Don’t make the Urban Renewal mistake again. History will tell on you.

Credit: Carmen Cauthen     

Chris Crew was born in Morganton, NC and moved to Raleigh in 1964. He’s been a resident of Historic Oakwood since 1975.

Educated at NCSU and UNC-Chapel Hill, works for the State of NC in Public Safety. Preservationist, Cook, Trombonist, Brewer, Choirboy, Grandfather.

Chris spoke at City Council on December 12, 2023. He had planned a 3 minute comment on preservation. But, due to the abrupt change by Mayor Baldwin limiting speaker time to only 1 minute, he had to change his comment. His 1 minute comment is printed here 1st followed by the comments he had planned originally:  

I had prepared a 3 minute statement on Preservation as a value and included a compliment regarding a recent Council success.

Instead, I’ll bring up the dastardly manner in which public comment has once again been stifled (the 3rd time since March when you agreed to a predictable schedule offering 3 minutes.)

On September 12, I chided you for voting with the mayor to arbitrarily cut comment to 2 minutes at the previous meeting.

Now, with less than 6 hours notice, at 10:38 this morning the Manager’s office notified me that you only care about one third of what your constituents have to say.

I’ve given my prepared comments to the Clerk to be entered into the record.

Vote against Urban Renewal 2023—-Z-92-22

Elections are coming.

Citizens are watching.

You can read more about the reduction in speaking time here: Councilors betray the people to serve Mayor Baldwin

Mr. Crew’s originally planned comments follow next.

Good afternoon. This is the twelfth time I’ve come before you this year to encourage you to adopt Preservation as a value in your decision making.

I am pleased to begin on a congratulatory note acknowledging your December 5th vote to designate the William Henry Deitrick House as Raleigh’s newest Historic Landmark. I ask you to keep up the momentum and join in  decisive action in the new year to save Elmwood, the Hubert Royster House, and other priceless historic treasures.

This brings me back to the most salient Preservation issue before you: Z-92-22. As currently constituted, this effort is the antithesis of preservation and equity. This effort is led by the City, not by property owners. Its beneficiaries will primarily NOT be the impacted property owners. Z-92-22 as currently drafted violates the City’s Equitable Development Around Transit Policies which are by design supposed to make SUBSTANTIAL additions to housing affordable to families at 30-50% AMI.

If carried out, this effort will destroy established historic neighborhoods and community identities, it will displace residents from existing affordable housing with no realistic hope of replacement; generational wealth will evaporate. It threatens the city’s tree canopy; it is a sickening reboot of the 1960’s and 70’s Urban Renewal projects that decimated neighborhoods and cultural identities in downtown Raleigh.

Raleigh has a well-thought-out, well vetted Unified Development Ordinance that calls for rezoning to take place on a case-by-case basis and conditioned on equitable development, preserving place, community, and the historic fabric of Raleigh.

Z-92-22 will replace this fabric with cheap, disposable housing designed primarily for a fast return on investor dollars. If you don’t care about the moderate-income families displaced in this cataclysm, consider the more well-to-do folks who can afford rental payments in excess of $2500 a month. Where are they going to go in ten or twelve years when these buildings reach their design life?

Transportation “needs” have been a source and tool of inequitable development for a century now.

Don’t fall for it.

I am pleased to see that some communication has been opened regarding the North, South and West Corridors of the BRT—there are plenty of places along these routes suitable for redevelopment in a manner that will benefit all people. Let’s focus on those areas. We’ve spent a lot of time and energy on Z-92-22, but the minor rewording that has come before you falls short. Rewording a bad idea doesn’t make it a good idea; spending a long time reaching a bad decision doesn’t make it a good one.

Vote against it when it comes to you. Don’t make the Urban Renewal mistake again. History will tell on you.

Thank you for your service.

I wish you a happy holiday season and a productive new year.

Note: The graphic image accompanying this piece was created by Carmen Cauthen and published by her in Feb 2021: Trip down my memory lane

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