City Council’s Code of Conduct Demands Respect for Citizens
The Raleigh City Council has a formal "Code of Conduct" which defines acceptable behavior for the councilors. One section of the code defines how the councilors are expected to behave in interactions with the public. CONDUCT WITH THE PUBLIC Public meetings and...
Council Member David Cox – Preserving Our Trees in the Richland Creek Watershed
David Cox, PhD, the three-term District B representative on Raleigh's City Council, submitted the following "Guest Blog" to Livable Raleigh for publication. The Richland Creek watershed drains into the Neuse River. Why is that important? Because City Council is...
CBS 17 – Advocates speak out on potential effect of ‘Downtown South’ on nearby Raleigh residents
Livable Raleigh's Sade Gilbert was interviewed by CBS 17 for a report on the effects the proposed Downtown South project would have on the local neighborhoods and the environment. RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Plans for a stadium and entertainment district in...
Downtown South – My Letter to the Mayor and City Council
Susan Maruyama, a resident of Raleigh, sent the following email to the Mayor and City Council on Wednesday, October 21. Dear Mayor and City Council members, I listened to the City Council meeting yesterday and was struck by the cavalier attitude of Bonner...
Give It Up for John Kane: His Downtown South Plan is a Power Grab, Money Grab and Tax Grab
What do we know about Kane Realty's Downtown South (DTS) plan after a 3-hour long Planning Commission meeting on Friday? The answer is, we didn't learn one thing on Friday that we didn't already know; and going into Friday, all we knew about developer John Kane's...
Raleigh Community Engagement: Where’s the Beef?
It has now been 260 days since the Raleigh City Council abolished its support of Raleigh's CACs (Citizen Advisory Councils). This was done in a surprise vote on February 4th that was developed in secret, with no community engagement, and with a demand for no...
Kane’s Downtown South Up-Zoning Case Z-13-20: A Primer. (Short Version: 40 Stories, Could Be Anything, Starts Thursday)
Affordable housing included? No. Enhanced Stormwater Controls? No. Low-impact Development promised? No. Is there a Community Benefits Agreement? No. Are ANY design or details offered? No. None.
Disinformation in Local Elections
On Tuesday, October 20, Raleigh's News and Observer is hosting a webinar, "Disinformation in Local Elections: How to spot it and what you can do" I decided to write to the N&O on the eve of their webinar because I have three examples of the role disinformation has...
Whether the housing bond passes or fails, Raleigh needs a citizens’ Affordable Housing Task Force
More than 16,000 Raleigh households with very low incomes pay rents equal to more than half of their earnings. How did we NOT know that? A citizens’ Task Force would shine a light on the crisis and offer real solutions..
On Raleigh’s Housing Bond: The Wake Co. Housing Justice Coalition Recommends a NO vote
The Coalition: “[It] is a failure of leadership, and a slap in the face of Raleigh’s stated efforts to achieve equity in our programs, to expand help for those who have more while short-changing those who have less.”