A Raleigh resident for 34 years and a proud homeowner in the historic Glenwood-Brooklyn neighborhood for 24, Roy Attride has been a dedicated neighborhood leader for many years. With a 22-year career in engineering including more than 7 years as a business leader before transitioning into the nonprofit sector in 2021, Roy Attride brings a balanced, solutions-driven perspective to community advocacy.
Passionate about fostering a successful, vibrant, and growing Raleigh, Roy advocates for thoughtful development that engages neighborhoods, supports smart transit and housing solutions, and ensures growth benefits all of Raleigh—not just a select few. Through Livable Raleigh, Roy shares insights, ideas, and advocacy for a Raleigh that thrives through collaboration, inclusivity, and sustainable progress.
On October 7, 2025, Raleigh City Council approved rezoning case Z-12-25, the West Street Tower. It was essentially the same case that City Council denied only 2 years earlier. The only difference is that between the two cases in February 2024, the city designated the property as a Downtown Transition Area. A designation that was intented to protect the area from the intense development heights of the core of the Central Business District.
The city made the claim that the property was both, in the “core” of a mixed use center and also “fronting” a corridor programmed for high-capacity, frequent bus transit. Neither of these assertions are true. As such, the property should be designated as “General” in the city’s LU-2 Land Use Height table. See the facts here: 4 Steps to Analyze Z-12-25
Roy Attride is one of three Glenwood-Brooklyn homeowners suing the city of Raleigh and Raleigh City Council. They want the judge to void the rezoning approval, alleging the city ignored its own comprehensive plan, improperly fast-tracked the project, and ignored the impact on their neighborhood.
CBS 17 spoke with Roy about the issues. Watch the full report below:
The Glenwood-Brooklyn Legal Fund has been established and you can help in this fight with a donation through this GoFundMe.
If you wish to help with funding, the GoFundMe page is here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/glenwoodbrooklyn-legal-fund
You can donate anonymously.
If you are one of the nearly 2,000 people who signed the petition opposing this rezoning you can help one more time with a donation!
If you didn’t sign the petition, now is your chance to get involved and support the cause!
For more information about the fund: Glenwood-Brooklyn Established Legal Fund
For more information about how this case violates the city’s policies read these past reports:
Read: Glenwood-Brooklyn Group Notifies City of Lawsuit
The Glenwood-Brooklyn neighborhood group has hired The Brough Law Firm, PLLC to challenge this rezoning case. The firm is investigating what we believe are several defects in how the City has handled the situation. The City has laws and policies that are designed to create gentle transitions from slow, quiet neighborhoods to the busy downtown area. We believe that the City has ignored basic principles and is overrepresenting developer interests. There is no precedent for this rezoning at all. You can’t find a single high-rise this close to a historic district ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATE.
Read: Z-12-25 Stomps on Raleigh’s Comp Plan
Raleigh has the tools and the policies to manage growth responsibly. Z-12-25 ignores them. Approving this rezoning would not only damage a historic neighborhood but also set a precedent that threatens every neighborhood in Raleigh. The Comprehensive Plan shows us the path forward: moderate, context-sensitive growth that strengthens, not undermines, our city’s future.
Read: Why Z-12-25 (The West Street Tower) Fails Raleigh’s Vision
Raleigh needs growth, but growth must be responsible. The 2030CP and ETOD establish a framework where context, transitions, and neighborhood protection guide how and where height happens. Z-12-25 proposes 240-360 foot towers just steps from a historic neighborhood. This is inconsistent with adopted plans, sets a dangerous precedent, and undermines Raleigh’s planning tools.
Read: 4 easy steps to analyze Z-12-25, West St Tower
Staff made 4 simple analysis errors. We go through each of those errors, show you the language from city documents that was misinterpreted and give you the updated results.