March 31: The week ahead in Raleigh
City Council meets on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Here some of the agenda items we are watching:
Council is continuing its deliberations on the New Bern BRT TOD Rezoning (Z-92-22). The Staff report includes a summary of the information requested, including a list of an additional 40 properties for potential upzoning because they are either likely to be used for affordable housing, vacant or more likely to be developed in the near-term. Click here for a list of the properties.
There is a public hearing on a Resolution of Consideration for changing Raleigh Council elections back to a primary and shifting terms from 2-year where all Councilors are up for election every 2 years to 4-year staggered terms. Click here for the agenda materials.
In 2020, Council appointed a racially and geographically diverse group of Raleigh residents to study these issues, as well as Council compensation. The Study Group recommended shifting to 4-year staggered terms. It did not address the primary issue. Here is a link to the Study Group’s final report.
There will be another public hearing related to Council structure. This one is a Resolution of Consideration for expanding the size of Council from 8 to 11 by adding 3 new district seats. Click here for the agenda back up materials. The Study Review Group also addressed this issue and surveyed comparable cities in NC and across the Country. The average size of NC municipalities was 7.9 and nationally, the average size was 10.9. The national average was skewed because Chicago had 51 seats, Indianapolis had 25 seats, Louisville/Jefferson County had 25 and Nashville/Davidson County had 40 seats. Excluding those outliers, the average would be reduced substantially.
The NC Budget and Tax Center issued Wake County’s 2024 Economic Snapshot.
Last year Raleigh issued the most ADU building Permits (55) since they were legalized in 2020. The total number of building permits issued since 2020 is 140 with 86 completed. For more detail about ADUs in Raleigh, visit the City’s ADU Dashboard.
The City has a webpage that tracks its progress in addressing housing affordability.