The next election for Raleigh Mayor and City Council will be held November 3, 2026. But there’s a brand-new primary election first, on March 3, 2026. With a deadline for candidates to file and get on the ballot THIS YEAR — by December 19, 2025. Join Livable Raleigh Advisory Committee Members and our guest Elections Expert Gerry Cohen on Monday, December 8, from 7-8:30pm at Jaycee Park, 2405 Wade Avenue to learn all the details.
Highlights from December 2, 2025 City Council meeting.
The RCAC has done its part. It is now up to the Council to bring this across the finish line. Yes, the additional benefits outlined in the Tier approach carry a cost, but this is not because of the addition of the CACs. The additional cost burden is because the benefits are being applied across the entire Engagement Network so that other organizations can share those same benefits that the CACs have enjoyed in the past.
The Glenwood-Brooklyn neighborhood group has hired The Brough Law Firm, PLLC to challenge this rezoning case. The firm is investigating what we believe are several defects in how the City has handled the situation. The City has laws and policies that are designed to create gentle transitions from slow, quiet neighborhoods to the busy downtown area. We believe that the City has ignored basic principles and is overrepresenting developer interests. There is no precedent for this rezoning at all. You can’t find a single high-rise this close to a historic district ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATE.
The rezoning case Z-11-25 (2230 S New Hope Rd) proposes development on a reforested, environmentally sensitive floodplain area. This forest is one of the last natural buffers remaining along New Hope Road, protecting nearby neighborhoods from flooding, erosion, and extreme heat. The Planning Commission has already recommended denial of this case, recognizing the significant environmental and community risks.
The Athens Drive Community Library has been a valued part of SW Raleigh/Avent West Community for 47 years! The library opened inside the high school in 1978. In 2022, due to concerns of having the public in the school building during the day, the decision was made to move the Community Library out of the high school and build a standalone library on or adjacent to the high school. The Wake Commissioners agreed to help the community accomplish this goal by placing the Athens Drive Community Library Replacement on the 2024 Bond Referendum. The voters of Wake County supported the 2024 bond and now with the funding set, a site must be selected. The site for the library has become a major issue in the community since the county has not secured a site in the community which is being heavily developed and redeveloped. The promise made was that the library would remain on the campus or near the high school allowing the students to continue to have access to the library along with our community!
Every day of the year, tourists visit Oakwood to see our old houses that we work so hard to take care of. There are guided tours several times a week, and even tours by horse and carriage. We work very hard to be an amenity for the whole city. If you want a vibrant city, we are vibrant! This is only possible because we are a neighborhood, with people living in these old houses. Yet the Planning Department has been gradually rezoning our homes into office and commercial use. It’s no longer vibrant; it’s dead most of the time.
Highlights of November 18, 2025 Work Session and Afternoon Session
I plead for your assistance in preserving one of Raleigh’s greatest cultural events—the Raleigh Christmas Parade. Christmas and Christmas Parades are for CHILDREN. I sat next to Hailey Brooks’ father in 2022 as he pleaded that you not eliminate the parade following his daughter’s tragic death. I am here to ask you to reconsider the banning of participation by the under-8 set unless they are on a vehicle. By doing so, you have effectively closed the opportunity to many children who don’t have a ride.
LET THE CHILDREN participate.
It was hard to process the complete lack of interest or support by this City Council for the concerns repeatedly raised by residents. Countless emails, phone calls, meetings, and petitions were met with silence. Council was misled—partly by a Planning Department analysis that failed to identify any policy inconsistencies, and partly by Council member Silver’s one-sided defense that dismissed legitimate concerns raised by residents.
Glenwood South and surrounding neighborhoods are simply not safe. We unfortunately have to live with what former city leaders created and you have allowed to fester. The sad, shameful truth of it all and everyone knows it is that if any of you lived in the area and had to live with this ‘vibrancy’ it would have ended years ago.
The Work Session was cancelled. The Evening Public Comments Session focused on the Big Branch Greenway Connector, rezoning, preservation, and Glenwood South. 17 of 26 people who had signed up to speak followed through.
Highlights from the November 4, 2025 Afternoon and Evening Raleigh City Council meetings.
The City does have a plan to support that growth. It is called a Comprehensive Plan. Does the City follow that plan when adding density? Most times, the answer is no!
The next election for Raleigh Mayor and City Council will be held Nov 2026. But there’s a brand-new primary election first, in March 2026. With a deadline for candidates to file and get on the ballot THIS YEAR — in Dec 2025. That’s right: To run in 2026, you must file with the Board of Elections in 2025. Here are the changes to know about …
I’m here out of concern for what the proposed changes to the current noise ordinance could mean for our patients—people who are already facing enough challenges by the time they arrive at our facility. I urge each of you to visit our facility and witness these transgressions for yourselves. Step into our patients’ shoes—hear what they hear—and experience what it’s like for them to seek care under those conditions. These changes are not about limiting free speech—they are about protecting the health, dignity, and safety of everyone in our community.
There is a movement advocated by some rich and powerful people which is very ill-advised. Some people want to put condominiums in Dix Park. The concept of ‘symbolic ownership’ is the reality of people feeling that they own something even if in fact they are only located nearby. This is certainly what will happen if folks are able to purchase condominiums in Dix Park. They will ‘symbolically own’ a portion of the park and will be offended when normal citizens, who just want to enjoy the open space, invade ‘their’ park.
Highlights from the 10/14/2025 Planning Commission Meeting
The current proposal to eliminate boards — or to merge multiple community-focused efforts into a single entity — is deeply disappointing. As a volunteer commission, the HRC is not structured to provide adequate attention and voice to the wide range of community issues.
Highlights from October 21 Work Session and Afternoon Session