The West St property is NOT in the Core of Downtown. It is defined by the city as being on the edge of the Central Business District and as a designated Transition Area. If you want to build 30 & 40 story buildings, build all of them you want to in the CORE of downtown. Those properties are already zoned for 40 stories and have been for several years.
Raleigh was a perennial top 10 city when only being compared against other large cities in the Best Places to Live rankings. But, when the candidate pool was expanded most larger cities performed poorly. It seems smaller cities are more popular than large, dense, urban, vibrant locales. And, the difference isn’t due to cost of living or even traffic concerns. It’s quality of life.
In the discussion of the 30-story Tower proposed for West Street, a location in a designated Downtown Transition Area, those opposed to the proposal have pointed out that it violates 4 City Plans and 47 policies. In response, those who are supporting the proposal make the claim that those plans are out of date and should be ignored. The plans are NOT OUT OF DATE. Let’s look at the facts.
The late great James West served on this Council from District C for ten years. Dr. West said “It is not the duty of City Council to ensure developer profits. The duty of City Council is to serve all the citizens of Raleigh, to improve their quality of life.”
Rezoning and adding more housing alone will not solve Raleigh’s affordability challenges. To make meaningful progress rapidly, we need a comprehensive strategy that includes building a diversity of unit types and price points, expanding Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH), balancing individual ownership and institutional investment, and incentivizing developers to ensure rezoned projects get built.
The Downtown Plan specifically notes the recommendation that the North End of downtown would have less large-scale development in contrast to the large-scale redevelopment contemplated on the South End of downtown, the vision for the North End fills the gaps between existing assets to create a complete neighborhood. Furthermore, the plan shows appropriate residential development for the West Street site at 7 and 8 stories.
Key Strategies of Equitable Transit Oriented Development allow for relatively higher densities in mixed-use areas near BRT stations. The density and building height of new developments should respect the existing neighborhood contexts. Transition building height and bulk downward from the station to connect with adjacent, lower density districts and neighborhoods.
The Capital Boulevard Corridor Study (CBCS) is an area plan companion to the Comprehensive Plan. The CBCS specifies the Historic Glenwood/Brooklyn Neighborhood (HGBN) and recommends heights in the study area ranging from three stories at the neighborhood edge, up to twelve stories in areas well separated from neighborhoods. Councilor Silver campaigned on keeping development consistent with our Plans.
The tower proposal violates 4 city plans, 47 city policies and 2 city tables. One ex. is Policy LU 8.3 Conserving, Enhancing, and Revitalizing Neighborhoods: Recognize the importance of balancing the need to increase the housing supply and expand neighborhood commerce with the parallel need to protect neighborhood character, preserve historic resources, and restore the environment.
PACK THE ROOM! Developer Hosted Neighborhood Meeting. April 23 6pm McKimmon Center. If height and density of this magnitude can be forced here, without support, where guidance clearly stipulates a maximum of 12 stories and where the site is in a Transition Area, then BEWARE! It can happen anywhere. All neighborhoods in and around Raleigh are at imminent risk.
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