HIGHLIGHTS
- Plans for expanded convention center and convention center hotel are being revised post-Covid.
- Municipal Service District (MSD) for Midtown referred to Safe, Vibrant, & Healthy Communities Committee April meeting.
- Public Comments focused on Engagement, Downtown Parking, and Road improvements.
- Deferred adoption of Greenway Master Plan until after consultation with Meredith College next week.
- Council authorized a $4M investment from Affordable Housing bonds to be combined with the Wake County $10.5 million investment to support a fund that will offer loans to developers for the acquisition and preservation of existing legally-binding and naturally occurring affordable housing. This will serve households at 80% AMI and below, with a focus on 60% and below.
- Rezoning Z-68-20: Hillsborough Street and Bagwell Avenue, at the northeast corner of the intersection (District D): hearing closed and new hearing scheduled for April 5 to allow for revised request/conditions.
- Rezoning Z-21-21: 8916 Six Forks Road, east of the intersection of Six Forks Road and Strickland Road (District A): denied, which protects our water supply.
- Text Change TC-11-21: Parking Minimums, Maximums, and Mitigations: Approved 7-1 with Councilor Cox dissenting.
- Text Change: TC-15-21 Towing Yards. Approved 7-1 with Councilor Cox dissenting.
- Next meeting of Economic Development & Innovation Committee will be 3/22 at 1:30pm – virtual – social districts and ACUs are pending items
- Transit & Transportation Committee will meet on 3/24 to discuss sidewalk width
- No March meetings for Growth & Natural Resources Committee or Safe, Vibrant, & Healthy Communities Committee
WORK SESSION
Destination Strategic Plan – Convention and Visitors Bureau – Convention Center Hotel
- Convention expansion and Convention Hotel projects pushed back two years due to COVID ($30M for hotel begins in FY25; $230M for Expansion begins in FY30
- Reframing RFI (“Request for Interest”) to potential developers to look at more residential and mixed use and be more pedestrian and bike friendly rather than a car thoroughfare
- Incentives will be negotiated
- Mayor suggests phasing Convention Center expansion
- Vendor will return with revised draft RFI
Midtown Corridor – Municipal Service District Feasibility Study
- Council directed staff to study the feasibility of establishing a Municipal Service District (MSD) in the Midtown Corridor Area. An MSD is a defined area where the city levies an additional property tax in order to provide enhanced services or projects that most directly benefit the properties in the district through promoting business investment, clean environment, safe environment, and capital improvements.
- Raleigh has MSDs Downtown and around Hillsborough Street. Two potential options are proposed for Midtown.
- Councilor Buffkin wants May 17 public hearing.
- Moved to Safe, Vibrant, & Healthy Communities Committee April meeting.
AFTERNOON SESSION
CONSENT AGENDA – approved – see details at end of report
PUBLIC COMMENT
- Christina Jones on engagement failures, Parks Board outreach activities, lack of opportunity to engage public about fee increases, lack of support from Communications Department to Parks Board, lack of support from council liaison to Board; Mayor asked Deputy City Manager to follow up.
- Three speakers asking for continued free access to downtown parking decks for service workers; Councilor Melton wants to extend as long as possible and look at possibility of a longterm program. Surprised that he is promoting free parking which encourages driving cars when he normally doesn’t like cars. City Parking Manager will make recommendations.
- Tara Robbins with an update from Midtown Raleigh Alliance and request for funding for Six Forks Corridor Transportation Improvements which were approved more than 20 years ago.
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION
The following items are scheduled for public hearing at the City Council meeting on April 5, 2022:
- The Capital North Corridor Plan: A Future of Choice (Districts C & B)
- Wake BRT: Western Boulevard Corridor Study & CP-10-21 Amendments (District D)
- Z-66-20/TCZ-4-20 – Crabtree Valley PD (District E)
- Z-54-21 – 0 & 5000 Louisburg Road (District B)
- Z-61-21 – 316 West Edenton Street (District D)
- Z-68-21 – 1624 Glenwood Ave (District E)
- Text Change TC-4-21: Transit Street Cross-Sections and Green Plus Frontage – 4/19 public hearing recommended
- Rezoning Z-60-21: 4412, 4408, 4404, 4324 Tryon Road, approximately 200 feet east of the intersection with Silver Moon Lane (District D) – 4/19 public hearing recommended
- Rezoning Z-78-21: Dawson and Martin, in the block bound by Dawson Street, Martin Street, Davie Street, and Commerce Place – 4/19 public hearing recommended
- Rezoning Z-79-21: Hoke Street and Garner Road, at the southwest corner of the intersection of Hoke Street and Garner Road, approximately one-third of a mile south of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (District C) – 4/19 public hearing recommended
- Rezoning Z-85-21: Bloodworth, Cabarrus, and East streets (District C) – 4/19 public hearing recommended
- Text Change TC-20-21: Missing Middle 2.0 – More Homes, More Choices – 5/3 public hearing recommended
- Rezoning Z-57-21: New Bern Avenue and Bart Street, at the southwest corner of the intersection of New Bern Avenue with Poole Road and Battery Drive (District C) – 5/3 public hearing recommended
SPECIAL ITEMS
- Greenway Master Plan
- Deferred adoption of Plan until after consultation with Meredith College next week
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE CITY MANAGER
- Mobility Management Implementation Study
- The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization has partnered with Wake County, the Town of Cary and the City of Raleigh to study the potential benefits of mobility management.
- Mobility management connects people with disabilities, seniors, low-income individuals, and others with accessible, reliable transportation options.
- Stakeholder engagement is ongoing.
- Wake Bus Rapid Transit (BRT): Corridor Updates
- Staff provided an update on the Wake BRT Western Corridor and the Southern Corridor next steps, including a recommendation and timeline for future Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Capital Investment Grant (CIG) Program ratings applications for each corridor.
- Mayor Baldwin lectured staff about involving appropriate stakeholders in a timely fashion.
- Councilor Branch asks that equity lens be applied.
- Authorized staff to coordinate with Grants Committee and submit Small Starts Ratings application for Wake BRT: Southern Corridor during the Federal Transit Administration Capital Investment Grant Program FY2022 application cycle
- Loan Agreement with Self Help Ventures Fund – Affordable Housing Bond Proceeds
- Wake County selected the Self-Help Ventures Fund (SHVF), a Community Development Finance Institution, to administer the Wake County Affordable Housing Preservation fund. The fund will offer loans to developers for the acquisition and preservation of existing legally-binding and naturally occurring affordable housing serving households at 80% AMI and below, focusing on 60% and below.
- Council authorized a $4M investment from AH bonds to be combined with the Wake County $10.5 million investment.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
- Petition Annexation – AX-32-21- Contiguous Inside ETJ – 4100 Auburn Church Road (District C): approved unanimously
- Petition Annexation – AX-33-21- Contiguous Inside ETJ – 6501 Town Center Drive (District B): approved unanimously
- Street Closing STC-08-2021: Portions of W. Lenoir Street and W. South Street (District D): approved unanimously
- Rezoning Z-68-20: Hillsborough Street and Bagwell Avenue, at the northeast corner of the intersection (District D): hearing closed and new hearing scheduled for April 5 to allow for revised request/conditions.
- Rezoning Z-21-21: 8916 Six Forks Road, east of the intersection of Six Forks Road and Strickland Road (District A): Councilor Cox asks questions about impact on Falls Lake watershed. Applicant wants to refer back to Planning Commission to come up with a new request. Members of the public spoke against the rezoning request. Bob Mulder says there should be no compromise on water quality. Mary Black (environmental scientist, community organizer, Raleigh resident) speaks against rezoning based on water quality, need for affordable housing, and impact of climate change on water supply. Denied, which protects our water supply.
- Rezoning Z-77-21: 4501 Edwards Mill Road, located approximately 0.67 miles southwest of the intersection of Creedmoor Road and Glenwood Avenue (District E): approved unanimously.
- Rezoning Z-86-21: Rock Drive and Poole Road, at the northeast corner of the intersection, one mile east of New Hope Road (District C): approved unanimously.
- Text Change TC-11-21: Parking Minimums, Maximums, and Mitigations: Jenn Truman spoke in support; Bob Mulder spoke in opposition, as did Councilor Cox who recommended sending back to Planning Commission for refinement. Councilor Melton said he wants to take this sledgehammer approach and Mayor Pro Tem Stewart agrees. Councilor Forte is concerned about cost of residential parking permits. Approved 7-1 with Councilor Cox dissenting.
- Text Change: TC-15-21 Towing Yards. Approved 7-1 with Councilor Cox dissenting.
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION COMMITTEE
- Next meeting 3/22 at 1:30pm – virtual – social districts and ACUs
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE GROWTH AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE
- No items pending so no March meeting
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE SAFE, VIBRANT AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY COMMITTEE
- Meeting with Wake County on homelessness has been cancelled so Wake County and Raleigh staff can meet first
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE TRANSPORTATION AND TRANSIT COMMITTEE
- 3/24 virtual meeting on sidewalk expansion
REPORT FROM THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL
- Councilor Forte asked question about Boards and Commissions dashboard; staff waiting for direction from Council. Asked for follow-up on waiver process for residential parking permits
- Councilor Branch asked for report from Fire Department in light of recent house fires to determine if any policy changes are necessary.
- Councilor Cox reported there will be a celebration at Brentwood Park on Saturday at 10am.
- Councilor Knight has a virtual Town Hall at 7pm on 3/16 regarding Parks.
- Mayor Pro Tem Stewart has been working with Councilor Melton on homelessness.
- Mayor Baldwin said Congresswoman Deborah Ross announced funding for strollway connecting Dix Park to Chavis Park is in federal budget. Wake County will receive about $10M in funding.
CONSENT AGENDA – approved
- Surplus Property Disposition- 504 Tilden Street
- Raleigh Housing Authority Bond Issuance – Toulon Place and Summit at Sawyer
- ABC Permits – Designation of Local Official
- Correction to Recorded Ordinance – Relinquishment of Extraterritorial Jurisdiction
- Public Realm Study and Committee Recommendations on Outdoor Dining – Streets and Sidewalks – Ordinance
- Business Investment Grant – Pendo.io, Inc. – Amended Agreement
- Interlocal Agreement – Wake County – Enforcement of the Wake Nondiscrimination Ordinance within the City of Raleigh
- Petition Annexation – AX-3-22- Contiguous Inside ETJ – 4520 Whitfield Road (District C)
- Annual Housing Action Plan – Fiscal Year 2022-23
- American Rescue Plan – HOME-ARP Award
- Professional Services – Master Services Agreements – Design and Engineering Services for Parks Capital Projects – Various Vendors
- Professional Services- Lake Wheeler and Lake Benson Dam Improvements
- Professional Services – Blue Ridge Road Widening – Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. – Amendment No. 3
- Contract Services– Pavement Restoration – Turner Asphalt – Amendment No. 1
- Wake Transit Plan Amendments and Interlocal Funding Agreements
- Donation of Funds – Police K9 Unit
- Budget Transfer and Amendment – One-Time Payments Raleigh Parking
- Budget Transfer– Biosolids Hauling
- Budget Transfer – Redhat Parking Deck Tax Reimbursement
- Bid Award – Lake Lynn Trail Repaving Project – Lanier Construction
- No Parking Zone – 200 Chamberlain Street
- Speed Limit Reductions – 5401 North Subdivision
- Multi-way Stop – W. Lenoir Street at S. West Street
- Curbside Pickup Zones – Hillsborough Street Parking Zone
- No Parking Zone – Stacy Street