Plan the work; work the plan

Plan the work; work the plan

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.

Allowing virtual public comments at in-person meetings would increase citizen participation

Allowing virtual public comments at in-person meetings would increase citizen participation

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%.

Text Change would eliminate residential zoning

Text Change would eliminate residential zoning

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.

Atlantic Avenue Timber Harvest

Atlantic Avenue Timber Harvest

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...

May 3 2022 City Council Meeting

May 3 2022 City Council Meeting

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...

April 5, 2022 City Council Meeting Highlights

April 5, 2022 City Council Meeting Highlights

HIGHLIGHTS April 12 work session cancelled; budget work session to be held on April 11.Missing Middle Text Change (TC-20-21) public hearing scheduled for May 3.Approved refinements to Neighborhood Traffic Management Program.Approved Highwoods Property Owners...

Former PC Chair on Parking Minimums

Former PC Chair on Parking Minimums

March 28, 2022 To Raleigh City Council & Raleigh Planning Commission Re: Eliminating parking minimums WRAL Reporter Matt Talhelm came over on March 25, 2022 to interview me about this issue. Unfortunately, my substantive comments were not included, and the one...

March 10 2022 District A Public Meeting

March 10 2022 District A Public Meeting

District A Councilor Patrick Buffkin hosted a virtual meeting on March 10. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein was to make comments at the beginning of the meeting, but had a conflict, so he sent in a video. His presentation was only a few minutes long,...