Please, ask yourself why staff is proposing to put the TOD overlay in place and then, head fake! Wipe it out in the same rezoning case with a totally unrelated and massive up-zoning of 744 properties. Ask yourself why Mayor Baldwin thinks that’s a good idea.
A neighborhood is most fortunate when it is somewhere in the middle: Prosperous enough that residents can live in safety, and find it worthwhile to maintain their homes, but not so prosperous that residency is determined only by income, and the soul of the neighborhood is lost.
On January 30th, City Council should vote against the current rezoning case and send City Planners back to the drawing board to redo the map. Wide support of the TOD can be accomplished by strategically applying it to commercial properties and open lots. You cannot reduce the displacement pressure on the existing neighborhoods when you include those very neighborhoods in the TOD!
Video from our New Bern Avenue Public Forum is available! If you weren’t able to attend, you can watch the video here NOW!
There are no changes or tweaks to the language that will make it acceptable. This change request by the Planning Department, not property owners, has the flavor and appearance of a public taking. If you vote in favor of this, you will be remembered as a partner in Urban Renewal.