Your roundup from RaleighForward

Here is what we will be watching this coming week:

Council Agenda Items for July 5, 2022 Meeting:

1. Council will consider appointing the inaugural slate of volunteers to serve on the newly created Community Engagement Board. There has been some confusion about what role the Board will play as it relates to the City’s community engagement efforts. Based on the agenda materials and the City’s website, the Board will:

• Advise the City Council on matters relating to existing community engagement policies, practices, and recommendations for improvements

• Advise the City Council on matters relating to elevating the voices and needs of communities that have been underinvested and historically marginalized

• Advise the City Council on matters relating to development and implementing equitable community engagement strategies

• Advise the City Council on matters relating to public outreach to community members and convening stakeholders to promote opportunities for engagement

It is worth noting that the Community Engagement Board is not intended to be the instrument by which all community engagement flows through or is conducted. In other words, it is not a replacement for CACs, but rather will act as an advisor to the City in structuring and implementing all engagement strategies across City departments, functions and contexts.

For a deeper dive and a list of the nominees under consideration, take a look at the full agenda packet.

2. Staff is going to update Council on the implementation of the recommendations of the Six Forks Road Corridor study approved by Council on June 5, 2018 and funded through the 2017 transportation bond approved by Raleigh voters. The project will improve Six Forks Road between Rowan Street to Lynn Road. Currently, Six Forks Road is a 4-lane divided street section with 5’ sidewalk on both sides. The proposed design will establish a 6-lane divided section with a median along this corridor with separated bicycle and pedestrian facilities on both sides as well as protected intersection designs to improve bicycle and pedestrian crossing safety, street lighting, landscaping, stormwater quality enhancements and enhanced transit stops.

The proposed improvements set forth in the Six Forks Road Corridor Study and the more recent Midtown-St. Albans Area Plan (approved unanimously by Council December 2020) are intended to better coordinate public infrastructure, particularly transportation improvements (transit, bike and pedestrian) with future urban development planned for the North Hills / Midtown areas. In addition to the update, staff is formally asking Council for approval to initiate condemnation proceedings for transportation infrastructure if negotiations with private property owners are unsuccessful. Construction of the improvements is scheduled to begin in 2024. The agenda item for this can be found here.

Coincidentally, there is also a public hearing scheduled for a rezoning application tied to several properties located along Six Forks Road and Lassiter Mill that are part of the existing North Hills development. The request seeks to add additional height ranging from 12 to 40 stories on several parcels. Planning Commission recommended approval of the rezoning application after finding it consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, the Future Land Use Map and the Urban Form Map. Here is more information on that.

For a refresher on the rezoning process and various land use resources, check out our recent posts on the Raleigh 101 page.

3. Finally, there are 2 important items on the Council agenda related to the City’s ongoing implementation of the 2016 Wake Transit Plan. Specifically, there are public hearings scheduled for the City-initiated rezonings that are critical components of the proposed Bus Rapid Transit system. Z-18-22 will apply a Transit Overlay District to property on either side of the proposed BRT route along Western Blvd. between downtown and Cary. Z-19-22 will apply a Transit Overlay District on property located on either side of the proposed Southern BRT route along S. Wilmington Street between downtown and Garner

Neither rezoning changes the underlying base zoning for any properties, but rather applies an overlay district intended to ensure better coordination between land uses and public infrastructure along the proposed BRT routes. The Transit Overlay District includes incentives to encourage more affordable housing, as well as other policy recommendations found in the Equitable Development Around Transit Handbook approved by City Council in 2021.

Are you interested in joining RaleighForward’s Board of Advisors? Send us an email now and tell us about yourself.

Five articles we found interesting this week:

1. This quote strikes at the heart of RaleighForward’s Mission: “The future of urban housing politics rests on whether high-income tenants and marginalized communities will work together to build an equitable policy landscape or whether one or both will continue to be instrumentalized in the pursuit of keeping everything the same.” If you found this quote interesting, take a look at the full article from The Atlantic: The Real Villain in the Gentrification Story.

2. This article is timely in light of comments by Planning Commission members regarding apparent efforts to intimidate Raleigh staff and Planning Commission members as mentioned during Planning Commission’s June 28 meeting. Navigate to 42:32 on this video for more context. Raleigh must not allow divisive rhetoric and intimidation of staff and volunteers to interfere with the diligent work and commitment of the City’s professional staff, as well as the residents serving on its board and commissions.

Bloomberg: Why Local Officials Are Facing Growing Harassment and Threats

3. No one can dispute that income inequality is creating a drag on the economic vitality and prosperity of many cities, including Raleigh. Dan Barkin, with Business North Carolina Magazine, summarized a recent panel discussion sponsored by the Richmond Federal Reserve. Read the full article from Business NC: Fed Panel views increasing Black wealth as key economic driver. For a deeper dive, watch the full video of the Richmond Fed’s panel discussion, Black White Wealth Gaps.

4. Raleigh recently became only the 24th city in America to eliminate parking minimums, impose parking maximums and require mitigation to exceed those maximums. Read about it in Parking Reform: Raleigh joins ranks of cities with no costly parking mandates.

5. And finally, UNC Charlotte is launching a new research program that pairs academics with community leaders to study opportunities for upward mobility. The Community Innovation Incubator will pair grassroots groups in Charlotte’s “corridors of opportunity” with researchers and students to help devise solutions to community challenges.

WFAE: UNCC research program will focus on community-led ideas for upward mobility.

Bonus read: As funds run out, Raleigh and Wake County are closing out the emergency rental assistance programs tied to the COVID economic crisis. While those funds clearly helped many people, the eviction crisis is ongoing. Local governments are now looking for alternative ways to continue assisting renters facing eviction and homelessness. This article takes a deep dive into the ongoing crisis across America.

CBPP: Relief Measures Reduced Hardship for Renters During Pandemic, but Many Still Struggle to Pay Rent in Every State.

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