“Raleigh’s future depends on embracing dense, walkable, mixed-use growth. Aging suburban infrastructure costs more to maintain than it brings in. Without new development near downtown and transit corridors, residents will pay higher taxes with fewer investments in parks, greenways, arts and services.”

9/21/2025 | LINK

“Developers in both the Hayes Barton and RCC cases are not likely to break ground anytime soon given pending litigation, said Eric Braun, founder of RaleighForward and a retired land-use and litigation attorney. “The 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,” he said.”

5/14/2025 | LINK

“Eric Braun, founder of RaleighForward and a retired land-use and litigation attorney, said there’s “no magic-bullet” solution. However, he believes these reforms would lead to more inventory. That would “eventually make housing more affordable across the state,” he said.”

4/30/2025 | LINK

“In both the Hayes Barton and RCC cases, developers are not likely to break ground anytime soon, said Eric Braun, founder of RaleighForward and a retired land-use and litigation attorney. “They’re on notice. Even if their development approvals are found to be valid, the underlying ordinances could be invalidated by the courts. They could still be at risk,” he said.”

3/4/2025 | LINK

“Eric Braun, a former Raleigh Planning Commission member and head of the advocacy group RaleighForward, said, “We have to put these (transit) pieces in place because it’s never going to be easier than today.” If the city doesn’t act now, he said, “We’re going to be Austin, or pick your community that has massive traffic problems.”"

1/8/2025 | LINK

“The new year could bring new insight into how Raleigh shapes its future. Two advocacy groups – RaleighForward and WakeUp Wake County – are partnering to increase public awareness of how the City Council will set priorities, draw its new comprehensive plan and approve or deny proposed developments. “We want to be in the conversation early and be a voice to improve the policy and, at the end, come out and support it,” said Eric Braun, a retired land use attorney and former City Planning Commission chair who founded RaleighForward in 2021.”

12/26/2024 | LINK

“In the summer of 2021, the City Council adopted zoning code changes designed to diversify the size and shape of homes allowed to be built across Raleigh. Those text changes, known as “missing middle” reforms, created a powerful tool that is starting to produce more homes affordable to lower income wage earners.”

9/16/2024 | LINK

“Braun added that there is “substantial data and research addressing the importance of maintaining balance between district representation and at-large representation” on municipal governing bodies like the council.”

4/29/2024 | LINK

“Raleigh must approve the New Bern TOD rezoning to support the development of various new housing types at diverse price points. That is the only way for Raleigh to accommodate the needs of current and future residents while also building a thriving economy that benefits all Raleigh residents.”

1/18/2024 | LINK / PDF

“Because Raleigh is the state capitol, legislators closely follow what the city and its leaders are doing,” Braun wrote. “Posting support for a bill that is viewed as extreme by Republicans and that has no chance of passing could come back to haunt the city when it asks the General Assembly to pass its broader legislative agenda.”

5/17/2023 | LINK

“Across the country, [people using missing-middle] are simply trying to return development rules to what they were before World War II,” says Eric Braun, a former land use lawyer and six-year member of the Raleigh Planning Commission. “[Those neighborhoods had] different types of housing and even small, small commercial uses. If [the policy] is allowed to really develop over time and be implemented fully, it allows people that have different income levels to move to more places across the city.”

3/29/2023 | LINK

“Still, some are concerned this marks a new era of “analysis paralysis” for the city. Of the eight rezoning cases that came before the council last month, only one was approved, noted Eric Braun, a former land use lawyer and local political commentator, in a newsletter for Raleigh Forward, a 501(c)(4) organization that monitors city council goings-on. All eight rezonings were recommended for approval by the city’s Planning Commission.”

2/8/2023 | LINK

“In fact, just as the growth reached its peak in the early 2000s, residential building permits fell off a cliff. Raleigh issued 6129 building permits in 2007 just before the Great Recession. Permits dropped to 1469 in 2009 and then hit rock bottom in 2010 at 1260. Even in 2019 prior to the pandemic, permits only reached 4580 – still well short of the pre-recession level.”

9/14/2021 | LINK

“While controversy surrounding how Council made the decision will surely linger, disbanding the CACs was the right decision. CACs served as the primary citizen engagement tool since Mayor Clarence Lightner helped establish them in 1974 as part of an effort to win federal grant money. Despite this long history and multiple reform efforts, CAC attendance was generally low and stubbornly inconsistent. Based on data received from the city, average CAC attendance for 2019 was 24 and topped out at 230 for a Northwest CAC meeting on Oct. 1, 2019.”

2/21/2020 | LINK / PDF