The choice is not between density everywhere anywhere and slow growth. The answer lies in responsible growth.
Nicole Bennett, Former Planning Commission Chair – It’s Not Just a Rezoning
Why does “the greater good” so often require loss from the same communities? Why are the people who already rely on transit the ones most at risk of being displaced from it? What does it mean to build a transit corridor that the current riders might no longer be able to afford to live near? if the greater good keeps requiring that the same communities lose everything, perhaps we need to ask ourselves what “good” really means.
Developer Welfare
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.
Growth is inevitable, it doesn’t have to be destructive
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.
State of the City Poem
“We’re growing! we’re glowing!” the press release says. The Mayor’s got plans and a very nice suit, Telling us Raleigh is “ripening fruit.” Just remember, dear Leader, amidst all the hype: If you don’t fix the potholes, the fruit’s overripe.
CITY COUNCIL TO MIDTOWN: DROP DEAD
It turns out that at that January hearing when North Hills traffic was lightly discussed, the referral to the Transportation Committee – which had been previously promised to opponents – was not for any review of North Hills traffic at all but rather for the Six Forks Corridor Project – a dead project that would have provided little if any relief for traffic congestion in North Hills.
Supply-Side Affordability: A Harmful Fiction
Let’s move on from self-serving and counterproductive supply-side theories used to justify massive developments that are violating our neighborhoods and our adopted growth plans. Instead, let’s work with Wake County’s Affordable Housing Director toward solutions described in Livable Raleigh’s Affordability Agenda, to produce much more affordable housing and more growth according to our adopted plans.
Raleigh is playing the “We Care” card
The most devastating loss of affordable housing in the past 20 years has been the city constantly greenlighting the destruction of vast numbers of small brick ranches, duplexes and mom and pop apartment buildings in the older parts of town to give way for McMansions and “luxury” apartment towers.
North Hills rezoning has THREE Critical Inconsistencies
The rezoning has three critical inconsistencies with the Midtown area plan and the Comprehensive plan that Raleigh is supposed to use for policy guidance that is intended to shape how the city grows and develops through the year 2030. However, recent approvals by Council indicate that they follow their own rules and create greater building heights without considering consequences.
WHAT’S THE RUSH? – WHY must North Hills be rezoned NOW?
On January 6 rezoning case Z-34-25, the rezoning of North Hills, was presented to Council for approval. Council chose to hold the hearing open for a vote at their January 20 meeting. This is not a new conversation for the city. A nearly identical rezoning request was submitted in 2021 but was ultimately withdrawn after City Council members and residents raised substantial concerns. Both elected officials and the public made it clear that the proposal did not adequately address inconsistencies with the 2030 Comprehensive Plan, particularly around building heights, density transitions, and the absence of meaningful affordable housing commitments.