Stop Signs, Stop Lights, and the Environment
Janis Ramquist submitted this blog to Livable Raleigh. She has been a Wake County resident since 1981. Janis says “I want my grandchildren to enjoy a clean environment, especially with simple choices that are safe and less costly.” Have you noticed the explosion of...
How can you help protect Raleigh’s trees?
Raleigh residents regularly contact Livable Raleigh to express their concerns about loss of tree canopy and clear-cutting during development. They want to know more about tree protection, tree planting, and tree preservation. We all know that, beyond their aesthetic...
Buffkin says Raleigh’s rezoning process is broken
On Nov 2, 2021, in a 5-3 vote, Raleigh’s City Council approved a contentious zoning case, Z-53-20, located on Lead Mine Road. In a statement, remarkable for its total lack of self awareness, Councilor Partick Buffkin, District A, who represents the affected...
City Council Meeting – November 16, 2021
HIGHLIGHTS Proposed changes to relax Food Trucks regulations referred to Economic Development & Innovation Committee on a unanimous vote. Rezoning Z-40-21 scheduled for December 7 public hearing. Approved $12M from General Capital Reserves toward Dix Park Phase 1...
Charlotte puts the LIE to Mayor Baldwin’s nonsense about census data making a March election impossible
What Democracy NC founder Bob Hall said about Raleigh’s attack on democracy: “Charlotte isn’t delaying their election. They’re having a March election. Greensboro too. It was just a con job to say that they had to postpone the election in the manner they did.” Read...
Highlights from City Council Work Session – November 9, 2021
Proposed Parks Bond Presentation $180M for Scenario 1 $212.5M for Scenarios 1 & 2 $266.5M for Scenarios 1, 2, & 3 $86M for Scenarios 2 & 3 Councilor Cox shared statistics illustrating how District B is being shortchanged on park expenditures, but gets no...
Support One Wake’s Property Tax Assistance Proposal – Do the Right Thing NOW!
Livable Raleigh Chair Susan Maruyama delivered the following remarks at the November 2, 2021 Raleigh City Council meeting. Mayor and City Council: 12 days ago, One Wake gathered 600 people online and in-person to make an excellent, well-considered proposal to provide...
November 2 City Council Meeting Highlights
November 2 City Council Meeting Afternoon Session Recognition of Special Awards Consent Agenda Process Appearance Commission – Membership Categories – Rules of Procedure – ReappointmentsAnnexation Petition-AX-19-21-Deferral- Contiguous Inside ETJ...
Notice to Renters: Make Way for Expensive Homes.
While Raleigh is booming, more and more folks are finding it harder to afford living in our City. Rents and real estate prices keep going up and up, while naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) is disappearing. The affordable apartments in these photos will be...
City Council Highlights – October 19, 2021
Work Session Missing Middle 2.0 https://go.boarddocs.com/nc/raleigh/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=C7GTG6717AA2&fbclid=IwAR2oy0vkXCYaWGhDRJ3fYB1DjORSNq79x3nvyQ_6NHE4tlIzaSBiqraNhZs Lots of changes discussed, including allowing multiple ADUs on a lot, weakening residential...
Bob Hall Comments on Raleigh City Council’s Abuse of Democracy
For more than 50 years, Bob Hall has been North Carolina’s foremost advocate for the idea that government should be for the people, ALL the people and not for the corporations and the wealthy. Below are excerpts of what Bob had to say when he spoke at...
OCTOBER 5 CITY COUNCIL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
Afternoon session Raleigh proclaimed October to be Bullying Prevention Month. Consent Agenda approved. Councilor Cox raised concerns about item #C5 – Human Resources Policies – compensation and especially vacation policy as it applies to First Responders. Mayor and...
Strategic Plan Priorities
Longtime Raleigh resident Larry Helfant spoke at the October 5 City Council meeting and delivered the following remarks: Mayor – shortly after you took office, you created a Strategic Plan for 2021 to 2025. This plan addressed the needs of the community and the focal...
Bring elections and voter engagement into the 21st century
Barry Eriksen has been a rustbelt refugee and Triangle transplant for over 40 years and for the last 22 years has lived in West Raleigh’s Fairmont neighborhood. This blog post is adapted from his remarks made during the September 21, 2021, Raleigh City Council...
What to do when a rezoning request comes to your neighborhood
Did you receive a letter telling you about a neighborhood meeting to discuss a rezoning in your area? Or maybe some of your neighbors told you about an upcoming meeting. Rezoning applicants are required to hold a neighborhood meeting before they can officially submit...
Respect is at the Core of Democracy
On September 20th Livable Raleigh hosted a virtual meeting to discuss the state of democracy in Raleigh.
One of the featured speakers was Bob Hall, who for more than 50 years has been NC’s foremost advocate for the idea that government should be for the people.
Raleigh flunks all 5 tests of “Open Democracy”
Bob Geary, resident of Raleigh’s District D and member of the Wake County Housing Justice Coalition, delivered the following remarks at the City Council meeting on September 7: Mayor and Council, I want to recommend a fascinating book called “Open Democracy: Popular...
Metrics of Success – If it Matters, it Gets Measured
One important plank of Livable Raleigh’s platform is Evaluation Using Data and Metrics “If it matters, it gets measured.” Raleigh must establish better metrics for measuring growth, equity, environmental quality, traffic congestion and citizen engagement,...