Lisa Hughet has lived in Raleigh for nearly 30 years and says “my activism really kicked into high gear during the pandemic. Ironically, coinciding with a new City Council who appears not to have the residents of Raleigh as their highest priority. I’m also active in affordable housing matters and animal rescue.”
Lisa Hughet delivered the following comments to Raleigh City Council on November 12, 2025:
Good evening.
I want to begin by expressing my deep disappointment with the public hearing for Z-12-25 last month. My comments tonight are not directed toward Council members Jones and Harrison.
It was hard to process the complete lack of interest or support for the concerns repeatedly raised by residents. Countless emails, phone calls, meetings, and petitions were met with silence.
I’d like to know: did any of you actually visit the Glenwood-Brooklyn neighborhood? Did you drive down Devereux, Tilden, or Cleveland? Did you stand at the end of those streets and imagine what a 30-story wall would look like—what views and privacy would be lost, what shadows would be cast?
Mayor Cowell referred to them as “What’s a few shadows?” but for those of us who live there, they are much more than that.
What I found truly baffling was Staff’s conclusion that a north-to-south, 3-story step-down provides an adequate Downtown Edge transition. You know that doesn’t make any sense. The transition required here is east-to-west, not north-to-south. Moreover, the modest difference in height is largely erased by the site’s topography.
But here’s the real issue: you rushed this vote.
You knew our concerns.
You could have asked the developer to work with the neighborhood on additional conditions.
There was potential for collaboration and compromise.
Instead—and I cannot emphasize this enough—you approved a project that will create a wall.
Nowhere else downtown is there a 30-story, 800-foot-long building. Yet you deemed this the perfect place to put one.
I’m beginning to nickname it the Great Wall of Raleigh.
Now, I want to address Council member Silver directly.
I rewatched the hearing this week and was struck again by how fiercely and vigorously you defended this case. Your gestures, tone, and delivery left no doubt – you were arguing for the developer – going as far as graciously thanking the applicant for being “our partner.”
This case seemed predetermined from the start.
There was no need to rush to a vote after the first public hearing. You could have sought additional community benefits or pursued further compromises—but you didn’t.
In my opinion, 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.
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