John Cerqueira
Name: John Cerqueira
Which office are you seeking? City Council District E
Campaign website: www.john4raleigh.com
The income of many households in Raleigh is too high to qualify for income-restricted/subsidized housing, yet these residents are cost-burdened by climbing prices and rents across market-rate housing. Explain at least 2 policies you will seek to implement to address the rising costs of market-rate housing in Raleigh.
We must continue to make way for meeting the demand for increased supply of housing to meet market demand for those who are cost-burdened and would not apply for income restricted housing. Market rate housing and income restricted housing can co-exist even if in separate developments.
What is an issue in Raleigh that deserves critical attention, but isn't talked about much in the media or the community because it's not sensational or obviously apparent?
In conversations about density and new development in historically under-resourced communities, the loudest voices tend to argue against the risks of displacement. The reality is that there are many in those communities who welcome the investment to help the property values of owners and longtime residents who have weathered long periods of limited investment who deserve their communities to thrive at the same level of historically well-resourced parts of our city.
How will you balance the interests of individuals with those of the general public? Especially when voting on an issue that will negatively impact a small, but vocal group of residents, but which offers significant benefits to the general public?
I intend to draw from my professional experience as an organizational development consultant for the last 15 years. This course of work requires having an overarching understanding of the objective a policy shift is meant to accomplish, relying on experts for data driven perspectives on typical desired outcomes and risks to understand where concerns could exist.
From there I would plan to have awareness sessions open to the public to share what is being considered and gain initial feedback verbally and in writing. This feedback allows for a detailed pursuit of responses to that feedback that may be data driven education and/or alternative options for a path forward that takes the concerns into account. If the responses are not seen to be representative, extra steps for targeted engagement should be taken by community door knocking, mailers, and engaging with community advocacy groups.
Assuming a representative set of responses that produces a majority consensus, a deployment plan can then be created and presented to the group to ensure that the plan has taken into account key considerations.
With that feedback in mind, that should inform the policy decision in concert with elected officials and staff.
Should Council allow more Missing Middle housing (duplex, triplex, townhomes and small apartment buildings) to be built in the City? If yes, how would you accomplish this? If not, why not?
The current state of where Missing Middle housing is allowed seems sufficient. I would like to see this level of density in areas that are specifically in areas with existing infrastructure (arterial corridors along transit lines) and concentrated where density already exists. I would also like to see this level of density take place with transparent community engagement to ensure that developers work in concert with residents to find the most productive and least disruptive paths forward,, not where the two parties are pitted against one another.
Should the City continue investing in Bus Rapid Transit? If so, what additional investments and/or land use regulatory changes should the City make to support the successful implementation of the Western and Southern corridors? If no, why?
Yes. zoning changes that allow more density along BRT corridors should be pursued.
What is your vision for how Raleigh’s built environment should evolve over the next 10 years?
We should be increasing housing availability and opens at all price points. We should concentrate density where density already exists to take advantage of existing infrastructure and creating a sense of “place” while limiting sprawl to reduce the impact on the natural environment of untouched areas and limiting the need to spend money on the additional infrastructure needed to accommodate sprawl in areas that present inefficient use of tax dollars.
How would you change the way the City's Office of Community Engagement operates?
I would ensure that CAC’s are actively included while ensuring that community engagement presents a representative view of all citizens balanced with data-driven expertise on quantifiable impacts of any decisions along with case studies that reveal best practices from peer cities of comparable size, population base, and growth trajectory.
Should the City preserve existing moderately priced housing (Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing) to help slow the rate of resident displacement? If yes, please provide 2-3 specific policies that you would ask your fellow Councilors to support. If no, what other policies do you support to address resident displacement?
Yes. I suggest continued tax relief for long-time homeowners to ensure that they are not cost-burdened by increased property tax that impacts their ability to remain in their homes. I would also like to see support in the way of financial relief, potentially via tax incentives for owners of rental property who keep rents affordable even in the face of increased property taxes on rental units.