Bob Mulder, a former chair of Raleigh’s Planning Commission, sent the following letter to the Raleigh City Council:
In the North Hills subdivision there is a lot at 1105 Hyde Street on a 0.37 acre lot. The original house, an early 1960s ranch, was recently torn down to make way for new construction. You can see in the attached photos from the Wake County Tax Record that the lot was covered with tree canopies. The additional photos show the lot as it is today, almost no trees.
The original house and lot were purchased as a tear down on 10/8/2021 for $510,000. The current new construction is on the market for $1,750,000.
In Farrior Hills there is new construction being built at 201 Dartmouth Rd. The original 1960s ranch on a 0.49-acre lot sold for $675,000 on 2/4/2022. Same story, goodbye tree cover. The still unfinished new construction sold for $2,985,000.
I have yet to see any affordable housing being built in Raleigh.
Your relentless drive to spread density everywhere is going to be the death knell for the remaining urban forests in our older subdivisions. You are riding the crest of the tree removal wave, as well as the steady progression towards increased traffic gridlock.
On my drives around the city I see what is going on. I challenge you to prove me wrong. Here is a link to an article about urban tree loss.
As always, you are welcome to contact me, and I would be glad to hear your views on this subject and any others having to do with Raleigh development.
Robert Mulder
Former Chair, Raleigh Planning Commission
Click on the images below to see the property as it was with a tree canopy
Hyde1
Hyde2
Hyde3
Click on the images below to see the property as it is now
Hyde5
Hyde6
Note – Livable Raleigh commissioned a poll from Raleigh’s own nationally recognized polling firm, Public Policy Polling. Among the results, 49% of likely voters selected “a lack of affordable housing for middle and low-income families” as Raleigh’s most pressing problem out of nine key issues.
See the full polling results here: Voters Call for Change
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