RaleighForward Roundup

Sunday, September 3rd

Hello,

We hope you are having a safe and fun Labor Day Weekend. City Council meets on Tuesday and we have some items of interest to watch for below.

Thank you to everyone who attended our most recent event with author Ben Stevens. A recap is below — we hope you will join us at future events!

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

RECAP: A Seat at the Table: Basic Development Finance for Planners, Urbanists and Housing Advocates.

Ben Stevens provided a truly engaging discussion about how the constraints of development finance often complicate balancing fiscal realities with comprehensive planning priorities, aesthetic considerations and demands for affordable housing. Ben also offered ideas for how to tip this complicated balancing act in favor of housing affordability. Here are some other key takeaways from the program:

There is significant personal financial risk for developers because lenders often require personal guarantees as a condition of financing a development. As a result, developers are resistant to committing to community demands that add to the financial risk of a project.
Local governments add to the risk profile of development proposals due to the uncertainty caused by the entitlement process. The longer the review process takes, the higher the risk because of shifting market conditions, interest rate changes and owners deciding not to sell the property.
Using objective entitlement criteria reduces the uncertainty by making the review process more predictable. This can reduce developer risk, while increasing the likelihood that the community gets more of what it desires.
Before a developer can consider including specific community demands, it must be sure the project will generate income exceeding the final development costs.
Ben provided a series of examples illustrating how variables like interest rates, permitting costs, parking mandates, affordable housing mandates and height reductions can have a catastrophic impact on the financial feasibility of proposed developments.
Regarding affordable housing, instead of haphazard mandates, Ben suggested that communities consider setting aside a specific percentage of real estate tax revenue generated by all new development and use it to fund affordable housing initiatives.
If you would like to review Ben’s slide deck from the presentation, click here.

Articles we found interesting this week:

HOA restrictions are a largely overlooked barrier to those in need of affordable housing options. A new Texas law now prohibits HOA’s from discriminating against renters using vouchers. From Bloomberg.
While we have occasionally criticized local media coverage, this PBS North Carolina story comparing Raleigh’s BRT plans and Charlotte’s light rail system, particularly the focus on the difficulty in obtaining consistent funding for transit infrastructure projects, is well done.
When it comes to rising costs, affordable housing developers face an even more difficult task than market-rate developers because they cannot recoup higher costs by simply raising rents. This short article offers some perspective on these difficulties.
Could Building Bike Lanes Become America’s Next Big Infrastructure Project? And continuing with the bike theme, bikeshare continues growing across America, per Bloomberg.
Montgomery County, Maryland has been a leader in developing and implementing comprehensive housing affordability policies since the 1970’s. This NYT article explores a new effort to have the County act as a “benevolent real estate investor.”
A New Louisville Ordinance Aims to Block Public Funds from Being Used to Aid Gentrification. Read more.
Goodbye Bathtub and Living Room. America’s Homes are Shrinking, via the Wall Street Journal. But for a contrary view, “Houses are Still Big. Prices are Much Bigger, via the New York Times.
Housing inventory is tighter than ever. In fact, there are 18% fewer homes for sale now than a year ago. Read more.
Can Tiny House Villages be a fix to Homelessness? More from Bloomberg. Here is a similar concept in Ohio, via the New York Times.
Jane Jacobs: 4 Rules of Fostering Good Urbanism, via Southern Urbanism.
Urban Highways Cost Billions in Lost Home Values and Property Taxes, via Bloomberg.

Long Read:

California passed legislation in 2018 designed to streamline the housing entitlement process when developers met certain conditions like including affordable housing. Here is a review of the impacts of that legislation after 5 years.

From the Data Department:

The Fed’s Home Ownership Affordability Monitor shows housing affordability continues to deteriorate dropping to its lowest level since October.
If you are interested in understanding urban density, take a look at this visualization.

Upcoming meetings to keep track of:

City Council meets on September 5. The agenda is fairly light. There are only 4 rezoning cases. Here are a few items of interest:

Council begins its new public comment process this month. There will no longer be a public comment on Council agendas for the 1st meeting of every month. Instead, Council will add a public comment period at the end of its work sessions held on the 2nd Tuesday of every month. The public comment remains the same for Council’s meeting on the 3rd Tuesday of every month. Click here for additional details.
Council resumes 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 that 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. Planning Commission voted 8-1 to recommend approval of the rezoning. Click here for the agenda backup materials.
Rezoning case Z-72-22 is located at 423 S Blount Street and contains 0.13 acres. This is an interesting case because it involves removing the Prince Hall Historic Overlay District from a .13-acre parcel next to an historic Masonic Lodge. The property is currently zoned Downtown Mixed-Use 3 stories, Urban General Frontage, with General Historic Overlay District (DX-3-UG w/ HOD-G). The applicant seeks to remove the historic overlay district and change the zoning to Downtown Mixed-Use 12 stories, Urban General Frontage, Conditional Use (DX-12-UG-CU). Proposed zoning conditions regulate new building facade materials on the first level along South Blount Street, establish the architectural base of the building in compatibility with the Prince Hall Masonic Temple Building, and require vibration-sensitive equipment at the subject property. Surrounding properties are zoned for heights between 3 and 20 stories. Planning Commission voted 6-2 to recommend denial of the rezoning request. For more information about this case, click here.
Rezoning Z-15-23 involves a .45-acre parcel located at 513 S West Street and 514 S Harrington Street. The parcel is currently zoned Downtown Mixed Use-4-Urban Limited (DX-5-UL). The proposed zoning is Downtown Mixed Use-12-Urban Limited-Conditional Use (DX-12-UL-CU). The request is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and the Future Land Use Map. Properties around this parcel are zoned for 5-20 stories. Planning Commission voted 6-1 to recommend approval. For more details about the rezoning, click here.

Other meetings of interest:

Planning Commission Committee of the Whole continued reviewing Z-92-22 that will apply the Transit Overlay District to the proposed New Bern Avenue Bus Rapid Transit route (BRT). It held Z-92-22 and CP-7-22 in Committee and is considering continuing its review during a special session of the Committee of the Whole likely to be held on September 27, 2023. That date will be confirmed at the September 12 Planning Commission meeting. Click here for additional backup materials related to the BRT Comprehensive Plan Amendments and rezoning.
As Raleigh continues broadening and diversifying its engagement process, Raleigh is “rolling out” its new community engagement van. Residents can request the van to attend community events across the City. Click here for more details.
The South Park and East Raleigh Neighborhoods historic neighborhood exhibit just opened. More here.
Interested in helping Raleigh become more equitable and inclusive? Consider submitting a session proposal for the City’s Equity and Inclusion conference. Click here for more details.

RECAP: A Seat at the Table: Basic Development Finance for Planners, Urbanists and Housing Advocates.

Articles we found interesting this week:

Upcoming meetings to keep track of:

Find us on your favorite social media:

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn