An independent analysis of this data suggests that Raleigh and Wake County may lack the long-term water supply necessary to sustain their current rate of population and economic growth. Slowing growth should be seriously considered because it is doubtful that conservation measures alone can provide the water needed if growth and water demand continue on their current trajectory.
The Planners Pledge is a serious document, including a formal apology for the role planners played in creating the most inhospitable elements of our cites, including car dependent sprawl and its host of toxic environmental and health maladies. For those who resisted the legions of planning professionals and their transportation cohorts, the newly-discovered wisdom of designing cities for people and not cars has come much too late and has been replaced by a new and equally pernicious monetization of our lives.
Unfortunately, the planning profession’s old mantra of suburban mobility planning under the influence of the automobile industry has been replaced with a new mantra of density everywhere, under the influence of corporate real estate financialization.
When you’re a billionaire developer and want something from the public, why bother with obeying the law and showing due respect for your neighbors when it’s easier and more profitable to dispense with public review and successfully lobby the General Assembly to change the law? This is a story about a betrayal of our Midtown neighborhoods, but there is a message here for all our neighbors in Raleigh. I urge all residents of all the diverse communities within the City to read and take note.
Two recent development issues have drawn a lot of public attention, the future of our water supply, and how we are to manage requests to bring data centers into our community. These are terrifically complicated issues, and during my career in public service working with all 100 counties and 99% of the 553 municipalities, I found that the best chance to make wise decisions depends on listening to both the professionals and the lay people who come before you. In many cases there is far more to know than any single one of us knows, that is why the input of the public is so important. An open planning process encourages citizen participation and buy-in. A closed process engenders suspicion and lack of compromise. Keep both of these processes in the daylight and allow the public to help you make wise decisions.
Highlights from the Council’s two-day retreat
Raleigh’s Comprehensive Plan is designed to handle growth from 450,000 in 2015 to 580,000 by 2030. We may get to a population of 530,000 by 2030. There is no urgent need to upzone properties. We can handle the growth if you encourage development where you planned for it.
Growth should not become a blank check for developers or a tax burden for existing residents. We must respect neighborhood voices. Public input should not be treated as an obstacle. It should be part of better planning.
More than 75 residents gathered June 4 at the Tarboro Road Community Center for a Livable Raleigh forum on the city’s affordable housing crisis, where five longtime community leaders shared recommendations for addressing displacement and preserving affordable communities. If you weren’t able to attend you can watch the video now.
Eight neighbors from Litchford Forest spoke at the Public Comment Session asking City Council to uphold the decision of the Planning Commission which voted 8-1 to DENY rezoning case Z-43-25.
The choice is not between density everywhere anywhere and slow growth. The answer lies in responsible growth.