Articles we found interesting this week:

1. New York University’s Furman Center for Housing, Neighborhoods and Urban Policy published several research papers on various housing issues. We found the papers exploring the impact of “up zoning” and other regulatory reforms designed to spur more housing across the country interesting. Click here to access all of the articles. 

    

2. Median price of real estate in Wake County increased in April by $14,500 to $459,500.

3. Does Rent Control Reduce Affordability in the Long Run? Listen to WBUR. 

4. Lessons in Modern-Day Rent Control, 3,000 miles from Boston, via the Boston Globe.

5. This commercial property listing has an interesting note about how Portland’s 2017 inclusionary zoning ordinance slowed the pace of new housing applications dramatically.  It goes on to note that while the IZ ordinance reduced new inventory, demand continues to rise.  Here is a link to the offering sheet.

6. One of the issues facing most housing authorities is the lack of landlords willing to accept housing vouchers.  As a result, many families that qualify for housing vouchers are unable to use them because they cannot find landlords willing to accept them.  Here is a story from Durham illustrating those difficulties. 

7. As Raleigh grows, it will continue to struggle with displacement and gentrification.  Here is a journal review that explores what works and does not work in terms of displacement prevention. 

8. Given Pending Legislation in North Carolina that would allow developers to bypass local zoning if they provide a certain amount of “workforce housing,” this article explores a similar legislative tactic: Housing-Strapped States Reach for a Fraught Fix-the ‘Builders Remedy.’

9. How YIMBYs Won Montana. Via Bloomberg.

10. Here are three articles addressing America’s addiction to parking: Why is Parking so Hard and How We Can Make it Better; A Plea for Rethinking America’s Parking; and America, Land of Free Parking.

11. The Rich American Legacy of Shared Housing, via Bloomberg.

12. Learning from Houston’s Townhouse Reforms, via Mercatus.

Update on Challenges to Raleigh’s Missing Middle Reforms:

1. Raleigh and the developer filed responses to the Missing Middle/townhouse lawsuit filed by some of the Hayes Barton neighbors. Here is a story from WUNC. Here are links to both court filings: From the City of Raleigh and from the developers. As we noted in prior posts, because the Hayes Barton neighbors are claiming that the Missing Middle text changes were actually zoning map amendments, the Court may dismiss their challenge because the complaint was filed beyond the 60-day statute of limitations. The motions to dismiss are likely to be heard by the Court in the next 2-3 months.

2. The Board of Adjustment heard the Hayes Barton neighbors’ appeal of the approved preliminary subdivision plan on May 8. The BOA agenda packet can be found here. The BOA was not able to hear the entire appeal and the case was continued until June 12. It was somewhat surprising that the attorney for the Hayes Barton neighbors was not prepared to argue that his clients had standing to sue. It might have been a ploy to continue dragging things out to add to the delays (and associated costs) with the goal of causing the developer to abandon the project. As noted in our prior post, since the developer owns the property it’s unlikely to walk away. Here is a link to the video of the BOA hearing (starts at the 1:39 mark).

Rising Construction Costs Impacting Raleigh Projects:

1. Raleigh community projects are at risk due to rising costs. As Raleigh continues moving toward, finally building the long-overdue “Civic Campus,” let’s hope the design evolves into a community asset that brings people together. Since the cost of construction keeps rising, the City has had to scale back the project by reducing the height, leaving several floors unfinished and value-engineering the interior. Other projects, like Dix Park improvements and the Six Forks Road project, are also being impacted by rising costs. Hopefully, City Council does not value-engineer the Civic Campus and other projects so severely that they can no longer be considered true community assets. Here is a Bloomberg story about a municipal building in San Francisco that is also a community asset.

Council Meetings and Other Items of Interest:

The Raleigh Human Relations Committee is sponsoring a Unify Raleigh event on May 25 from 6-8:00 pm. The event will offer participants tips on how to engage with the City and write letters to the editor. The program will also explore issues like urbanization, displacement and racial healing. Click here for more information.

Here are the agenda items from the Tuesday, May 16, 2023, City Council meeting that you should keep an eye on:

1. Council will continue discussing potential changes to how Councilors are elected, length of terms and the size of Council during the 11:30 work session. Click here for the agenda materials.

2. Staff will present an update on Raleigh’s first Social District and will recommend expansion of the boundary to include additional area within the Warehouse District. Click here for the agenda materials.

3. Council will be asked by staff to approve grant funding to CASA and Southeast Raleigh Promise in the amount of $2,000,000 to build a total of 36 permanent affordable housing units. Click here for the agenda materials.

4. Council will consider a proposal to use affordable housing bond revenue to purchase property along New Bern Avenue adjacent to property it previously purchased for land banking. Together, this property represents a great opportunity to build affordable housing within the proposed BRT corridor. The City will issue an RFP seeking proposals for redeveloping the property with affordable housing. Click here for the agenda materials

5. The City Manager will submit the proposed budget. Council is required by law to pass a budget by June 30. There will be public input opportunities as Council receives the proposal. Click here for the agenda materials.

6. Z-87-22 seeks to rezone approximately 1.7 acres from Downtown Mixed Use 20-stories to Downtown Mixed Use 40-stories Conditional Use. Continuing what appears to be a trend, the developer added a condition to contribute $100,000 to the City’s affordable housing fund. To put that into perspective, developing a typical residential rental unit in an apartment building costs approximately $259,000. Planning Commission recommended approval 8-0. Click here for the agenda materials.

7. Z-91-22 seeks to rezone approximately 26 acres from various residential zoning districts with a 3-story height limit to Residential Mixed Use 5-stories Conditional Use. Conditions included in the application cap the total residential units allowed at 350. Planning Commission recommended approval by a 7-0 vote.  This rezoning is a great opportunity to add density in the vicinity of Downtown, near the Southern leg of the BRT system and within a Frequent Transit Area. Click here for the agenda materials.

Bonus Content:

If you are curious about what the General Assembly is doing with respect to local land use and municipal governance, check out the NC League of Municipalities website. It contains a listing of all relevant pending legislation with links to those bills.

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