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 and is retired from Public Safety. Preservationist, Cook, Trombonist, Brewer, Choirboy, Grandfather.
Chris spoke to City Council September 9, 2025:
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your willingness to receive public input.
In the coming weeks, you will be hearing from the public about a number of land use planning, zoning and development issues and opportunities in Raleigh. The Preservation Community takes particular interest in Z-25-25, Z-31-25 and Z-12-25.
As the decision makers in these cases, you deserve to have good and complete advice from the various stakeholders—the Planning Department, the development community, and the public.
In 1999, I first addressed the City Council concerning a zoning change proposal and during that conversation, the late James West reminded the petitioner that it was not the City’s responsibility to insure the profitability of a particular business venture.
In order for you to make important decisions about such ventures with confidence, you need good advice. The Planning Department should be working together with petitioners and the pubic to provide you with a recommendation based on a full and rational analysis of all impacts, positive or negative, and consistency with the Comprehensive Plan. Their job is to help you understand a proposal in context, not to convince you that the proposed action is necessary and essential to the continued expansion of Raleigh’s revenue base.
The Planning Department’s presentations should illustrate a broad look at the comprehensive plan and other relevant guidance (including congeniality and common sense) to assess a wide range of impacts in order to present a cogent, balanced and impartial assessment of the public impacts and benefits of a particular variance, upon which you may confidently base a decision.
That’s not what you are getting.
You guard and contribute to the legacy of Raleigh, and I hope that based on your actions my grandchildren will view this city as worthy of preservation when their turn comes to stand at this podium, or sit at the dais.
There is a petition opposing Z-12-25, The West Street Tower, you may sign it here:
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