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 2030 Comp Plan was planning for a population of 600,000 when it was envisioned. We are not close to that. Mitchell Silver was hired to see the Comp Plan and UDO completed. Mitchell said that this would streamline development and get rid of “spot” zoning. Councilor Silver, how many times did you say, “just follow the plan”?
The facts show that of the 303 zoning applications submitted and resolved from 2020 to today, only 5 have been denied including the previous version of the 30-story tower. 298 have been approved. An approval rate over 98.3%.
In the same time council has approved cases for over 110,000 housing units. What is clear is that Raleigh does not suffer from a lack of entitlement to build housing. You approved over 98% of requests, over 110,000 units. BUILD THEM!
This rezoning would set a dangerous precedent that would affect ALL neighborhoods. It violates height guidance, 4 plans, 47 policies, and 2 tables. There is not one single city policy or plan that supports more than 12 stories at this location.
When a developer desires to build a high-density development inside an FTA (Frequent Transit Area), no rezoning for higher density is required – the City has already done the upzoning by fiat, no rezoning request required.
This rezoning would set a dangerous precedent that would affect ALL neighborhoods. The developer wants to build 30 stories in a Transition Area, 240 feet from homes in a historic neighborhood. Anything greater than 12 stories would violate height guidance, 4 plans, 47 policies, and 2 tables. There is not one single city policy or plan that supports more than 12 stories at this location.
If the goal of the city is to include more mixed-income, mixed-use housing in growth centers and especially on transit corridors, accepting money in lieu of actual affordable units, will NOT accomplish that. We need to have mixed-income near services and transit.
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.
INDY Week, please stop referring to me as anti-development. You refer to me as “Livable Raleigh co-founder Stef Mendell, who ran on an anti-development platform.” This has got to stop. I am not and have never been anti-development. And neither is Livable Raleigh. Let’s try to work together and find reasonable ways to accommodate appropriate development. Labeling individuals or groups as anti-development only furthers polarization.
Livable Raleigh and other proponents of Missing Middle best practices have lobbied Council for years to engage in a community conversation toward adopting Missing Middle infill improvements on the books in other peer cities that actually promote affordability, compatibility and walkable transit access. The latest, and perhaps best rules so far, have been adopted by Sacramento, CA.
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