Raleigh Elections and the Complexities of Implementing Transit and Housing Affordability
As the Raleigh City Council election approaches, there has been much discussion about the need for better transit in the City and how transit and affordable housing are linked. But very little of the discussion references the ongoing implementation of the Wake Transit Plan (“WTP”) approved by voters in 2016, or the extensive effort Raleigh is making to link housing policy to transit expansion. The approved WTP focused on 4 “Big Moves:” 1. Connect Regionally, 2. Connect all Wake County Communities; 3. Frequent, Reliable Urban Mobility; and 4. Enhanced Access to Transit. These Big Moves were arrived at after substantial public input from residents and elected officials from communities across Wake County. It’s worth noting that the WTP undergoes revisions and updates annually as required by revenue fluctuations, evolving circumstances and the completion of specific plan components.
The primary considerations impacting the development of the original WTP involved balancing geographic coverage, cost, transit modes, ridership and frequency. After substantial public engagement, the Wake Transit Advisory Group recommended a mix of transit modes including expanded bus service connecting communities across Wake County, a commuter rail line connecting the region and a Bus Rapid Transit (“BRT”) system focused on mobility in and around Raleigh’s growing urban core. The regional aspect of the WTP is an important part of transit planning, but is rarely mentioned when Raleigh transit is being discussed.
For Raleigh to build a robust transit system, it must coordinate with communities across the region, account for emerging urban development patterns, while also implementing land use regulatory reforms designed to maximize the benefits of ongoing transit investments. Doing this while simultaneously navigating a complex State/Federal regulatory scheme and an unpredictable fiscal environment is beyond difficult. Too often, Council candidates and elected officials fail to communicate with residents about just how difficult it is to develop and implement plans and large infrastructure projects like transit, particularly on 2-year election cycles.
Many experts argue that this cumbersome regulatory process and the historic emphasis on hyperlocal community input for projects that have broad community benefits unnecessarily hamper the ability of American cities to plan and build complex infrastructure projects. Why? Because multiple layers of regulatory review and protracted community engagement processes inject uncertainty, delay, not to mention add substantial costs to the design and construction process. In this environment, the key challenge for current and aspiring Raleigh City Councilors is navigating the complex macro regulatory framework and the hyper-local community engagement process for specific projects with the need to actually get a transit system built and operational.
While there is no “right” answer, as Raleigh approaches the November election, candidates must acknowledge what goes into developing and implementing large infrastructure projects like the WTP and related policies. They must also help residents understand why it is easy to talk about better infrastructure, point out policy deficiencies and espouse aspirational goals, but so much more difficult to actually develop and implement policies that deliver benefits equitably to residents across the City. Likewise, residents should demand from candidates specific policies and actions they would take if elected. There is too much at stake in this election to accept generalizations and “cotton candy” pronouncements from any candidate or incumbent.
While we hope the following timeline is informative, it’s primarily intended to demonstrate the complex nature of Raleigh’s ongoing effort to implement transit, along with supporting regulatory reforms designed to leverage the benefits of transit investments. While this blog post relates to transit and affordable housing, the underlying premise applies to many issues facing Raleigh like water and sewer infrastructure, stormwater management, parks and greenways, employee compensation, etc. With a budget surpassing $1 Billion, Raleigh is a very large organization and making dramatic financial changes or sharp policy shifts on 2-year election cycles risks significant (and often unintended) consequences. So, it’s critical that City Council candidates and incumbents understand the complex nature of governing a growing city like Raleigh and campaign accordingly.
2008
May 2008: The Triangle region’s first significant transit planning effort culminated with the delivery of the Final Report of the Strategic Transit Advisory Commission (“STAC Report”). This report called for a regional transit system focused on a combination of regional rail and expanded bus service throughout the Triangle. For various reasons including, but not limited to the Great Recession and shifting political winds, the recommendations included in this report were never acted upon.
2012
As the recommendations in the STAC Report withered, Raleigh continued to explore ways to improve transit in the City. As part of that effort, BRT was mentioned for the first time in the New Bern Avenue Corridor Study, but no concrete steps were taken to begin serious study of a BRT system in the City.
2014
Transit discussions picked up momentum in 2014 when Wake County, along with Raleigh and other Wake municipalities agreed to hire consultants to develop a new regional transit plan.
The Formal kick-off for developing the Wake Transit Plan was held on December 8, 2014 at the Convention Center in downtown Raleigh with about 500 people attending.
A 70+ member Advisory Committee comprised of a diverse demographic mix of Wake County residents representing public officials, business owners, transit riders, students, and others guided the development of the Wake Transit Plan. As part of the initial community outreach, transit presentations were made to over 250 groups and events across the County. Public comments were also collected from approximately 4,300 people living and working in Wake County.
2015
January 20, 2015: The Wake County Transit Choices report was the first in a series of three comprehensive reports developed starting in late 2014 and continuing into 2015. This particular draft was presented to the public and the Wake Transit Advisory Group at a January 20, 2015 meeting. The report focused on the Big Moves mentioned above.
May 11, 2015: Based on input from the Wake Transit Advisory Group and related research, an updated report called Wake County Transit Alternatives was released to the public.
October 5-8, 2015: A statistically-valid survey of 550 likely voters in Wake County was conducted by Fallon Research to reach out to a cross-section of the County population. See page 31 of the November 2016 Final Wake Transit Plan.
October-November, 2015: Surveys of transit riders were conducted along with an online survey over the same time frame.
December 2015: After reviewing all resident input, survey data and associated research, the Transit Advisory Group issued its Final Report and Recommendation for approval by Wake County and municipalities.
2016
All cooperating local governments approve the final WTP and agree to place it on the November ballot voter approval of the WTP, particularly the underlying taxes and fees to fund the transit improvements outlined in the WTP.
As part of the process, an Interlocal Agreement is created to govern how the WTP is implemented and how funds generated by the voter-approved revenue stream will be utilized.
The WTP tax and revenue plan required to fund the WTP transit infrastructure is approved during the general election held in November 2016.
2017-2018
After the WTP approval by voters in November 2016, detailed discussions and planning takes place to confirm the governing structure. Eventually, all local governments participating in the WTP enter into a Participation Agreement that outlines the relationship among the participating local governments and incorporates the Interlocal Agreement in order to form a comprehensive governing structure to guide the WTP implementation process. Through this process, the Transit Planning Advisory Committee (“TPAC”) is designated as the group responsible for developing the Annual Wake Transit Work Plan that is adopted each June. Per the Interlocal Agreement, TPAC makes a recommendation to both the CAMPO Executive Board and the GoTriangle Board of Trustees to adopt an annual Wake Transit Work Plan. This is the primary document that guides implementation of the WTP.
During this time, financial modeling also took place in order to begin detailed planning and funding of the improvements contemplated in the WTP. This process also requires input from all participating local governments, as well as ongoing community engagement. Since the initial Wake Transit Work Plan, extensive community engagement is conducted for each annual work plan to insure the implementation of the WTP is informed by residents across Wake County.
As the broader planning and implementation of the WTP is occurring, Raleigh and the other local governments participating in the WTP also engage in local implementation efforts specific to each jurisdiction, including land use planning and zoning. Because Raleigh is the largest municipality (both by population and budget), much of the WTP infrastructure and related planning is specific to Raleigh.
2019
Since the WTP was not officially approved until 2016, it took time to negotiate all of the necessary agreements to guide the implementation process. Additionally, it took time for the collection of the revenue streams approved by voters in 2016. That revenue began flowing and becoming more predictable in 2019, so deploying it started to speed up (though it’s worth noting that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted revenue generation, though it is now beginning to recover).
In support of the Bus Rapid Transit (“BRT”) component of the Wake Transit Plan, the City created a BRT Community Stakeholder Group and conducted community conversations as part of the effort to plan for equitable development around transit. The City conducted numerous public meetings, specifically with historically marginalized communities. Based on surveys and community conversations, planning staff prepared draft Comprehensive Plan amendments and a proposed handbook for guiding equitable development around transit.
May 31, 2019: a Final Investment Study released for the proposed Commuter Rail line component of the Wake Transit Plan.
November 2019: Public kickoff meeting for the Western Blvd. BRT route.
2020
Staff completed an Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Guidebook. The City also hosted 3 community listening sessions to gather additional community input about BRT. There was also a virtual open house and several surveys to gather addition community input across a range of issues related to BRT.
In addition to extensive planning related to BRT, discussions regarding the Commuter Rail component of the WTP began picking up. However, implementing this component of the WTP also adds an additional layer of complexity to an already complex process because commuter rail will also require cooperation and coordination with several railroad companies because they own or control parts of the rails involved.
2021
Council approved the Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Guidebook to address equity and gentrification related to transit improvements around low-income and historically marginalized communities. That process included public meetings related to Comprehensive Plan Amendments incorporating equitable development principles around transit. It also included additional virtual open houses to continue gathering feedback on the three proposed BRT routes.
Recognizing community concerns about displacement and gentrification, Council adopted the equitable development around transit handbook (EDAT Handbook) in early 2021 and a Transit Overlay District on October 5, 2021.
As part of that process, the City initiated a Comprehensive Plan amendment to address the BRT along Western Blvd. After public meetings and review of the proposed Amendment by the Planning Commission, Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CP-10-21) was sent to Council with a recommendation of approval in February 2022. After further public meetings and review, Council gave final approval to these amendments on June 7, 2022.
On October 19, 2021, Council authorized staff to file rezoning applications to start the process of applying the newly created TOD to specific areas along the proposed Western Blvd. and Southern BRT routes. Rezoning cases Z-18-22 and Z-19-22 were filed by the City on February 15, 2022 and will apply the Transit Overlay District to property on either side of the proposed BRT routes along Western Blvd between downtown and Cary. Those rezoning cases are pending before the Raleigh Planning Commission’s Committee of the Whole and are likely to be acted upon in July.
In addition to the Western Blvd., BRT will be built along New Bern Ave. between downtown and the Wake Med medical complex. This effort gained significant momentum in late 2020 when the City received $35 million from the Federal government.
The City is in the process of station area planning for the New Bern Avenue BRT route. As part of this process, the City conducted an on line survey between June 1 and July 17, 2021 designed to gather initial community feedback about the New Bern Avenue BRT.
The station area planning is a community process that evaluates land uses and the future built environment for areas within a short walk of the BRT stations along New Bern Avenue. To gather additional community input, the City held an affordable housing summit on September 15, 2021, conducted a scientific survey, conducted 3 community workshops for the 3 distinct sections of the New Bern Avenue BRT line, and a walking and biking safety summit. The City is presently conducting another survey related to more specific components of the New Bern Avenue BRT line, including land use elements and the build environment.
2022
On June 7, 2022, Council approved CP-10-21 regarding Western Blvd. BRT Transit Corridor land use policies and planning. The City is also working on Comprehensive Amendments related to the Dix Edge Area Study (CP-1-22) that will also support implementing the Western Blvd. BRT, as well as the planned Southern leg of the proposed BRT system. Council authorized staff to initiate CP-1-22 on June 21, 2022.
On June 21, 2022, staff asked Council to refer proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendments related to the New Bern Ave. BRT line and station area planning to the Planning Commission for review and recommendations (CP-7-22). At the same time, staff requested authorization to file a rezoning case to apply a Transit Overlay District along the New Bern Ave. BRT line as part of the City’s ongoing implementation of the 2016 Wake Transit Plan.
Beyond BRT, the Raleigh has also been expanding bus service throughout the City as part of the broader WTP implementation process, and accelerating the installation of enhanced bus stops to ensure existing and future stops all have a complete compliment of amenities including shelters, benches, trash cans and ADA accessibility. To help offset the potential impacts of new growth that will come as Raleigh implements the major components of the Wake Transit Plan, Council funded a Community Support Fund in the 2022-2023 budget that will help local residents and businesses. The specific uses and projects to be addressed by the Community Support Fund will be determined through a robust community engagement process among the people and businesses located near proposed BRT routes.
March 15, 2022. Council set aside $16 million for site acquisition for affordable housing near transit routes, and also agreed to contribute $4 million to a fund established by Wake County through Self Help Credit Union designed to preserve existing affordable housing near transit corridors.
Staff also provided Council with an update on BRT implementation.
July 5, 2022: Council voted 8-0 to approve the Southern route of the Raleigh BRT (Z-19-22).
August 16, 2022: Council voted 8-0 to approve the Western Blvd. Transit Overlay District rezoning (Z-18-22) which enhances the chances that this BRT corridor will receive additional funding from the Federal Government. The rezoning also includes incentives designed to encourage the construction of additional affordable housing.
September 6, 2022: Council agrees to purchase property within the New Bern Ave BRT route to assist an affordable housing developer with financing the construction of 192 affordable housing on the property.
September 20, 2022: City Council authorized spending $2,000,000 of these funds for the first time in partnership with Wake County CASA, a local affordable housing nonprofit for the acquisition of a “naturally occurring affordable housing” apartment community located near the New Bern Ave BRT route.
This timeline is not intended to be a complete listing of every action taken regarding the WTP, nor is it intended to contain all of the details related to all aspects of the WTP. The primary purpose is to simply give Raleigh residents a sense of the complex nature of large infrastructure projects, particularly those requiring coordination and cooperation with State and Federal governments, not to mention railroads and numerous local governments.
For more details about the information discussed above, consider taking a look at these websites:
Wake Transit Plan General Resources