Community engagement for the 2025 / 2026 Raleigh Budget has started. I attended the first virtual session in December, not October, thinking that they would actually engage with the audience. Instead, input was gathered through a number of questions, rather than an informative session and discussion with the public to gather more information about resident priorities and needs. My session had a well educated audience, yet little time was afforded for actual public input.
When I first joined City Council I met advocates who introduced me to the idea of developing a white water rafting facility in the Neuse River near Falls dam. I was initially enthusiastic about the idea to add recreation to the river. However, as I learned more, I realized the tremendous negative impacts such a facility could have on the wildlife that depend on the river.
INDY Week, please stop referring to me as anti-development. You refer to me as “Livable Raleigh co-founder Stef Mendell, who ran on an anti-development platform.” This has got to stop. I am not and have never been anti-development. And neither is Livable Raleigh. Let’s try to work together and find reasonable ways to accommodate appropriate development. Labeling individuals or groups as anti-development only furthers polarization.
Nearly half of the housing stock in Raleigh is rental housing and much of the affordable housing efforts by the city have been gap financing for affordable rental units. I think there needs to be a greater focus on creating dense, affordable, multi-family home ownership opportunities, and I think the best way to go about this is by incentivizing and/or subsidizing the creation of limited equity housing cooperatives.
Highlights from the December 3, 2024 City Council meeting
Neighbors are generally supportive of affordable housing, stating “Given Raleigh’s commitment to providing affordable housing, … eventually an affordable housing development will probably be placed on this site. Our efforts are to assure that a smaller number of units will be allowed and thus the development will be more compatible with our neighborhood and the environment.”
Homeowners being sued by a builder in Woodcrest. This lawsuit is made possible by the City Council which allows major developments without neighborhood input or process and rezoned the missing middle without providing protections in established neighborhoods.
Highlights from November 19, 2024 City Council meeting.
An article like the one in the N&O (11/17/2024) about Mary-Ann Baldwin’s self-described “record of progress” is to be expected but there is a lot to unpack here that could help give the new mayor of Raleigh Janet Cowell some direction.
On May 7th of this year City Council voted to switch to 4-year staggered terms without putting the issue on the ballot for voters to decide, effectively buffering city council from the corrective action of Raleigh residents’ voting power. While I have heard and respect the arguments in favor of 4-year terms, it should be voted on by residents.