Holly Springs Council Approves Wake County Non-Discrimination Ordinance After Years of Debate

Holly Springs voted to adopt Wake County’s Non-Discrimination Ordinance at the town council meeting on Feb. 17, 2026, approving a resolution and interlocal agreement in a 5–1 vote that took effect immediately, town public notice and council materials show. The action does not create a separate Holly Springs ordinance but allows Wake County’s anti-discrimination rules to apply inside the town’s municipal limits, HollySpringsUpdate reported.

Under the interlocal agreement authorized by council, Wake County staff will manage complaint intake and mediation for incidents occurring in Holly Springs, HollySpringsUpdate states. Town staff told the council county ordinances do not automatically apply within municipal borders, and without the resolution the county’s protections could not be enforced inside Holly Springs, the council packet and public notice indicate.

The scope of protections cited in coverage varies by outlet. Employment and public accommodations are named across multiple reports, WTVD/ABC11 and TheLightNC list housing as a covered area, and HollySpringsUpdate and NCNewsLine explicitly include contracting as well. WTVD/ABC11 and TheLightNC also cite protected characteristics such as race, sexual orientation, gender identity and religion; the exact statutory language of the Wake County NDO was not reproduced in the materials provided.

Supporters at the meeting framed the vote as low-cost and aligned with community values. Council member Chris Deshazor told WTVD/ABC11, "It's not costing us anything. It's not costing businesses anything. It is giving people a feeling of safety, which is extremely important." Mayor Mike Kondratick signed the resolution at the meeting, and HollySpringsUpdate and NCNewsLine quote him saying the action ensures "the letter of our law matches the power of your example" and that Holly Springs "offers a home to everyone without question and without exception."

Opponents who spoke at the Feb. 17 hearing made economic and governance objections. Longtime residents Karyn Mulligan and Beth Richardson told NCNewsLine the measure was unnecessary and an unfair burden on small businesses, and called it "big government overreach." Council member Danielle Hewetson cast the lone no vote, NCNewsLine reported.

The vote reverses Holly Springs’ position in 2022, when the town voted against joining the Wake County NDO and protests followed, WTVD/ABC11 reported. NCNewsLine noted that all current council members were elected within the past three years and that Holly Springs now joins other municipalities that have adopted the county ordinance; WTVD/ABC11 described that trend as "several municipalities," while NCNewsLine said Holly Springs joins eight other municipalities including Raleigh, Cary and Apex.

The available reporting and the town materials do not include the full text of the Wake County NDO or the interlocal agreement, so the precise legal language, the names of all five yea voters in the roll-call and full enforcement procedures should be confirmed from the county ordinance and the council’s meeting minutes or the interlocal agreement document.