Council Justifies Destroying Azalea Falls with a Tangled Web of Deceptions, Distortions and Glaring Omissions
October 6, 2020 will go down in Raleigh history as one of the worst days for environmental conservation, as the Raleigh City Council voted 7 to 1 (Cox dissenting) to destroy Azalea Falls, one of only a handful of state designated Natural Heritage Areas in our entire city.
[UPDATE: Council’s 7-1 vote snuffs buffers] More zoning buffers could be voted away: more folks living in the shadows.
Council’s vote will hasten the trends of gentrification and teardowns in older Raleigh neighborhoods, especially our historically African-American neighborhoods. It’s a money grab, pure and simple.
City Council votes 7 to 1 to destroy Azalea Falls.
At the October 6 Raleigh City Council afternoon meeting, David Knight led a spurious, yet successful effort to destroy Azalea Falls, one of Raleigh’s designated National Historic sites. As usual, the development-driven Council majority voted 7 to 1 (David Cox being the lone dissenter) to perpetrate another environmental disaster in our community.
More zoning buffers could be voted away: more folks living in the shadows.
The Raleigh City Council will be voting on TC-6-20 this coming Tuesday, October 6th. This is a text change to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). While there are many scenarios that can result from this text change, the one scenario that nobody will like are the...
Save Raleigh’s Azalea Falls
(This is the full version of the abbreviated op-ed published in the News and Observer on October 2, 2020) Azalea Falls is a hidden Raleigh gem that has recently been designated by the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources as being an ecological habitat of...
Council threatens ‘Darth Vader Scenario’ in developer’s bid to destroy Azalea Falls, an ecological habitat of statewide significance.
The steeply wooded hillsides above Azalea Falls are, as detailed in the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources designation of statewide ecological significance, INTEGRAL to Azalea Falls’ unique forest ecology and aquatic habitats. No wooded hillsides, no Azalea Falls.
Carmen Cauthen’s “History of Housing in Raleigh” is context for tomorrow night’s “Affordable Housing Bond: The Great Debate”
After 1916, Oberlin Village was a textbook case of white gentrification of a formerly black community. Dial ahead 100 years: The gentrification of formerly all-black Southeast Raleigh is history repeating itself.
Council Targets a Few of Raleigh’s Greatest Affordable Housing Needs
After months of encouragement, City Council finally offered a small commitment toward meeting the most pressing needs of Raleigh’s growing affordable housing crisis. Livable Raleigh continues to encourage the Raleigh City Council to commit at least 50% of annual housing funds to the critical documented needs for households at or below 30% AMI.
Community engagement: where are we after 3 months?
On Tuesday, September 15th I spoke with the City Council about Mr. Mickey Fearn’s community engagement presentation from September 8th. I watched Mickey's presentation to City Council that day, and then watched it again several more times during the following week....
Council Plans an Environmental Disaster to Benefit a Construction Conglomerate
Despite overwhelming evidence that this upzoning should not go forward, this Council seems determined to approve the destruction of our most precious environmental assets for the insignificant benefit of one of the largest construction conglomerates in North America.

![[UPDATE: Council’s 7-1 vote snuffs buffers] More zoning buffers could be voted away: more folks living in the shadows.](https://livableraleigh.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/50-Feet-e1647793454618.jpg)






