Articles we found interesting this week:

1. Massachusetts has a statewide matching grant program that local governments can opt-into called the Community Preservation Act.  It can be used for a variety of projects, including affordable housing and community infrastructure. The Boston Globe recently published an editorial advocating more funding for the program, particularly for encouraging more affordable housing.

2. This article points to the rising rate of homelessness among seniors: “The Invisible Factors Driving US Homelessness to Record Highs.”

3. This article features Wilson, NC’s struggles to implement efficient on-demand microtransit: “On-Demand Microtransit Can’t Escape this Big Problem”

4. Montgomery County, Maryland is at the epicenter of the housing affordability crisis given its proximity to Washington, DC.  It has developed a unique way to build affordable housing.  Here is a Bloomberg podcast discussing this new approach.

5. The City of Raleigh announced the availability of $24 million to support the financing of new affordable rental housing.

6. “Why isn’t the Government doing more to Address the Housing Crisis” in The Atlantic.

7. “Why do we Build Housing in the Same Way that we did 125 Years Ago?” in The New York Times.

8. “Cleveland is America’s Best Example of Reviving Downtown” in The Washington Post.

9. “City Life is Too Lonely. Urban Planning Can Help” in Bloomberg.

10. We have written about why Raleigh should rethink civic engagement in a prior newsletter, but we think it’s worth taking a second look in light of the City’s current engagement efforts for the New Bern TOD Rezoning and the proposal to change City Council terms from 2-year to 4-year staggered. The National Civic League’s recent newsletter contained 3 interesting articles exploring new approaches to civic engagement.

    
    

    Long Reads: 
    

    If you have some time, take a look at Wake County’s 2023 Annual Housing Report.  This report does an excellent job demonstrating the housing affordability challenges facing people living in Wake County.  It also details the County’s efforts to address these challenges.
    

    All local governments struggle to build effective civic infrastructure and engagement programs. The National Civic League explores ways to improve how local communities engage residents and build a more resilient civic infrastructure: “Local Civic Leaders: Facing Threats to Democracy in Communities.”
    

Meetings of interest in the week ahead:

City Council meets on January 2, 2024. Here are some items of interest:

1. Using revenue generated by the voter-approved 2016 Wake Transit Plan revenue stream, the staff is seeking approval for the construction of new and/or enhanced bus stops in various places across the city.  The plan calls for any stop with 10 or more daily boardings to eventually have a complete bus stop.  More information on the request is available here.

2. Staff is seeking approval of Council to provide $5 million in gap financing to help fund 200 affordable housing units (at least 20 will be for renters making no more than 30% AMI and 40 units of supportive housing).  Click here for additional agenda information.

3. Staff will be presenting $3 million in additional funding for environmental remediation on top of the $20 million cost of acquiring the DMV site.  Click here for more information.

4. Council will continue a public hearing from December 5 for rezoning Z-27-23 for property known as the Dawson Assemblage.  The property is currently zoned Downtown Mixed Use 20 and the request is to zone the property Downtown Mixed Use-40 Conditional Use.  There is a condition to include 6 affordable units for renters making 60% AMI or below.  The affordability condition is for 10 years.  Planning Commission voted 7-0 to recommend approval.

5. Council will conduct a public hearing rezoning Z-34-23 that seeks to rezone property located on the western half of the block bounded by Hillsborough, N Harrington, Morgan, and Dawson Streets from DX-20 to DX-40 Conditional Use.  Conditions include dedication of space for bike share and an art installation, as well  as a requirement that 1% of all units be reserved for renters making 80% AMI and below.

6. Council will conduct a public hearing for 4.25 acres located on Western Boulevard (Z-45-23).  The request is to add the Transit Overlay Zoning District.  The base zoning will continue as Residential 6 with a Residential Special Overlay District.  Planning Commission voted 4-3 to recommend approval.

Other meetings and events of interest:

Emancipation Day Trolley Tours. Carmen Cauthen, a local historian, will host tours on City trollies of historic Black communities.  If you are interested in participating, click here.

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