Missing Middle Reform Still Under Attack
Raleigh’s Missing Middle reforms continue to come under attack. Eric Braun, Founder of RaleighForward was quoted in a recent News and Observer article about newly filed litigation challenging Raleigh’s Missing Middle reforms. As predicted in the April 12 RaleighForward newsletter, the RCC sued the City seeking to invalidate Missing Middle 2.0because it is represented by the same lawyer representing the Hayes Barton neighbors who are also seeking to invalidate Missing Middle reforms. Missing Middle 2.0 allows developers to ask for additional density in exchange for reserving a percentage of units for affordable housing. The RCC filed this new lawsuit on May 8.
This lawsuit uses legal theories similar to those used in the Hayes Barton litigation, but with greater focus on invalidating Raleigh’s Missing Middle 2.0 reforms. The litigation boils down to: (1) are the Missing Middle reforms zoning map amendments or text changes and (2) was the advertised notice legally sufficient. The difference between those 2 procedures is that zoning map amendments require mailed notice to nearby property owners while a text amendment requires only advertised notice. The same analysis presented by RaleighForward here applies to the new RCC case. As with the pending challenge to Missing Middle 1.0 in the Hayes Barton case, this litigation will likely take 1.5-2.5 years to resolve.
The Raleigh Country Club (RCC) also filed an appeal with the Raleigh Board of Adjustment challenging the administrative approval of a 16-unit townhome community that used Missing Middle 2.0 for additional density allowing the construction of 2 affordable units. The RCC lost its initial appeal at the Board of Adjustment and is now appealing that decision in Wake County Superior Court.
Speaking of litigation delays, the Hayes Barton neighbors filed a new appeal on May 1 seeking to overturn the recently amended townhome development proposal. As you may recall from this article, the Judge invalidated the developer’s original plan to build 18 townhomes in Hayes Barton. In that decision, the Judge was explicit in his ruling that there was only one issue that failed to comply with the City’s ordinances-the application/interpretation of “Transitional Protective Yard.”
In response, the developer filed an amended plan with the City and that amended plan was approved by the City on April 4, 2025. To no one’s surprise, that Hayes Barton neighbors have now filed an appeal of the amended plan with the Raleigh Board of Adjustment. This latest appeal will continue to delay this developer from building on the property, while adding to the ultimate cost of whatever is ultimately built. This strategy of continuous appeals is really intended to drive the developer to abandon the project altogether. If the developer has the financial wherewithal and the patience, a judge and the City’s Board of adjustment will likely approve a plan to build townhomes here, but it will be another year or two at the earliest. As Braun stated in the News and Observer, “[t]he net effect of all of this is a continued chilling effect on potential small-scale townhouse developments, which will continue stifling Raleigh’s housing supply and exacerbate the housing crisis.”
RaleighForward will continue following these cases and provide updates in future newsletters.
Read our comprehensive coverage of Missing Middle in Raleigh here.