Livable Raleigh Chair Susan Maruyama delivered the following remarks at the January 4, 2022 Raleigh City Council meeting:Madam Mayor and City Council, Please don’t leave a whole lot of good on the table in 2022 like you did in 2021. In 2021, you approved 96% of the...
District A Resident Presents a Redistricting Alternative
Midtown Raleigh resident Larry Helfant recently sent the following email to City Staff and the members of the Study Group on Council Terms and Compensation who now have been tasked with advising on redrawing of districts required after the recent census. Preliminary...
Humanizing the Affordable Housing Crisis
Longtime Raleigh resident Terry Snyder recently spoke at a Raleigh City Council meeting Over the past 49 years that I have lived in West Raleigh, I have witnessed significant changes in development. One of the most alarming negative consequences is the vanishing...
Decisions made by the city should be informed by the residents who live there; what a concept!
Christina Jones, Chair of the RCAC (Raleigh Citizens Advisory Council), recently spoke at a Raleigh City Council meeting: I recently participated in the Midtown CAC ZOOM meeting, in which we discussed Z-45-21. This is a project that will displace current...
The Nuances of Inclusionary Zoning; where there’s a will, there’s a way. Or not!
Lisa Hughet has lived in Raleigh over 30 years and has become a fierce advocate for affordable housing. Hughet became a volunteer construction lead with Wake Habitat for Humanity so she could make a visible difference and also teach others some valuable...
Adding Density without Infrastructure Planning Makes No Sense; So Why Are We Doing It?
Midtown Raleigh resident Larry Helfant shares his insights and concerns about deficiencies in Raleigh’s planning for growth. The recently announced phase of the North Hills expansion (Z-67-21) will result in a further degradation of neighborhood quality to the people...
Stop Signs, Stop Lights, and the Environment
Janis Ramquist submitted this blog to Livable Raleigh. She has been a Wake County resident since 1981. Janis says “I want my grandchildren to enjoy a clean environment, especially with simple choices that are safe and less costly.” Have you noticed the explosion of...
Support One Wake’s Property Tax Assistance Proposal – Do the Right Thing NOW!
Livable Raleigh Chair Susan Maruyama delivered the following remarks at the November 2, 2021 Raleigh City Council meeting. Mayor and City Council: 12 days ago, One Wake gathered 600 people online and in-person to make an excellent, well-considered proposal to provide...
Bring elections and voter engagement into the 21st century
Barry Eriksen has been a rustbelt refugee and Triangle transplant for over 40 years and for the last 22 years has lived in West Raleigh’s Fairmont neighborhood. This blog post is adapted from his remarks made during the September 21, 2021, Raleigh City Council...
Raleigh flunks all 5 tests of “Open Democracy”
Bob Geary, resident of Raleigh’s District D and member of the Wake County Housing Justice Coalition, delivered the following remarks at the City Council meeting on September 7: Mayor and Council, I want to recommend a fascinating book called “Open Democracy: Popular...









