 1, 2 and 6 and all of the councilmembers representing those wards have supported the plan.
“There’s been virtually no opposition from those who would be impacted,” Tottleben said. “If there’s a concern on gates, why are they allowed on some private property now? I pass seven or eight homes with gates, driving my daughter to school.”
But Sally Branson, of Old Slave Road, said she had favored the city’s incorporation in 1995 because “one of the tenets was to be an open concept, walk-around city, not blatantly smacking of elitism and exclusivity.”
“If you choose to move into an existing city, why would you not look into the rules, regulations and ordinances of that city?” she asked, adding that Wildwood has one of the lowest crime rates in the state.
