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City Council Appears to Listen
During the Public Comment session of the City Council meeting on April 22, both Susan Maruyama and Chantelle Miles addressed the recent N&O article concerning the lack of benches at 70% of Raleigh bus stops. They asked the council to show compassion to...
Raleigh Affordable Housing: a Step in the Right Direction
The News & Observer reported on April 15 that the City of Raleigh has purchased almost 4 acres of land for future affordable housing. The land is along New Bern Avenue where the City is planning a future bus rapid transit line. This is a perfect location for more...
Priorities All Wrong
There are three things that are drastically wrong with the path that is being taken by the Raleigh City Council and the GoRaleigh Public Bus System to address the urgent need for bus shelters: The real life needs of the majority of bus ridership, the structural and...
TAKE ACTION – Tell City Council This Lady Deserves a Bench to Sit On!
We need to make our voices heard immediately so that the power of our public opinion forces the City Council to designate the funding (because funds do exist) and make an immediate plan to begin installing benches at all 1000 bus stops that are currently without a bench or bus shelter.
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Ms. Lenora Southerland, age 82, poses for a portrait at the bus stop near her Raleigh home on Wed, April 14, 2021 (Photo: JULI LEONARD JLEONARD@NEWSOBSERVER.COM) Dear Friends, Handwritten note from Ms. Southerland attached to the buckets at the bus stop...
Nicole Stewart is No Environmentalist
Mayor Pro tem Nicole Stewart has long been labeled the “environmentalist” on Raleigh’s City Council. Her career as a fundraiser for the North Carolina Conservation Network doesn’t make her a champion for the environment. It simply makes her successful enough at...
Bob Geary on Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing
Bob Geary, resident of Raleigh’s District D and member of the Wake County Housing Justice Coalition, delivered the following remarks about Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing to City Council on Apr 6: I’m speaking again on behalf of the Wake County Housing Justice...
Raleigh’s Redline Revival
Raleigh has revived our nation’s now despised legacy of explicitly race-biased policies aimed at destroying Black neighborhoods.
The truth about Raleigh’s CACs
Since the February 4, 2020 surprise vote by the Raleigh City Council to abolish City support of CACs, you may have heard that Raleigh's Citizen Advisory Councils were not diverse or representative of Raleigh's population. This is simply not true as the above photo...
Must See Video on NOAHs: Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing
Believe it or not, Raleigh has some Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing and we believe these properties should be supported and protected. The Wake County Housing Justice Coalition (WCHJC) hosted an informative webinar on NOAHs on March 31st. They provided five...
Rezoning Cases — A Look Behind the Numbers
The graph below comes from a Triangle Business Journal article contending that developers are “flooding” the current council with rezoning requests because they are confident that their requests will be quickly and easily...
Adding density does not ease escalating housing costs, but does just the opposite, by driving up land values
The widening gap between housing costs and most incomes is caused by escalating land prices, not construction costs or zoning rules.
Indyweek on Citizen Engagement, Raleigh-style: Out With the Old, In With … a Plan to Have a Plan? (Maybe With CACs! Just Like the Old Plan!)
In his 18-page report to the city council last week, Mickey Fearn—the consultant the city hired to study and make recommendations on how the city can best engage its residents with government processes and initiatives—all but suggests resurrecting CACs, or “community...
Council once again ignores Planning Commission, engaged citizens, and Raleigh’s Comprehensive Plan
At the March 16 City Council meeting, Council voted 5 to 3 to approve rezoning case Z-45-20. Councilor David Cox, who represents the District, was joined in his opposition by Councilors Branch and Forte. The up-zoning of this property allows greater height and reduces...
When a Community Climate Action Plan is just a veneer
Lynn Edmonds spoke at the March 16 meeting of the Raleigh City Council. Her remarks are below. Lynn is Outreach Director for Public Schools First NC. A native of Durham, NC and 30 year resident of Raleigh, she is a longtime public school advocate and...
The cost of a TIG…. Millions and Millions? Not according to Mayor Baldwin
At the March 2 evening City Council meeting during Public Comments several speakers addressed the Tax Increment Grant, or TIG, that Kane Realty has requested for its Downtown South project. Mayor Baldwin was frustrated by the figures being quoted by these speakers,...
Kane’s Stadium: The “Benefit” Is All His. Whereas Affordable Housing Would Benefit the Community — With No TIG needed.
Q: What's our take on Kane Realty's plan for a soccer stadium/"entertainment venue" in his Downtown South project? A: It's a bad idea, especially when you remember that South Wilmington Street is supposed to be a corridor for Bus Rapid Transit -- and affordable...
Do claims made about Downtown South and a possible TIG stand up to scrutiny?
A recent article about a possible Tax Incentive Grant, or TIG, for Downtown South developer John Kane included several claims. Let's examine them to see if they measure up to a reality check. The article is here Raleigh City Council Considers a Program to Save...
Patrick Buffkin – Withheld Videos Revealed
District A Councilor, Patrick Buffkin, has held three virtual Town Hall meetings since the pandemic has shut down in-person gatherings. The first was April 28, 2020. The second on Sept 29, 2020. And, the most recent was Feb 11, 2021. All other councilors who have...
The NC Justice Center Opposes a TIG for Private Development
The NC Justice Center has written to the Wake County Commissioners and the Raleigh City Council expressing their concerns about the possibility of approving a Tax Increment Grant for the Downtown South project especially in this current environment of a pandemic and...