Whatever aspirations Raleigh has for the Missing Middle, affordable housing is not one that will be realized. As a principal catalyst, the Missing Middle in other cities has shown the opposite effect—higher taxes, less affordable housing, higher land costs, rent increases, and higher house prices.
Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin really stepped in it at the first City Council meeting of 2023. It was announced that Day One of the council’s retreat, an annual event of team-building and setting their collective direction for the year, will be held at an undisclosed location in Durham that has no ability to live stream the event for public access. Worse yet, the venue can’t even record the event for viewing after the fact. So much for improved community engagement!
At the first meeting of the new Raleigh City Council, I spoke about what our Hillsborough-Wade CAC has been accomplishing over the past almost 3 years since the previous City Council majority voted to abolish City support of CACs.
The past council FAILED to protect our most vulnerable citizens in their efforts to give the developers free reign in their rezoning requests. Homelessness has DOUBLED in the last 2 years under the mayor’s leadership. We will be a better city when we take all of our residents into consideration and not just the wealthy donors that support the mayor. You councilors hold the power now and Raleigh is ready to see you get to work!
A Woman’s choice has been a good, quiet neighbor to us. They have always dealt with protestors but in recent months these protests have grown in size, volume and hostility, frequently blocking the sidewalk on my street, Myron Drive, and intimidating neighbors who are only looking to jog or push a stroller past. We ask Mayor Baldwin and City Council to please consider buffer zones, as Charlotte and Asheville have, to protect patients and neighbors while still allowing protestors their right to demonstrate at a distance.
This city has let the area get wild and out of control. A factor is the extremely loud music being played which can be heard blocks away and in the homes of residents. My neighbor and I came to the council 2 years ago and we got a lot of nice talk but no action. Officers have told me the current noise control system is as frustrating for them as it is for residents.
I would also like to add that during the past few meetings I have attended, I have watched each one of the council members, present and the old, play on their phones, talk amongst themselves while people are speaking. The rules of decorum should also apply to you. When we are speaking to you, you should pay attention to us. We do pay part of your salary.
I urge you, as Raleigh’s new city council, to aggressively address Raleigh’s housing crisis. I highly recommend that this City Council genuinely put Raleigh’s residents’ interests above those of the developers.
Livable Raleigh supports today’s proposal for community engagement put forward by Councilors Jones and Harrison. You don’t have to wait for your council retreat at the end of January where you will be discussing your longer-term solutions, you could act tonight to give CACs access to community centers with a simple motion and a vote directing staff to make it happen.
Congratulations to the new members of the council. I am hoping your election will lead to a new climate of openness and citizen cooperation from this new council, and not just from the new members.
Missing-Middle development grants serious money-making potential to developers, while single-family neighborhoods get nothing in return. Developers need to give something back, and the previous City Councilors — especially those who were re-elected, should logically support a strong inclusionary ordinance.
With the election of four new Councilors, Raleigh voters have made it clear that restoring and improving city support for the public’s involvement in community affairs is a top priority. After three years, the voters know that waiting for a perfect solution is unrealistic and will only further delay city support for the essential and imperfect community conversations that are the foundation of an informed democracy. It is with this sense of purpose that the Livable Raleigh Advisory Committee offers six policy-level proposals for quick adoption. Our hope is that these proposals will have several positive effects:
In one of the wealthiest cities in the wealthiest country in the world, we have neither the personal ethics nor the appropriate infrastructure and educational, monitoring and enforcement efforts to responsibly manage the enormous detritus of our privileged daily lives. Our recycling efforts are on the level of a third world country. And, yes, I realize that is a derogatory term. We deserve it.
Council’s upcoming decision to either keep or eliminate Raleigh’s COVID-era free bus fares has been framed as making an important statement about Raleigh’s commitment to high quality and equitable bus service. Maybe so, but if you listen to the Raleigh Transit Authority’s Nov 10 deliberations on the topic, you might conclude that reinstating fees will have little impact on a system that is in decline and without an effective plan to provide high quality and equitable transit services in post-COVID Raleigh.
David Cox’s service to Raleigh will long live as an example for those that follow him for his research, his thoughtful synthesis, and his cogent and straight-forward statement of principled representation.
Because of supporters and volunteers like you, we made a difference in Raleigh’s 2022 City Council elections. Together we helped elect four new councilors who value transparency, engagement, and equity. We are hopeful they will be part of making Raleigh livable for all. But there’s more work to be done and Livable Raleigh needs your help.