Highlights from December 2, 2025 City Council meeting.
November 18, City Council Meeting
Highlights of November 18, 2025 Work Session and Afternoon Session
Raleigh’s Christmas Parade – Let the Children Participate!
I plead for your assistance in preserving one of Raleigh’s greatest cultural events—the Raleigh Christmas Parade. Christmas and Christmas Parades are for CHILDREN. I sat next to Hailey Brooks’ father in 2022 as he pleaded that you not eliminate the parade following his daughter’s tragic death. I am here to ask you to reconsider the banning of participation by the under-8 set unless they are on a vehicle. By doing so, you have effectively closed the opportunity to many children who don’t have a ride.
LET THE CHILDREN participate.
November 12 Public Comments
The Work Session was cancelled. The Evening Public Comments Session focused on the Big Branch Greenway Connector, rezoning, preservation, and Glenwood South. 17 of 26 people who had signed up to speak followed through.
November 4 City Council Meetings
Highlights from the November 4, 2025 Afternoon and Evening Raleigh City Council meetings.
Z-12-25 Stomps on Raleigh’s Comp Plan
Raleigh has the tools and the policies to manage growth responsibly. Z-12-25 ignores them. Approving this rezoning would not only damage a historic neighborhood but also set a precedent that threatens every neighborhood in Raleigh. The Comprehensive Plan shows us the path forward: moderate, context-sensitive growth that strengthens, not undermines, our city’s future.
Sept 9 City Council Work Session and Public Comments Meeting
Highlights from September 9 Work Session on Dix Park and evening public comment session
Smashing through the Guardrails of Policy
Amazingly City Staff identified no detriments from this rezoning case. This proposed development is very close to a historic neighborhood. Why is there no reference in this document to Section 12 of the Comprehensive Plan regarding Historic Preservation? The first comment reads “Lack of transitions around historic resources which can sometimes lead to jarring juxtapositions of scale and proximity that detract from the character of the historic resource’s setting.” Has anybody read this or is even aware of this section of the Comprehensive Plan?
Making growth choices that will stand the test of time
Everyone agrees that more urban parks and walkable urban densities are good things, but promoters of 30 story towers next to the historic Glenwood Brooklyn neighborhood have offered no evidence that the new 12 story Publix building just across Peace Street isn’t an excellent example of what could go on the West Street site, giving the developer ample profits and urban high-rise densities without casting 30 story shadows over the neighborhood every winter morning
May is Preservation Month
A little more than 50 years ago, Raleigh recognized the importance of historic preservation by creating special zoning known as a Historic Overlay District. Now we have 8 of these districts. City documents suggest that “designation of historic neighborhoods or communities as local historic districts is a successful tool for maintaining a quality of life and providing economic security. Preservation has been proven to stabilize property values and stimulate new investment in older neighborhoods.”