One of the greatest problems with Missing Middle is that it takes a machete approach, chopping through city neighborhoods. A scalpel would be a better instrument for cutting out areas where denser development would be promoted. There is no appreciation for context.
I have been coming here since December 2022 to talk about Glenwood South crime and noise issues. When I was here May 2nd I brought up the recent issue which happened at Governor and Mrs. Cooper’s personal residence. Now onto noise, for about 1-1/2 years the city has been talking about revising the current noise ordinance which is horrible and almost impossible to enforce. On Dec 6th the previous city attorney said, in the council meeting, the new noise ordinance would be out in about 2 months.
I follow a listserv to see what people are saying about building, growth and change on the New Bern Avenue corridor since that is where I live, The latest conversation is about the city purchasing the DMV building at more than the appraised price. If I talk about the evils of putting more unaffordable housing in the community, I am called a NIMBY (not in my back yard). They never seem to understand that I am not advocating for the haves, but for the have nots. If you have no back yard – that is who I am fighting for. I could be one of them.
As more and more people from across all sectors and neighborhoods discover how the Missing Middle, and its various iterations, is dangerous to their wallets and single-family neighborhoods they are rising up to challenge the base thinking.
Intentional or not, staff’s interpretations of the Comp Plan and Missing Middle rules are not promoting affordability. Instead they promote the destruction of existing affordable units in favor of market rate and luxury units that drive up land and housing costs. Over 4,000 units lost each year according to the city’s own data, making Raleigh’s affordable housing crisis worse, not better.
June 6 City Council Meetings HIGHLIGHTS Several councilors asked that rezoning case schedules be managed to limit the number at each meeting so that each case receives appropriate time and attention. Planning staff will come back with schedule suggestions. Unanimously...
You may be creating more density for increased ridership for public transit but you are destroying the reason that people continue to live in a City of deep, rich culture and historic heritage. Let’s not lose our past and present character while making room for a ridership that may never develop, especially if it does not provide for the housing needs for the population that actually depends on public transit for their livelihood.
Please tell our Planning Department to stop dedicating staff time to demolishing our historic neighborhoods, and instead work on redeveloping these parking lots. I’ll bet Planning staff would rather be doing that anyway!
Let’s just stop doing the things that will require more apologies and reparations. Let’s stop demolishing our historic black neighborhoods.
You should apply the Frequent Transit Area text changes to only New Bern Avenue, and be very cautious that the TOD not destroy NOAH for citizens making as low as 30 percent AMI without taking responsibility for replacing it.