Council must uphold plans they unanimously approved

On January 6, 2026, rezoning case Z-34-25, the rezoning of North Hills, will again be presented to Council for approval. The previous submission in 2021 was withdrawn due to concerns from City Councilors and  considerable public comment that did not support the request without further addressing the inconsistencies with the 2030 Comprehensive Plan for building heights, density transitions, and affordable housing.

Both this rezoning and the previous rezoning are similar.  The major difference is that the developer is currently asking for up to 20 stories at the Lassiter node (intersection of Lassiter/Currituck), whereas in the previous request they were asking for up to 30 stories. There are also some zoning conditions which were added to the previous request across the life of the case which are not included in the current request. Two of those conditions missing are affordable housing and additional land for the firehouse.

After four years of extensive citizen outreach and an expenditure of at least $250,000 of taxpayer money, a Small Area Plan was unanimously approved by Council in December 2020. Part of that plan included recommendations for 20-story maximum building heights in North Hills.

The current rezoning threatens to change all of that with proposals for 40, 20, and 12-story buildings in what the developer calls “underutilized” areas of North Hills, notably parking areas. This application, if approved, will negate the value of resident-initiated area plans and set a future precedent for building heights for Midtown and other suburban areas of the City.

If you believe that area plans proposed by residents and for residents, and endorsed by City Council should be upheld, please email CityCouncilMembers@raleighnc.gov or call your City Councilors at 919-996-3050 to make your voice heard before January 6, 2026.

This Mayor and Council need to be reminded that they unanimously supported the Midtown – Saint Albans area plan in December 2020 and have a contractual obligation with the public to support adherence to that policy!