The Public Interest: Can The Raleigh City Council See It?
Raleigh’s city leaders have a civic duty to create spaces for public dialogue; to encourage and listen to diverse viewpoints; offer honest analysis and synthesis toward recommendations that advocate for the public interest; and act in the public interest, which...
Downtown South Project – Final Call to Action
City Council has scheduled a special meeting for the Public Hearing on the Downtown South Project. You have only two days to provide your input into this important discussion. If you would like to send an email to the members of City Council, their email...
CALL TO ACTION – DOWNTOWN SOUTH
Good news: The Raleigh Planning Commission voted 8-0 AGAINST Kane Realty’s application for the massive development they’re calling “Downtown South.” The Commission found that John Kane’s bid for a huge up-zoning of his 145-acre site in South Raleigh, with buildings of...
Fast tracking this project is a betrayal of your relationship with the citizens
Longtime Raleigh resident, Rachel Wooten, PhD, delivered the following remarks to the Mayor and City Council for public comment Dec 1, 2020 To Mayor Baldwin and Council Members, I have just sent an email to you as a member of ONE Wake. I am following up with a...
Profiles in Courage
As the largest development proposal ever seen in Raleigh, John Kane’s Downtown South Project challenges all the normal processes for judging community impacts and benefits. The political pressure for quick approval is equally off the charts, so much so that the City...
Baldwin & Council majority set surprise Dec. 15 public hearing on Kane’s “Downtown South” scheme: Fast-track to approval?
The Planning Commission is still looking at it, and City Council was not scheduled to meet again until January. You know, "Deck the Halls?" Until, that is, Mayor Baldwin and her band of Council followers stepped in to fast-track developer John Kane's "Downtown South"...
At Kane site in South Raleigh, residents choose a new neighborhood over a 2nd Downtown
Until Kane pitched his “New Downtown” scheme, the City showed smaller-scale “Transit-Oriented Development” on South Wilmington Street — because it’s a future Bus Rapid Transit corridor.
The Wake County Housing Justice Coalition gives voice to Raleigh residents threatened by a perfect storm of pandemic-magnified racial, environmental and economic injustices
Kudos to the Wake County Housing Justice Coalition (WCHJC) for their Virtual Public Forum on November 23, lifting the voices of those who would be most impacted by John Kane‘s Downtown South project. With the decline in local, independent investigative news reporting,...
Stick to the Plan — Raleigh’s Comprehensive Plan
Raleigh’s Comprehensive Plan makes a clear commitment to sustainability and focuses on the “interdependent relationships of environmental stewardship, economic strength and social integrity.” It emphasizes the provision of economic and housing opportunities for all segments of the population in all areas of the city… including “aging in place.” It strongly promotes protection, restoration and preservation of the environment and existing neighborhoods; “of careful infill development that complements existing character and responds to natural features” … “the conservation of urban, suburban and native forests” … “preserving its natural landscapes” … “wildlife and habitat protection” and on and on.
Livable Raleigh’s Call To Action on Kane’s Downtown South Project
Dear Friends of Livable Raleigh, Earlier this week I sent a Call To Action message to everyone on our Livable Raleigh mailing list in regards to the proposed Downtown South project. You may have read about the project in recent stories here. The Downtown South Project...