Raleigh’s zoning laws guided the growth of a city often found at the top of “Best Places to Live” lists. They protect us from inconsiderate neighbors. They give us the confidence to buy a house or sign a lease because we can roughly predict what the surroundings will be like in the future. Let’s continue to offer a variety of environments to call home, including vibrant mixed-use areas and quiet, family-friendly neighborhoods.
HIGHLIGHTS Councilor Buffkin absent again for all of work session and some of afternoon session (many recent absences seem to coincide with his NC Senate campaign activities, showing his priorities) Several councilors express concerns about lack of transparency and...
Carmen Cauthen spoke at the Raleigh City Council meeting about the rezoning of property at the corner of New Bern, Poole Road, extending back to Bart Street. While the New Bern BRT is in process, the developer has asked for this property to be rezoned for a 4 story, 40 unit apartment complex. The neighbors are against the proposal for several reasons.
To be clear, we support development, but we do not support the scale of development that would result from this Rezoning Application. At both of the neighborhood “meetings” held by Parker Poe on behalf of the Applicant, there was a consensus among residents that the Rezoning Application was simply too much. These comments have not been provided to the Commission in any materials I reviewed. However, the public comments included in the Staff packet echo many of these comments and concerns. In addition, I am a proponent of the idea that you “Plan the Work and Work the Plan.” In this instance – that “Plan” is the Walkable Midtown plan.
The Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of Z-67-21, located at the intersections of I-440 at Lassiter Mill Road and Lassiter Mill Road at Six Forks Road. This despite strong concerns expressed by area residents concerning the impact on fire safety,...
First, I would like to address a statement Councilor Stewart made at a recent meeting. She said that it’s the same people who participate in public comment time after time, but this simply is not true. I collected data from City Council minutes for September 4, 2018 to September 7, 2022 for a total of 64 meetings: 32 meetings before Council began meeting virtually and 32 meetings after. You can see this data displayed in the bar graph. During the virtual meetings, participation in public comments increased 17%, and the number of individuals that spoke only once before council increased 23%.
The proposed text changes will put the safety and comfort of our communities at risk by bypassing all restrictions and neighborhood protections by allowing unregulated businesses and unwanted traffic, congestion, and visitors to enter our neighborhoods from 6am -11pm every day/night. I did not purchase a home next to a gym, nail salon, sweepstakes parlor, burger joint, manufacturing plant, clock shop, or art studio because I wanted to live in a bedroom community, not a strip mall.
Ted Van Dyk, AIA is principal of New City Design Group, a Raleigh Architecture firm. Mr. Van Dyk founded New City in 1996, and continues to work on a wide variety of retail multifamily, and mixed use projects throughout the region. Mr. Van Dyk submitted the following...
HIGHLIGHTS Once again a last minute change from in-person to virtual meeting due to Covid outbreak among staff. All public hearings will be continued to May 10 at 4pm except for Floodplain Maps which is referred to Planning Commission with recommendations needed in...
On April 26 WRAL-TV featured a story about a proposed North Hills Rezoning case (Z-67-21) that took place at the Planning Commission meeting earlier that day. WRAL’s coverage was effectively a promotion for the project, as compared to an accounting of what actually...