BREAKING: Hayes Barton Project Amended, Will Advance

BREAKING: 908 Williamson Townhouse Project Developer obtains approval from the City of Raleigh on an amended plan for 17 Townhouses.

As we predicted when the neighbors filed a lawsuit challenging the administrative approval for 17 townhomes on April 2, 2024, the 908 Williamson Drive townhouse developer chose to amend its development plan rather than give up on the project.  This was easy to predict because the developer owned the property involved in the litigation.  It became even more likely when the Superior Court issued an Order on September 23, 2024, determining that the proposed project met all of the City’s UDO requirements except for the required Transitional Protective Yard.  Because the ruling was very specific and narrowly tailored, the developer needed to simply re-work the proposed plan to provide for a Transitional Protective Yard as prescribed in the Superior Court judge’s Order.  

The judge gave the developer 6 months from the date the Order was issued to file an amended plan.  Since the Order was issued on September 23, 2024, the developer had until March 22, 2025, to file its amended townhouse plan.  The developer did so March 17, 2025, and the City approved it on April 4, 2025.  The neighbors can challenge the approval of the amended townhouse plan, but the chances of success are slim given how the judge carefully crafted its original Order.  As a result, 908 Williamson Drive may see construction of 17 townhomes begin sometime in the next year.  However, the litigation challenging the underlying Missing Middle ordinances is ongoing.  Another proposed townhome development near the Raleigh Country Club is being challenged and may spawn a second lawsuit seeking to invalidate Raleigh’s Missing Middle Housing Reforms using similar arguments to those asserted by the Williamson Drive neighbors. 

Be on the lookout this weekend for a full update from RaleighForward exploring the status of all pending litigation related to Raleigh’s Missing Middle Reforms.

Read our comprehensive coverage of Missing Middle in Raleigh here.

Subscribe to our Substack to be the first to learn of breaking news like this.