INDY Week’s Best of Wake County 2024
The readers of INDY Week have nominated us as the “BEST LOCAL ACTIVIST GROUP”. We are humbled. It’s an honor just to be nominated. Also… WE WANT TO WIN. Voting is open March 27 thru April 17
The readers of INDY Week have nominated us as the “BEST LOCAL ACTIVIST GROUP”. We are humbled. It’s an honor just to be nominated. Also… WE WANT TO WIN. Voting is open March 27 thru April 17
As the new Council leaders work to restore government transparency, integrity and trust, we hope they’ll encourage the Planning Director to take a closer look at his scope of work for the new 2050 Comprehensive Plan. The new scope should seek out the best consultants, the best Comp Plan models (like Minneapolis), and the best practices for empowering resident input.
As a city, we are currently not doing a very good job on two fronts: having a strong and aggressive program educating citizens and the building industry on the importance of tree preservation/protection, and, having some common sense regulations in place that will result in a better outcome for trees in the city.
At the February Hillsborough-Wade CAC meeting we gathered to celebrate and discuss the recent City Council vote to officially recognize and restore support for the Raleigh Citizen Advisory Council (RCAC) and all of Raleigh’s CACs.
Now that CACs have been reinstated with recognition from the city, we think it’s a good time to review the latest data for the Neighborhood Meetings. What we found is quite disturbing. The attendance at the meetings is getting worse, not better over time.
Come November, Raleigh voters may be willing to chalk up the vote to sack CACs as a bad rookie error. More telling will be if voters accept candid apologies for subverting our voting rights. If so, voters may be willing to give Branch, Forte or Melton another chance in office.
With this decision, Council has aimed to make the New Bern corridor more transit-friendly, but without displacing the residents of the historic neighborhoods along the corridor.
Highlights from March 11 budget work session, March 12 work session on strategic plan, and March 12 public comments.
Scientific studies have shown that nothing is better for a water supply than being surrounded by naturally forested land. Not only does a leaf canopy break up falling raindrops, but leaf litter beneath the trees can hold a lot of rainwater until it soaks into the ground. When it comes to protecting water quality, we have to be both unyielding and uncompromising in our efforts. Clean water is our lifeblood with respect to both our physical and economic health.
When leadership fails to listen or blatantly disregards or dismisses their constituents, it creates a harsh disconnect between the government and the people it serves. This can and has led to feelings of frustration, anger, and ultimately a breakdown in trust between the community and its leaders.
Highlights from March 5 Afternoon and Evening City Council Meetings.
The nominations for INDY’s Best of 2024 Wake County are open until March 13. You only have a few days to get your choices in. We hope you will consider nominating us again this year as “Best Local Activist Group”
All the work the city has done to expand engagement opportunities could have been done while CACs remained in place. The need was NEVER either/or. It has always been both/and.
Having developers throw us a bone and expect us to say Thank You is an insult. This is not a small step toward more affordability but a big foot over existing NOAH communities.
Attendees at February’s North CAC meeting received some great advice from RPD representatives. Every month at the North CAC meeting we hear a report from RPD officers who come to give details and take questions from those in attendance. This month the officers came with some extra timey advice to avoid tax season scams.
As both a real estate appraiser and a broker, I have been fielding a lot of questions from friends and clients who are very worried about how much higher their property taxes might become. There are people in Wake County who can absorb a higher tax rate, but here are a lot of folks who will not be able to do so.
Tim Niles submitted a Letter to the Editor of the N&O in response to an Op-Ed from the Director of WakeUP Wake County on the topic of the New Bern Avenue upzoning proposal. The LTE wasn’t published so we are printing it.
This is the 3rd TOD case that has come before you with a token gesture of affordability. I have no doubt developers will continue to find ways around providing affordable units needed for BRT to be successful. By far, the most troubling statement in the staff report that you need to pay attention to is, “by adding the TOD, the site will have increased residential entitlement WITHOUT having to incorporate affordability measures.” However you crunch the numbers on the affordable housing condition that’s been provided, it doesn’t add up to a good decision. If you approve this rezoning, you will grant MORE entitlement than the current zoning WITHOUT the affordability requirement.