May 5 City Council Meeting
Highlights from May 5 City Council meetings
Nicole Bennett, Former Planning Commission Chair – It’s Not Just a Rezoning
Why does “the greater good” so often require loss from the same communities? Why are the people who already rely on transit the ones most at risk of being displaced from it? What does it mean to build a transit corridor that the current riders might no longer be able to afford to live near? if the greater good keeps requiring that the same communities lose everything, perhaps we need to ask ourselves what “good” really means.
Portland’s Infill Rules Improve Neighborhood Affordability. Raleigh’s Rules Do the Opposite.
Allowing more smaller, affordable units on a lot that would otherwise contain one expensive unit has clearly hit a sweet spot with Portland builders and affordability advocates. Portland’s housing reforms aren’t a silver bullet, but they are a powerful reminder to Raleigh that well-designed policies can produce affordable, human-scaled homes in Raleigh neighborhoods people already love.
Please Save Our Trees
You have heard us speak about the potential exorbitant cost of choosing this route. Now more than ever costs are so important because of the city budget shortfall. This project has grown from 4 million to over 11 million largely because of the chosen route.
Raleigh resident writes to Council about Budget Priorities
When you just announced a $13 million budget shortfall and probable property tax increase, it is irresponsible to spend money on a poet laureate.
Make preservation a core value
A good planning process starts with defining a planning area and noting its features. We’ve got that —in a Comprehensive Plan whose interpretation and use should remain stable through the update cycle.
Questions about Shaw University deserve answers
When public funds, private interests, and historic institutions intersect—transparency is not optional. Neutrality is not optional. Accountability is not optional. And right now, the public deserves answers—not silence, not side conversations, and not decisions made in whispers.
APRIL 21 CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
Highlights from the April 21 work session and afternoon council meeting
Raleigh needs an Internal Audit
Before any attempt is made to raise taxes you need to have an independent arm’s length audit/efficiency study of all city departments to make sure taxpayer money is being properly spent. Given the financial headwinds the city is facing, not doing an audit would be the height of financial irresponsibility.
It’s time to step back and evaluate if Raleigh’s growth framework is being applied as intended.
Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Districts were adopted as legislative tools to guide growth while preserving established neighborhood patterns. If the City believes these overlays require revision, that conversation should occur through a comprehensive, citywide process—not through the incremental removal of protections on individual parcels.