May 3, 2026 Newsletter

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Articles of interest this week:

1. Beyond Council-Managers and Mayor-Councils: Designing A Resident-Model of Government for the Twenty-First Century City.

2. The NC Chapter of the American Planning Association: Housing Choice Needs and Policies Report.

3. Suburbs aren’t Green, Density is.

4. Stop Blaming Ugly Buildings for the Housing Crisis.

5. He Builds Affordable Tiny Houses. The Problem is Where to put Them.

6. Heritage Park: Raleigh is Rebuilding Public Housing the Right Way.

7. Innovative Approaches to Redeveloping Public Housing.

8. REPORT — Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing.

9. Emerging Practices in Community Engagement.

10. Data-Driven Multi-Scale Planning for Housing Affordability.

Bonus:

Building, Permitting and Zoning: Opportunities, Challenges and Best Practices Survey Results. Some selected slides:

From the Data Department:

Wake County’s median price of real estate increased by $20,000 to $470,000 for the month of April. Trends since January 2020:

Raleigh City Council’s next meeting is Tuesday, May 5, 2026. Here are a couple of items to keep an eye on:

1. Staff will be updating Council on the outcome of the City’s first-ever use of a civic assembly and the ongoing effort to develop the City’s next comprehensive plan.

2. Staff will update Council on the status of the City-owned DMV site and plans for redevelopment, along with proposed temporary uses and related matters.

3. Council will conduct a public hearing for Rezoning Z-38-25, which seeks to upzone 13.8 acres from Residential-6 and Residential-4 to Residential Mixed-Use 3-stories and Residential-10. The request would allow for the construction of up to 203 new residential units.

Other items of interest:

1. Council took the first formal procedural step necessary to put a $203 million dollar bond on the November 2026 ballot, split evenly between housing and transportation projects. The proposal will not require a tax increase; however, Council may still need to increase property taxes due to macroeconomic issues and reduced spending by the State and federal governments. Click here for details.

2. Click here for the latest City Manager Report.