July 13 Newsletter
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In March, RaleighForward, the City of Raleigh and WakeUp co-sponsored an event with the National Civic League on Civic Assemblies and innovative community engagement. Raleigh recently issued an RFP to retain a consultant for utilizing a civic assembly as part of the engagement process for developing Raleigh’s next Comprehensive Plan. To catch up on what a civic assembly is, you can watch the video of the event here.
Several Hayes Barton neighbors continue attacking the proposed Williamson Drive townhome community. The Raleigh Board of Adjustment is scheduled to hear the neighbors’ latest appeal of the proposed 17 townhomes on Williamson Drive. As readers may recall, the neighbors won the last appeal on a very narrow ruling in Superior Court related to a proposed Transitional Protective Yard. After the Court’s decision, the developer filed a revised development plan still with 17 proposed townhomes, but also addressing the Court’s decision. For more background on this development and related Missing Middle litigation, click here. It will be interesting to see how the Board of Adjustment handles the appeal this time around. The BOA meets on July 18th. For more information, click here for a link to the BOA agenda materials.
Articles and Resources of interest:
Pew Charitable Trusts recently published an article exploring 5 policies to help curb housing costs immediately.
Trump Tax Law is a Surprise Boon to Affordable Housing Creation, Bloomberg reports.
Look for more developers seeking to reduce the uncertainty and financial burden of rezoning conditions requiring developers to build and maintain income-restricted affordable housing. The RUS BUS developer recently obtained approval to modify such a zoning condition, INDY Week reports.
Homeownership: Not Enough Supply for Middle Income Buyers, the New York Times reports.
The Whole Country is Starting to Look Like California (when it comes to housing costs), The Atlantic reports.
Can Zoning Changes Boost Affordable Housing? Read more here.
California Exempts Building Projects from Environmental Law. California’s notoriously complex environmental review process for new development is legendary. Recent legislative reforms aim to change that (at least with respect to housing and manufacturing uses). Bloomberg reports.
After the fires in Hawaii 2 years ago, an experiment to provide prefabricated homes to the state’s most vulnerable residents that were impacted by the fire. This could serve as a lesson for housing advocates around the Country seeking to address homelessness. The Washington Post reports.
Like Raleigh, many communities are looking to reinvigorate their downtowns. This Bloomberg article explores how some cities are trying to lure people back to downtown.
This article explores a new trend in Seattle where single-family detached dwellings are connected by mini “sky bridges.” Could this be the answer for people who want to exclude duplexes from their neighborhood? The New York Times reports.
From the Data Department:
According to the Wake County Register of Deeds, the median price of real estate in Wake County increased by $22,500 to $495,500. Click here for more details.
Items of Interest in the Week Ahead:
Raleigh City Council is on its annual Summer break until August 19, 2025. RaleighForward will share any important developments that occur during Council’s break.
There are 3 affordable housing matters on the Consent Agenda. They relate to bond issuances and additional financing flexibility to help facilitate the rehabilitation and construction of hundreds of new affordable rental units. For more information click here, here and here.
It looks like the first portion of the New Bern BRT construction will finally get underway. The City received an acceptable bid for the first portion of the work after the City was forced to break the project into 3 bid packages. Click here for more detail.
The troubled Six Forks Road Improvement plan is back on Council’s agenda. Most recently, Council asked staff to modify the proposed improvements and only take them to Millbrook Road rather than Lynn Road. Staff went back and evaluated the cost of doing that and on Tuesday, staff will report that even the cost of the reduced project has now ballooned to $93.5 million. The reality is the Six Forks Road Improvement project is likely dead or will have to be so substantially modified as to provide very little public benefit. This is one example where too much community engagement over the years likely doomed what could have been a major bike/ped improvement to the North Hills area. To read more about the project, click here.
Council will receive an update on the retooling of Citizen Advisory Councils from staff. After Council disbanded CACs in 2020, more recent Councils have explored how to bring them back as a vehicle for information exchange but not in a way that hinders the review of rezoning cases. Click here for the agenda material.
Staff will update Council on major downtown projects like the Red Hat Amphitheatre relocation, the Chavis to Dix Stroll Way, Dix Park investments and other projects downtown. Click here for the agenda materials.
Council will receive a report of the Special Council Committee that was appointed to review and make recommendations regarding the City’s various Boards and Commissions. For more information, click here.
Council will conduct a public hearing to amend the affordable housing zoning condition for TCZ-3-25. The property is located on West Street and is the RUS Bus site. The applicant asked the City to allow it to amend the current zoning condition requiring the construction of at least 20 affordable housing units to allow for the payment of a $40,000 per unit fee in lieu of requiring the construction of affordable units. Click here for the agenda material.
Other Items of Interest:
On July 1, 2025, Raleigh launched “Ask Raleigh,” which is intended to replace SeeClickFix. It is a beta test for an entirely new way for residents to communicate with the City. Click here to give it a try.
From time to time, it’s worth checking out the City Manager’s Update. It is a great way to keep up with many of the issues facing the City. It is also the place where staff often responds to Council or resident concerns that arise during any given Council meeting. Click here for the latest Manager’s Update.