January 29: The week ahead in Raleigh
Here is what we will be watching this week:
Council held a Special Meeting on January 24 to conduct public hearings on a number of zoning issues due to an earlier public notice error. Although it is very early in Council’s new term, there was a hint of a possible return to the “paralysis by analysis” that plagued the 2017-2019 Council (Stephenson, Cox, Crowder, Mendell, McFarlane, Stewart, Thompson and Branch). Several zoning cases that could add to the City’s housing supply, including permanent affordable housing, were deferred or placed into committee for additional study. While deferring cases or placing them in committee is not unusual, Council must act reasonably swiftly on housing proposals due to the significant time it takes to permit, finance and build them. Every delay adds further time between when a project is approved and being occupied by new residents. Rezoning is merely the first step in the permitting process, so every delay adds to the time it takes to actually place units on the ground ready for occupancy. Of the 8 rezoning public hearings conducted on January 24, only 1 was approved and 7 were either deferred or placed into committee. In each of the 8 zoning cases, the Planning Commission recommended approval (6 unanimously, 1 by a 7-1 vote and the other by a 5-3 vote).
Interestingly, rezoning Z-53-22 involved a City-initiated case designed to upzone 3 parcels so they could be placed out for public bid for the construction of affordable housing. Council approved the rezoning of 1 of the 3 subject parcels, while placing the 2 others into committee. Approving these rezonings only allows the City to initiate a request for proposal (“RFP”) process whereby it sets forth development objectives and performance criteria that guide potential design proposals that are submitted to the City by potential developers. At that point, the City can accept or reject the submissions. Several Councilors expressed concerns about floodplain and environmental justice issues while seemingly thinking of these zoning cases in the same context as if they were owned/controlled by a private developer.
While such concerns are valid, the unique nature of this kind of City-initiated rezoning reduces those risks. Rezoning these parcels has no impact on the City’s ability to control how and what might ultimately be done with those properties because of the nature of the RFP process. By deferring action, Council simply added to the potential delay in developing these properties in a way that benefits the City. A better course might have been to approve the cases and request that staff ensure that the eventual RFP proposal takes these concerns into consideration because Council still has to approve the RFP proposal before it can move forward.
Don’t forget that Raleigh staff will be hosting several “Missing Middle” informational sessions in February. The next one is scheduled for February 2. If you are interested or have concerns about recent regulatory reforms designed to encourage “gentle density” across the City, please consider attending one of these sessions. For more dates and times click here. Here is a link to some of the information that will be discussed.
Mark your calendar! Council has a budget work session scheduled for February 20, 2023. We’ll include posts about the budget throughout Council’s deliberations this Spring. The budget must be adopted before July 1 of each year and typically is voted on in June.