Your roundup from RaleighForward

Twelve articles we found interesting this week:

1. The Housing Revolution is Coming: Accessory dwelling units might just spell the end of the American suburb as we know it—in the best possible way, via The Atlantic.

2. A new study looks at how zoning reforms (like the kind Raleigh has adopted) affect the housing supply and costs in Greater Boston, via The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

3. There have been a few articles exploring the recent trend of “Build to Rent” communities across the country. There are a couple in development in the Triangle as well. We thought this article offered an interesting perspective, via The Washington Post.

4. Along those same lines, the UNC School of Government recently published a post about how build-to-rent communities fit within the North Carolina land use regulatory framework, via the UNC School of Government.

5. Micro residential units have been in the Raleigh news lately as part of the pending rezoning for North Hills and the discussion about housing affordability. Here is an article about VERY micro units, 95-square-foot, via the New York Times.

6. Interesting report on data from 20 guaranteed income projects, via Bloomberg.

7. Here’s an interesting article exploring the different ways Raleigh and Charlotte have developed over time: A Tale of Two Skylines, via The Assembly.

8. As Raleigh eases out of the COVID pandemic, there will inevitably be discussions about keeping the very few “positive” aspects of the pandemic, like more outdoor spaces, parklets and outdoor dining. Here is an article that speaks to those issues in the context of small businesses, via Bloomberg.

9. A ‘Black Tax’ Costs US Cities Millions They Can’t Afford, via Bloomberg.

10. Triangle Remains a ‘Shining Star’ Despite Economic Slowdown, via WRAL TechWire.

11. Wake County September Median Real Estate Value increased $10,000 to $465,000, via Wake County.

12. Boston set to require private real estate development projects to report diversity data, via Bloomberg.

Other items of interest:

• In doing research about how and why Lake Lynn and Shelley Lake were built in the 1970’s as regional stormwater control purposes to facilitate future development, we came across this history of the Raleigh Greenway system and wanted to pass it along for those interested.

• You can use GovTrack.us to track federal legislation.

Here is what we will be watching this week:

Planning Commission meets on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.  These are the agenda items we found most interesting:

1. Rezoning Z-10-22 is an infill request to rezone approximately 5.9 acres from Industrial Mixed Use-3 Stories with the Special Highway Overlay District-2 (IX-3 w/ SHOD-2) to Commercial Mixed Use-20 Stories-Conditional Use (CX-20-CU).  The property is currently a used car dealership located adjacent to a Raleigh greenway on Ratchford Road.  The property is located within a transit emphasis corridor and would allow for a mix of residential, office and commercial uses.

2. Rezoning case Z-72-21 involves approximately 31 acres of formerly industrial land near the Fuller Heights neighborhood and Dix Park. The applicant is seeking the rezone the property from Industrial and Commercial Mixed Use to Commercial Mixed Use with a maximum height of 20-stories. Click here for the agenda package.

3. Rezoning case Z-2-22 involves approximately 62 acres located on Rock Quarry and Whitfield Road.  The property is currently zoned residential 6 and the applicant is seeking to rezone it to a combination of residential and commercial mixed use with varying heights between 3 and 5-stories. Click here for the agenda package.

4. A minor adjustment is being sought to the conditions approved as part of a previously approved (and controversial) rezoning case for townhomes near Shelley Lake (Z-41-19).  The case for adjusting the zoning conditions is TCZ-33-22 and the companion rezoning request (Z-33-22) for an adjacent 2.8 acres seeks to add allow and additional 8 residential units.  Then net effect of the proposals would increase the potential development for all six impacted parcels by a total of 8 residential units, from 114 to 122. It’s worth noting that Shelley Lake was developed by Wake County decades ago as part of a regional stormwater system in anticipation of urban development.  Though some citizens complained about the environmental impact of this development proposal when it was originally approved in 2020, Shelley Lake was never intended as a nature preserve.  It was designed and built to accommodate future urban development in this area. It is part of a larger system that is connected to Lake Lynn.

5. Rezoning Z-88-21 seeks to rezoning an existing apartment complex called Montecito Apartments near Wake Forest road and Hardimont Drive.  The property is about 28 acres and is currently zoned Residential Mixed Use 3-stories.  The requested zoning is Residential Mixed Use 5-stories.  The request would allow for the redevelopment and/or the addition of additional residential units on the property.  The staff report can be found here.

6. Rezoning case Z-53-22 is a City-initiated case involving approximately 25 acres to facilitate the possible construction of affordable housing.  It is located along S Wilmington Street and Summit Avenue.  The request seeks to upzone the property from Residential-6 to a combination of Residential and Commercial Mixed Use ranging in height from 3-5 stories. During a prior meeting, Council authorized staff to initiate this rezoning as part of the City’s effort to develop City-owned property for affordable housing. This rezoning is a small component of the recommendations set forth in the Dix Edge Area Study. Click here for the agenda package.

7. Rezoning Z-55-22 involves approximately 2 acres located on Johnson Street between St. Mary’s and Boylan Avenue.  The request is to rezone from Neighborhood Mixed Use-3 stories-Urban Limited (NX-3-UL) and Neighborhood Mixed Use-5 stories-Urban Limited (NX-5-UL) to Commercial Mixed Use-12 stories-Urban Limited-Conditional use (CX-12-UL-CU).  For more information, click here.

Council Committee Meetings:

1. City Council will hold a work session on Tuesday, October 11 at 4:00 pm to discuss employee bonuses in light of the final budget close-out for the prior fiscal year. Read more here.

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