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Hwa Huang – Reparations in Raleigh – Part 2
Just a few weeks ago, Durham City Council took another step forward in their calls for reparation efforts as they voted unanimously to call for national reparations in order to start closing the wealth gap for its Black communities. To make up for all of the missed...
After the election, Raleigh still has work to do. Is your voice being heard?
I know that the election is on your mind, but if you live in Raleigh, life will continue to move rapidly on Wednesday. The Raleigh City Council meeting normally held on Tuesday will be on Wednesday and serious issues will be on the agenda. The City Council meeting on...
City Council’s Code of Conduct Demands Respect for Citizens
The Raleigh City Council has a formal "Code of Conduct" which defines acceptable behavior for the councilors. One section of the code defines how the councilors are expected to behave in interactions with the public. CONDUCT WITH THE PUBLIC Public meetings and...
Council Member David Cox – Preserving Our Trees in the Richland Creek Watershed
David Cox, PhD, the three-term District B representative on Raleigh's City Council, submitted the following "Guest Blog" to Livable Raleigh for publication. The Richland Creek watershed drains into the Neuse River. Why is that important? Because City Council is...
CBS 17 – Advocates speak out on potential effect of ‘Downtown South’ on nearby Raleigh residents
Livable Raleigh's Sade Gilbert was interviewed by CBS 17 for a report on the effects the proposed Downtown South project would have on the local neighborhoods and the environment. RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Plans for a stadium and entertainment district in...
Downtown South – My Letter to the Mayor and City Council
Susan Maruyama, a resident of Raleigh, sent the following email to the Mayor and City Council on Wednesday, October 21. Dear Mayor and City Council members, I listened to the City Council meeting yesterday and was struck by the cavalier attitude of Bonner...
Give It Up for John Kane: His Downtown South Plan is a Power Grab, Money Grab and Tax Grab
What do we know about Kane Realty's Downtown South (DTS) plan after a 3-hour long Planning Commission meeting on Friday? The answer is, we didn't learn one thing on Friday that we didn't already know; and going into Friday, all we knew about developer John Kane's...
Raleigh Community Engagement: Where’s the Beef?
It has now been 260 days since the Raleigh City Council abolished its support of Raleigh's CACs (Citizen Advisory Councils). This was done in a surprise vote on February 4th that was developed in secret, with no community engagement, and with a demand for no...
Kane’s Downtown South Up-Zoning Case Z-13-20: A Primer. (Short Version: 40 Stories, Could Be Anything, Starts Thursday)
Affordable housing included? No. Enhanced Stormwater Controls? No. Low-impact Development promised? No. Is there a Community Benefits Agreement? No. Are ANY design or details offered? No. None.
Disinformation in Local Elections
On Tuesday, October 20, Raleigh's News and Observer is hosting a webinar, "Disinformation in Local Elections: How to spot it and what you can do" I decided to write to the N&O on the eve of their webinar because I have three examples of the role disinformation has...
Whether the housing bond passes or fails, Raleigh needs a citizens’ Affordable Housing Task Force
More than 16,000 Raleigh households with very low incomes pay rents equal to more than half of their earnings. How did we NOT know that? A citizens’ Task Force would shine a light on the crisis and offer real solutions..
On Raleigh’s Housing Bond: The Wake Co. Housing Justice Coalition Recommends a NO vote
The Coalition: “[It] is a failure of leadership, and a slap in the face of Raleigh’s stated efforts to achieve equity in our programs, to expand help for those who have more while short-changing those who have less.”
Council Justifies Destroying Azalea Falls with a Tangled Web of Deceptions, Distortions and Glaring Omissions
October 6, 2020 will go down in Raleigh history as one of the worst days for environmental conservation, as the Raleigh City Council voted 7 to 1 (Cox dissenting) to destroy Azalea Falls, one of only a handful of state designated Natural Heritage Areas in our entire city.
![[UPDATE: Council’s 7-1 vote snuffs buffers] More zoning buffers could be voted away: more folks living in the shadows.](https://livableraleigh.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/50-Feet-e1647793454618.jpg)
[UPDATE: Council’s 7-1 vote snuffs buffers] More zoning buffers could be voted away: more folks living in the shadows.
Council’s vote will hasten the trends of gentrification and teardowns in older Raleigh neighborhoods, especially our historically African-American neighborhoods. It’s a money grab, pure and simple.
City Council votes 7 to 1 to destroy Azalea Falls.
At the October 6 Raleigh City Council afternoon meeting, David Knight led a spurious, yet successful effort to destroy Azalea Falls, one of Raleigh’s designated National Historic sites. As usual, the development-driven Council majority voted 7 to 1 (David Cox being the lone dissenter) to perpetrate another environmental disaster in our community.
More zoning buffers could be voted away: more folks living in the shadows.
The Raleigh City Council will be voting on TC-6-20 this coming Tuesday, October 6th. This is a text change to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). While there are many scenarios that can result from this text change, the one scenario that nobody will like are the...
Save Raleigh’s Azalea Falls
(This is the full version of the abbreviated op-ed published in the News and Observer on October 2, 2020) Azalea Falls is a hidden Raleigh gem that has recently been designated by the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources as being an ecological habitat of...
Council threatens ‘Darth Vader Scenario’ in developer’s bid to destroy Azalea Falls, an ecological habitat of statewide significance.
The steeply wooded hillsides above Azalea Falls are, as detailed in the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources designation of statewide ecological significance, INTEGRAL to Azalea Falls’ unique forest ecology and aquatic habitats. No wooded hillsides, no Azalea Falls.
Carmen Cauthen’s “History of Housing in Raleigh” is context for tomorrow night’s “Affordable Housing Bond: The Great Debate”
After 1916, Oberlin Village was a textbook case of white gentrification of a formerly black community. Dial ahead 100 years: The gentrification of formerly all-black Southeast Raleigh is history repeating itself.
Council Targets a Few of Raleigh’s Greatest Affordable Housing Needs
After months of encouragement, City Council finally offered a small commitment toward meeting the most pressing needs of Raleigh’s growing affordable housing crisis. Livable Raleigh continues to encourage the Raleigh City Council to commit at least 50% of annual housing funds to the critical documented needs for households at or below 30% AMI.