August 28: The week ahead
Here is what we will be watching this week:
There is no City Council meeting this week, but Council’s Economic Development and Innovation Committee meets on Tuesday, August 30 at 1:30 pm where staff will provide an update on proposed spending related to COVID relief funds. More on that here.
Raleigh will achieve another milestone in its effort to reinvent the City’s community engagement program on August 30th when the recently created Community Engagement Board holds its first meeting. It will be held at One Exchange Plaza, Suite 100 from 4:30-6:30pm. More details are available here.
Planning Commission will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, August 30 at 9:00 am. One of the items it will consider is Text Change (TC-18-21). The text change simplifies the requirements for building Accessory Structures and Accessory Dwelling Units. This is a continuation of the City’s regulatory reform efforts designed to reduce the barriers to permitting and building “gentle density” throughout Raleigh. Here is a link to the agenda and backup materials.
Planning Commission also has a number of rezoning cases on its agenda. Z-16-22 is a request to rezone about .89 acres at the intersection of Hillsborough Street and N. Boylan Ave. The request is to increase the allowable height from 7 to 20 stories, but keep the current Office Mixed Use designation. More details here.
Next up is Z-51-21 for property located at the intersection of E. Whitaker Mill and Atlantic Avenue directly across from the Raleigh Iron Works project currently under construction. It is also bounded at the rear by the existing Norfolk Southern Railroad track. The request seeks to rezone the property from Industrial Mixed Use 3-stories to Commercial Mixed Use 20-stories. This proposal continues the redevelopment of this mostly underutilized industrial part of Raleigh. Read more about it here.
Z-29-22 is an infill rezoning for about 4.1 acres at the intersection of E. Millbrook and Falls of Neuse Road across from Quail Corners Shopping Center. It is currently an underutilized set of 1-story office buildings. The request is to change the zoning from Office Mixed Use 3-stories to Neighborhood Mixed Use-5-stories. An adjacent property is currently being redeveloped for a medical imaging company. More details can be found here.
Z-31-22 seeks to rezone a .13 acre parcel next to the recently completed Fairweather Condominium. The request is to rezone the property from Downtown Mixed Use 5-stories Downtown Mixed Use 20-stories. Given the small size of the parcel, it will be interesting to see what the plans are for the project when they eventually get filed. Read more here.
Z-35-22 is another infill rezoning near NC State seeking to re-designate 4.19 acres located at Varsity Drive and Collegeview Avenue from Residential 10 to Residential Mixed Use 7-stories. Read related documents here.