On May 12, 2026, two members of Livable Raleigh’s Advisory Committee presented our Affordable Housing Agenda at the City Council’s Public Comments Session:
Mayor, Members of Council,
I’m Tim Niles and I’m speaking on behalf of Livable Raleigh.
We want our city to be affordable for people at all income levels
As you know, right now it isn’t.
By your staff’s count, 51,000 households in Raleigh are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than one-third of their income to find housing. And, that’s just the folks who still live here. It doesn’t count those who’ve already been pushed out to somewhere else.
27,000 Raleigh households spend half or more of their income on housing.
You know this too, of course.
And you know the problem is getting worse. The city’s efforts to bridge the affordability gap have been swamped by the rise in housing costs and the teardowns of older, affordable homes.
Two months ago, Livable Raleigh presented a plan to do better.
The key elements are:
One:
Put an affordable housing bond issue on the ballot of at least $200 million. In other words, ALMOST as much as the bond issue for parks two years ago. Be more ambitious than the $80 million bond from six years ago. Our proposal was the same as the plan by One Wake — $200 million, or more.
Two:
Also, we asked that you NOT put the entire cost of doing better on Raleigh taxpayers.
We’ll do our share. It’s only fair that the development industry be asked to step up too.
Developers reap large profits with each rezoning case you approve.
Maybe they build a project. Maybe they just flip the land and reap the gain.
But, either way, every rezoning approval is worth millions to them, or tens of millions.
It’s real money, and it could and should be shared with those in need.
In other words, developers would join with taxpayers to address a housing crisis that is, after all, the product of the fact that they build lots of luxury housing, but not much else.
This the industry refuses to do, except in a very few cases. And, in those few cases, their contribution to affordable housing is not commensurate with the increase in monetary value they are given by you and us.
Developers do not include affordable homes or rental units in most of their big rezoning cases. They could. They don’t.
Would doing so cut into their profits? Yes, it would. We understand that.
The question we ask is, why are taxpayers expected to reach in their pockets for affordable housing, regardless of their ability to pay… but developers – why are they NOT expected to contribute a portion of the profits we gave them?
Thus far, your response has been a $101 million housing bond. It’s a disappointing effort.
As for developers, they aren’t being asked for anything.
Please do better.
I’m Donna Bailey, also representing Livable Raleigh this evening.
I want to start by underscoring what Tim Niles just said. The proposal for a $101 million housing bond is very disappointing.
Adjusted for inflation, it’s less than the $80 million bond issue from six years ago. We need to have MORE affordable housing, not less.
We are long overdue when it comes to our development industry chipping in their fair share.
How many times do we have to hear our Council members say that “we just CAN’T make the industry do anything.” It is your job to remind developers that you CAN reject rezoning cases if they lack sufficient public benefit. That is wholly in your discretion.
Contributions to affordable housing are a crucial public benefit that we need and that developers CAN offer.
I have a suggestion, and it won’t cost you anything.
What I suggest is that you, as a Council, ENGAGE with the problem of housing affordability, and start figuring out how to do more. What do I mean by engage?
Start with a vote.
Vote to assign this issue to a Council committee. Tell the committee to study what the rest of the world is doing, meet with the public, and the industry, and staff… and to listen, and learn. And come back to us with new ideas and a new commitment to move forward as a city where we can all work… and live together.
We keep being told what CAN’T be done. Let’s figure out what we CAN do!
-
- What COULD we do with a bigger bond?
- What can DEVELOPERS do in a zoning case to add to our affordable housing stock?
- WHY is “Missing Middle” – which was supposed to help — giving us more teardowns, and more gentrification, but less affordability?
- How is Portland, Oregon doing this right, but not us?
Let’s talk about GENTRIFICATION, and what happens to Raleigh if only the wealthy can afford to live here.
You have four standing Council committees. But they’re not allowed to meet unless you’ve given them an assignment. That’s a rule you’ve set. So, we have four committees, but none of them are authorized to discuss affordable housing.
My request is that you assign the topic of affordable housing to one of the standing committees, or create a new committee. In other words, ENGAGE!
Raleigh is becoming a city for the wealthy only. Is that what we want?
It’s what we’ll get if we stay on the same slow course, falling farther and farther behind.
The need is urgent. The need for leadership is truly urgent.
We need YOU, our ELECTED LEADERS, to stand up and take on this issue.
Livable Raleigh is hosting a Community Conversation on Thursday, June 4th at the Tarboro Rd Community Center from 7-8:30. I hope you will all attend and listen to some community leaders and the community!
You can watch the comments below:
You can see Livable Raleigh’s full Affordable Housing Agenda here: Affordable Housing Agenda
Livable Raleigh will host a Community Conversation on Affordable Housing June 4, 7pm at Tarboro Rd Community Center
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