Articles we found interesting this week:

1. As Raleigh residents face displacement pressure, this anti-displacement tax fund is a public-private partnership designed to benefit legacy residents living in historically Black neighborhoods in Atlanta.

2. Building housing or subsidizing the cost of housing (via rent or down payment assistance) for public employees is something Raleigh could consider funding like this rural NC community is doing.

3. “Yes in God’s Backyard” legislation is starting to gain steam as a way to address housing affordability.

4. After years of trending larger, average home size may be shrinking.  For comparison, the average size of a single-family home in 1950 was 985 square feet and by 1972 it was 1,634 square feet. Average house size continued growing through 2015 when it reached roughly 2,466.  That trend seems to be reversing since it has consistently shrunk to 2,179 in 2023.  Building smaller homes is one way to reduce the cost of housing.

5. Can the Veteran Administration’s successful model for addressing Veteran Homelessness apply to civilian homelessness? More from Shelterforce.

6. An Unlikely Collaboration: A Real Estate Agent Joins Community Organization to Help Voucher Holders. Also from Shelterforce.

7. Zoning Reform, Now a Bipartisan Issue, Tries to Build a Bigger Tent. Via Bloomberg.

8. In Housing Battles, Left-right Lines are Blurred. From CommonWealth Beacon.

9. Issues around supply, regulatory restrictions and impacts on housing costs are not new.  Here is a study related to the Boston area from 2006. Had reforms taken place sooner in Boston, its housing crisis would not be as bad as it is today.  The same will be true in Raleigh if Council fails to act on reforms like the proposed upzoning along the New Bern Avenue BRT route and the 3 other proposed routes.  

10. Rethinking Zoning to Increase Affordable Housing. From the Journal of Housing and Community Development.

Meetings of interest in the week ahead:

City Council meets on Tuesday.

1. During the 11:30 work session, staff will present a proposed budget and fare strategies for the upcoming fiscal year.  Staff expects a deficit of around $8 million due to the expiration of COVID relief funds and doing away with fares.  Staff will propose options to address the potential budget deficit and options for bringing fares back for riders.  Click here for the agenda materials.

2. During the regular session, Council will consider additional $750,000 in GAP funding for a 90-unit affordable housing community called Thrive at South End.  Council had previously provided $2.1 million, but due to rising costs, the developers are seeking this additional funding.  Click here for the agenda materials.

3. Council will consider formally starting the process to alter how Council is elected, moving to a primary with 4-year staggered terms starting with the 2026 election. Click here for the agenda material and click here for the Council Terms Study Group Final report and recommendations from 2021.

4. There will be a public hearing on Rezoning Case Z-18-23 for approximately 20 acres located on Wilson Street and Garner Road.  The request is to change the zoning from Residential-6 and Residential-10 to Residential Mixed-Use 4 stories.  There is a condition requiring at least 10 affordable units to be included in the community.

Raleigh was selected as 1 of 25 Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities. As part of the program, the City will receive an “Innovation Team” funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.  The Innovation Team will have expertise in data analytics, insight development and project management.  Click here for more information.

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