Your roundup from RaleighForward

Fourteen articles we found interesting this week:

1. Here is an interesting resource on “Tree Equity” scores for Raleigh developed by the nonprofit American Forests. The map shows how tree canopy (or lack thereof) often correlates with race and poverty, via Tree Equity Score.

2. Have the YIMBYs Evolved? Via ShelterForce.

3. Here is a recent post on Raleigh’s Missing Middle by RaleighForward’s newest Advisory Board member, Phil Veasley that appeared in Southern Urbanism.

4. What is Civic Engagement? Plus, 50 Ways to be More Civically Engaged in Your Community, via Parade.

5. The ‘Missing Middle’ in American Life: Can We Get It Back? Via Governing.

6. While doing some research about Raleigh, I came across this interesting 2012 article about the history of Raleigh’s mid-century modern architecture: “Getting the American Dream for Themselves. Post War Modern Subdivisions for African Americans in Raleigh, NC”

7. Research Roundup: The Effect of Market-Rate Development on Neighborhood Rents, via Parade.

8. While this article is primarily about a battle to save a small patch of land from development due to an airport expansion, it makes the larger point about the importance of preserving small habitat areas. These areas are important for preserving animals, plants, not to mention the health of the humans that live nearby. Via Vox.

9. This CityLab article explores issues surrounding why US traffic safety is worsening while it is improving in other countries across the globe, via Bloomberg.

10. This Bloomberg article discusses the worsening appraisal gap between white neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color, via Bloomberg.

11. This is an interesting series by CityLab exploring how home designs have shaped cities around the world: “The Urban History of Home Designs Around the World,” via Bloomberg.

12. The Brooklyn Condominium that’s Reinventing Outdoor Common Space, via Bloomberg.

13. Addressing the Affordable Housing Crisis Requires Expanding Rental Assistance and Adding Housing Units, via CBPP.

14. Possible funding sources for affordable housing, via National Housing Conference.

Here is what we will be watching this week:

City Council Meetings:

With the election on Tuesday, November 8, there are no City Council or Council Committee meetings scheduled for this week.

Planning Commission Meetings:

The Planning Commission meets on Tuesday, November 8.

1. Comprehensive Plan Amendments implementing the Dix Edge Area Study will be discussed. At prior public meetings, preservation of existing affordable housing, strategies for building new affordable housing and environmental issues were discussed. Here is the link to the full agenda package.

2. Rezoning Z-17-21 is an infill request to rezone approximately 17.96 acres to allow for added density within an existing senior living community. The property is located in the Midtown area on Whitaker Mill Road and Bernard Street. Here is a link to the full agenda package.

3. Z-43-22 was discussed by the Planning Commission’s Infrastructure and Mobility Committee on October 27, 2022. The request is an infill project allowing for up to 310 units on property that is developed currently with a 56-unit apartment community. The property is zoned Residential 10 with a Neighborhood Conservation Overlay that makes redevelopment with additional density difficult. The request is for a combination of Residential Mixed-Use 5-stories and Residential 6 and maintaining some of the existing Neighborhood Conservation Overlay. That Committee voted unanimously to recommend approval of the rezoning request when considered by the full Planning Commission. Here is a link to the full Committee report.

The following cases are likely to be discussed during the Planning Commission’s November 8, 2022 meeting:

1. Z-24-22 is a request to rezone just over 16 acres from Commercial Mixed-Use 7-stories Parking Limited (CX-7 PL) to Commercial Mixed-Use 7 & 20-stories (CX-27/20 CU). The property is currently being redeveloped and the rezoning request would allow for additional density and design flexibility for future phases of the project. The project is located along Atlantic Avenue at Whitaker Mill and bounded by an existing rail line. Here is a link to the complete backup material.

2. Z-54-22 is a request to rezone about 2.5 acres from Industrial Mixed-Use 12-stories (IX-12) to Downtown Mixed-Use 30-stories. The property is located at the corner of West Street and Peace Street and adjacent to the City’s planned park along Capitol Blvd. The complete agenda packet can be found here.

3. Z-68-22 is a rezoning request for .87 acres located at W Jones and N Boylan Ave. The property is currently zoned Office Mixed-Use 3-stories with a Neighborhood Conservation Overlay. The applicant is seeking to upzone the property to Office Mixed-Use 7-stories with a Transit Overlay District. More information on this request can be found here.

4. Z-71-22 is an infill request to rezone a ¼ acre parcel from Office Mixed-Use 5-stories to Commercial mixed-Use 5-stories. The property currently has 3 single-family detached dwellings on it, but the rezoning request would allow a broader mix of uses (including retail and restaurant) on the property while retaining the current 5-story height limit. For more information, click here.

5. Z-37-22 is a rezoning request by Families Together to develop “Missing Middle” housing on a .9 acre parcel located on Plainview Drive and Polly Street about 1/3 of a mile from New Bern Ave. The request seeks to go from Residential 10 Conditional Use to Residential Mixed-Use 3-stories Conditional use. Read more here.

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