RaleighForward Roundup

Sunday, August 13th

Hello,

It’s not too late! Please register HERE and join Ben Stevens for “A Place at the Table: Basic Development Finance for Planners, Urbanists and Housing Advocates.” Ben will use principles and concepts from his book “Birth of a Building” to help explain many of the variables influencing the cost of a new building. Why should planners, urbanists, housing advocates and other stakeholders care about this? It’s pretty simple -- knowledge is power. Many development proposals and rezonings in Raleigh are controversial. Like most elected officials, City Councilors try to avoid voting on controversial matters that risk angering voters.

Developers understand this so they try to eliminate or at least reduce the controversy surrounding a development proposal by negotiating with various stakeholders. It may come as a surprise, but negotiations are more productive when all stakeholders are informed and knowledgeable. Why? Because it reduces power-imbalances and makes it easier to build trust and mutual respect. When negotiators trust and respect each other, they tend to spend more time focusing on reaching an agreement.

If you are interested in learning more about Ben and his approach to the development finance process before August 19, please take a few minutes to read this excerpt from Birth of a Building.

In addition to the “Birth of a Building” excerpt, this article from Brookings addresses similar issues: Making Apartments More Affordable Starts with Understanding the Costs of Building Them.

As always, please reach out with any comments or suggestions, and consider making a donation to support our continued efforts to inform policymakers and the public.

Eric Braun, Founder

Articles we found interesting this week:

With the lack of single-family detached housing inventory in Raleigh, the City must continue encouraging the development of more diverse housing choices across a variety of price points. This article references the rise of condo sales in Salt Lake City as an alternative housing choice as prices increase for a dwindling supply of single family homes.
To Increase Black Well-being, Look to an Equitable Share of Black-owned Employer Businesses. Read it from Brookings.
Want to control inflation? Build more housing, at least that’s the message some are taking from Minneapolis. Read it from Bloomberg. And here is an article advocating for a similar approach from New Zealand.
Charlotte continues grappling with issues surrounding Missing Middle and the legacy of exclusionary zoning. From WFAE.
New Housing Model in Montana Turns Tenants into Shareholders. Read more.
Speaking of Montana, “The Anti-California. How Montana Performed a Housing Miracle.” Read it here.
The Invisible Laws that Led to America’s Housing Crisis. From CNN.
A Framework for Rebuilding Trust in Communities, from the National Civic League.
A Colorado City put a Cap on New Housing-and Proved Why it Doesn’t Work. Read it in the Guardian.
The Legacy of a Bed-Stuy Black Utopia, in Bloomberg.

Bonus: In light of the recent ruling by the US Supreme Court striking down affirmative action efforts, here is an interesting NPR On Point radio show exploring a class-based approach for addressing equity issues. Via WBUR.

Long Read: Myths about Converting Offices into Housing and What Can Really Revitalize Downtowns. Read it from Brookings.

From our Data Department:

Wake County Median Real Estate Price Dropped by $10,000 in July to $465,000, via Wake County Register of Deeds.

Upcoming meetings to keep track of:

City Council meets on August 15. Here are a few agenda items of interest:

During the work session at 11:30, staff will present Council with a general overview of Raleigh’s Historic Overlay ordinances and process, along with a more specific discussion of the Prince Hall Historic Overlay District. The discussion was triggered by a recent rezoning case. Click here for the agenda backup materials.
Council will consider providing an additional $500,000 for an affordable housing community called Terrace at Rock Creek. The project received City funding previously, but like several other projects that have come before Council recently, the developer is requesting additional financial support due to increased construction costs and rising interest rates. Click here for the agenda backup materials.
Council will resume the public hearing for rezoning Z-16-20. The case involves approximately 526 acres in the eastern part of Wake County. The property is currently outside of Raleigh’s municipal boundaries and is zoned under the County’s zoning ordinance for low density residential. The developer is seeking approval of a Planned Development Zoning District that will allow for a phased development that will include greenways, public open spaces and various infrastructure improvements required to support the proposed development. It will include a variety of housing types along with a relatively small amount of retail. While these kinds of large, mixed-use master plans were common in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, as land has been consumed by development, there are relatively few large tracts left to be developed like this. Click here for the agenda backup materials.
The public hearing for rezoning case Z-88-22 will be resumed as well. It involves approximately 6.7 acres located at 130 Kindley St. near the intersection of S McDowell and Martin Luther King Blvd. The applicant is requesting a zoning change from Downtown Mixed Use 20-stories to Downtown Mixed Use 40-stories with Conditions. The conditions relate to bike and pedestrian access, along with on-street parking limitations. The case was deemed consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and Planning Commission recommended approval of the case with a 7-0 vote. A new zoning condition was added that requires the developer to contribute $40,000 per unit for 1% of the total number of units built on the property. These kinds of affordable housing fees are showing up on most rezoning cases now. But the process appears haphazard and could expose the City to legal challenges. Click here for agenda backup materials.
Rezoning Z-8-23 involves property currently operating as a car dealership. The applicant recently obtained rezoning of the adjacent property that was also a car dealership (Z-10-22). That property was rezoned to Commercial Mixed Use-20 stories Conditional Use. The current rezoning is designed to be developed in coordination with the adjacent property because they will essentially share the development intensity approved in Z-10-22. These are underutilized parcels that represent an excellent opportunity for mixed use urban development along a frequent bus route, as well as greenway connections. Click here for agenda backup materials.

The Board of Adjustment continued hearing the neighbors’ appeal of the Hayes Barton Missing Middle townhome proposal on August 9. At the end of the meeting, the Board of Adjustment requested proposed written decisions from each side and will presumably render a decision during its scheduled meeting on Monday, August 14 at 11:00.

Planning Commission’s Text Change Committee meets on August 16 to continue reviewing TC-2-23 which amends the existing Transit Overlay District. The purpose of the text change is to remove the prohibition on single-family and duplex housing options within TOD’s. It also limits the size of commercial uses allowed within apartment buildings. Click here for agenda backup materials.

Articles we found interesting this week:

Upcoming meetings to keep track of:

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