August 16, 2026 Newsletter
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RaleighForward in the news.
RaleighForward Founder Eric Braun was recently quoted in the News & Observer:
Interactive map: Where apartments are allowed in the Triangle — and where they aren’t
“If a jurisdiction’s zoning is quite permissive, but also has large minimum lot size mandates, then permissive zoning isn’t really going to move the needle in terms of adding substantial density,” said Eric Braun, a retired land-use attorney and founder of RaleighForward.
News & Observer, July 30, 2026
Articles of Interest:
El Paso Housing Authority purchases Apartment Community in Brier Creek. Housing Authorities across the country are using nonprofit instrumentalities to diversify their real estate portfolios to enhance fiscal health. That is what the Raleigh Housing Authority recently attempted to do by seeking to acquire a community in Cary, NC.
‘Southern Squeeze’ Grips US Cities Once Known for Affordability.
Affluent newcomers are reshaping places like Nashville and Atlanta, boosting local economies but straining the budgets of longtime residents.Why Doesn’t the US Have Small Elevators Like Europe and China?
The Midwest City Keeping the American Dream Alive for First-time Homebuyers.
Check out Phil Veasley’s 2026 Drone Tour of the City of Raleigh.
RaleighForward, CityBuilder and WakeUp Wake County are co-hosting YIMBYTOWN Raleigh 2026 from November 17-19. Time is running out to take advantage of Early Bird ticket pricing. For more information, click here.
Here is an event from our coalition partner CityBuilder that we think you might find interesting:
CityBuilder is partnering with Better Cities Film Festival and Southern Urbanism to showcase a selection of short, documentary films highlighting housing and urbanism from across the country. This will be a family-friendly evening, and a great chance to escape the summer heat, sit back, relax, and enjoy thought-provoking and inspiring films.
Saga City - An animated short about a fictional town drowning in sprawl, car dependency, and economic decline that decides to rebuild itself from the inside out. Infill. Adaptive reuse. Transit. More density, more greenery, more people. The film’s conclusion isn’t really about infrastructure; it’s about getting our neighbors, communities, and elected officials to see what’s possible.
CNU25 Pocket Neighborhoods - Architect Ross Chapin walks through two Seattle neighborhoods built at human scale, small clusters of homes arranged around shared courtyards and garden paths. He talks about the gift of constraints, and about the five layers of threshold between the sidewalk and your front door that tell your brain where public space ends and private space begins. One resident says of Chapin’s neighborhood: “It feels like an oasis.” Most of our zoning codes make these places impossible to build.
LA’s Forbidden City - This one’s a walking tour through the duplexes, fourplexes, and bungalow courts of Los Angeles. These housing types made neighborhoods vibrant and affordable, but were quietly banned one parking minimum and setback requirement at a time. This is the story of the Raleigh and Durham too. At every screening, we’re building a local version of that “forbidden housing” inventory: the buildings in the Triangle that people love but can no longer legally construct.
Before | After - One minute and forty-five seconds long, and it’ll make you want to call your city council member. This quick film is a collection of street transformations captured on Google Streetview by the team at Urb-i. It’s filled with formerly car-dominated roads redesigned for people, with paint and bollards and bike lanes and benches where parking spaces used to be. Cities on every continent are doing this. There’s no reason we can’t do it here.
River City Rising - A short documentary about Spokane’s response to its own housing emergency. The city looked backward to move forward, drawing on historic urban planning principles and the character of its original streetcar neighborhoods to shape housing supply solutions and zoning reforms for today. This one’s a great reminder that the answers to our present problems usually have their roots in the past.
Segregated By Design - A deep dive into the history and ramifications of intentional segregation of our cities.
RSVP and Purchase Tickets by clicking here.
From the Data Department:
Wake County’s median real estate price increased by $15,500 in June 2026, ending the month at $458,500.
Raleigh City Council is returning from Summer Break and will meet on August 18, 2026. Here are a few items of interest:
Raleigh Housing Authority and the City facilitate bond financing for new affordable housing.
Council will continue the public hearing for rezoning Z-39-25, which The request seeks to rezone approximately 0.51 acres from Residential-10 with New Bern Edenton Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (R-10 w/NCOD) to Residential Mixed Use-4 Stories-Conditional Use (RX-4-CU). Proposed conditions prohibit the cemetery, retail, and office use, apply specific minimum lot frontages for Oakwood Avenue and other public rights of way, require the installation of a commemorative plaque citing the site’s location in the Idlewild neighborhood on future development, restrict density to 40 units, and limit maximum building height to 55’.
Council will conduct a public hearing for rezoning Z-51-25. The current zoning is Residential-1 (R-1) and the Requested Zoning is Commercial Mixed Use-3 stories-Conditional Use (CX-3-CU). It involves approximately 3.93 acres with proposed zoning conditions prohibiting some uses otherwise permitted in CX; limit maximum development intensities across use mixes; prohibit vape/tobacco shops; and require a 20-foot-wide Type B protective yard along the site’s western and southern property line for any site plan proposing a non-residential use.
Council will conduct a public hearing for rezoning Z-54-25 for property located at 12301, 7652 Leesville Road and 3321 Shady Grove Road, at the Durham/Wake County boundary, approximately ½ mile south of the intersection of Leesville Road and Shady Grove Road. This request would increase the maximum number of dwelling units that could be built, increase entitlement for commercial and office uses, and allow additional building types. The request would remove all zoning overlays from the subject properties. A portion of the site is outside the ETJ and eligible to be annexed into the City of Raleigh by agreement with Durham. This request is associated with annexation petition AX-44-25. Proposed conditions would require any recorded plat to disclose Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) noise contours; require the developer to record an avigation easement granting the RDU Airport Authority perpetual right of flight over the site; require new residential dwelling units to be constructed with noise-attenuating materials; alter block perimeter standards; and restrict maximum development intensities across use mixes.
Current Zoning:
Industrial Mixed Use-3 stories-Parkway frontage with Airport Overlay District and Special Highway Overlay District-2 (IX-3-PK w/ AOD & SHOD-2)
Durham Residential Rural with Airport Overlay A65 and Airport Overlay A60 (Durham RR w/ A65 & A60)
Durham Residential Rural with Airport Overlay A65 (Durham RR w/ A65)
Proposed Zoning:
Office Mixed Use-4 stories-Parking Limited frontage-Conditional Use (OX-4-PL-CU)
Office Mixed Use-4 stories-Conditional Use (OX-4-CU)
Council will conduct a public hearing for rezoning Z-8-26. The request seeks to rezone approximately 1.52 acres from Residential – 4 (R-4) to Neighborhood Mixed-use – 3 – Parking Limited – Conditional Use (NX-3-PL-CU). This request would increase the maximum number of dwelling units that could be built, allow additional building types, and allow for residential, commercial, and various office uses. There are three proposed conditions associated with this request. The first condition prohibits detention centers, jails, prisons, and vehicle fuel sales. The second condition prohibits vape and tobacco shops. The third condition prohibits internet or electronic sweepstakes cafés or parlors.
Council will conduct a public hearing for rezoning Z-16-26 for property located at 309 N Boylan Avenue. The request seeks to rezone approximately 0.15 acres from Office Mixed Use-3 Stories Detached Frontage with North Boylan Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District (OX3-DE w/NCOD) to Commercial Mixed Use-12 Stories-Urban Limited (CX-12-UL). This is a general use rezoning, and no conditions are included in the application.
Other items of interest:
Raleigh is hosting an affordable housing forum on Saturday, August 22. Click here for details.
Raleigh is seeking resident input as it works to update its Strategic Plan. There are several surveys available here to provide input.
You may have noticed that the new City Hall building is nearing completion. Employees are scheduled to occupy the building in Spring of 2027. For a detailed status report on the building, click here.
Current City Manager’s report can be found here.