When public funds, private interests, and historic institutions intersect—transparency is not optional. Neutrality is not optional. Accountability is not optional. And right now, the public deserves answers—not silence, not side conversations, and not decisions made in whispers.
Highlights from the April 21 work session and afternoon council meeting
Before any attempt is made to raise taxes you need to have an independent arm’s length audit/efficiency study of all city departments to make sure taxpayer money is being properly spent. Given the financial headwinds the city is facing, not doing an audit would be the height of financial irresponsibility.
Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Districts were adopted as legislative tools to guide growth while preserving established neighborhood patterns. If the City believes these overlays require revision, that conversation should occur through a comprehensive, citywide process—not through the incremental removal of protections on individual parcels.
Raleigh adopted a carefully thought-out and comprehensive rezoning of the entire City just 10 years ago which was and is designed to handle the growth we are now experiencing. But, Raleigh incentivizes speculators and hustlers to find cheaper and less densely zoned land not in the core of downtown and then rezone it because the city will rezone almost anything so long as you commit to building more density whether affordable or not.
Trees make Raleigh Raleigh. They shape our cityscape, and they define us as the City of Oaks. They’re the first thing visitors notice, and they are a large part of what makes so many people want to stay here. Sadly, Raleigh’s popularity has come at a cost to our trees.
Forty years ago, the City accepted a Conservation Easement from Anderson Forest developers that specifically prohibits the building of greenway trails in the area now being proposed for Segment 1B. Yet, after reaping the easement’s benefits for decades, the City now wants to break its very terms.
Growth is inevitable, it can be transformative; it’s up to us to see that it isn’t destructive. Zoning and land use planning are the tools we use to meet this challenge.
Navigating Raleigh’s affordable housing webpages feels like a frustrating maze. There’s good information, unfortunately, it’s buried under confusing web design, esoteric labels, scattered across too many disconnected pages or missing altogether in outdated reports.
I have been asked why we continue to speak to oppose Council’s decision to approve greenway routing through Anderson Forest backyards. City staff had numerous opportunities to influence Council and the public with written materials, glossy presentations and surveys. We have been largely restricted to three-minute comments like this to make our case to you and the public.