Raleigh OKs budget without separation pay for Firefighters
The Raleigh Fire Department (RFD) is at least 200 firefighter positions short. When including the current 50 known vacancies, they are 250 firefighters short of the manpower needed to fully protect this City today. Raleigh has not added any new firefighter positions since 2014, while experiencing rapid population growth and development. Let’s be clear. RFD is requesting the same benefit paid between retirement and age 62 that RPD officers have been receiving since 1987.
June 9 & 10 City Council Meetings
Highlights from June 9 Budget work session, June 10 work session, and June 10 public comments section
Anderson Forest Neighbors Oppose All Options for Big Branch Greenway Connector
Anderson Forest residents would like to join with Crabtree Heights residents in opposing all three proposed routes for the Big Branch Greenway Connector. Both neighborhoods share concerns about safety, privacy and environmental impact.
Vote for Streamside Option by 6/11
The “streamside” option along the Big Branch creek would route the connector across city and little used private pieces of land. It already looks like a greenway and avoids car and truck traffic. The two other options the city lists would bring greenway users into regular contact with cars, trucks and service vehicles. If the city selects either of the two options going through this neighborhood, it will be devastating for a long surviving Raleigh neighborhood and it will be a radical, very un-greenway greenway project. Either of these two options would be more of an urban path than actual greenway as the trail would move along roads, across one street, and require the cutting down of many of the currently surviving trees and bushes in the neighborhood, leaving a pavement-centric greenery-bare trail.
June 3 Afternoon and Evening City Council Meetings
Summary of June 3 Council meeting, including the fact that leaf collection will transition to a weekly year-round enhanced yard waste collection service beginning in Fall 2026.
Is West St in the Core of Downtown?
The West St property is NOT in the Core of Downtown. It is defined by the city as being on the edge of the Central Business District and as a designated Transition Area. If you want to build 30 & 40 story buildings, build all of them you want to in the CORE of downtown. Those properties are already zoned for 40 stories and have been for several years.
Raleigh plummets in “Best Places to Live” rankings
Raleigh was a perennial top 10 city when only being compared against other large cities in the Best Places to Live rankings. But, when the candidate pool was expanded most larger cities performed poorly. It seems smaller cities are more popular than large, dense, urban, vibrant locales. And, the difference isn’t due to cost of living or even traffic concerns. It’s quality of life.
May 27 Planning Commission Meeting Summary
Summary of the May 27 Planning Commission meeting
Do City Plans and Policies have a “Use By” Date?
In the discussion of the 30-story Tower proposed for West Street, a location in a designated Downtown Transition Area, those opposed to the proposal have pointed out that it violates 4 City Plans and 47 policies. In response, those who are supporting the proposal make the claim that those plans are out of date and should be ignored. The plans are NOT OUT OF DATE. Let’s look at the facts.
June 2 Budget Work Session
Focus of the budget work session was a separation allowance for Raleigh Firefighters.