Why Zoning Changes
In the first part of this series, Land Use and Zoning 101, we talked about what zoning is and how it changes over time. Zoning is the law controlling what, where and how things are built in Raleigh. North Carolina State Law Chapter 160D Local Planning and Development Regulation tells cities and counties in North Carolina what they can and can’t do regarding land use regulations. Part of that legislation allows local governments to have their own development ordinance. In Raleigh, that's the Unified Development Ordinance or UDO. In today’s post, we’ll dive into why zoning changes over time.
The purpose of zoning is to provide for the wellbeing of communities across the State. According to State law, zoning regulations:
…may address, among other things, the following public purposes: to provide adequate light and air; to prevent the overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population; to lessen congestion in the streets; to secure safety from fire, panic, and dangers; to facilitate the efficient and adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, and other public requirements; and to promote the health, safety, morals, or general welfare of the community. § 160D-701. Purposes.
As Raleigh’s population grows, zoning and the other regulations contained in the UDO are designed to make sure these new residents have access to adequate housing, infrastructure and other services.
Raleigh’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan recognizes the need to accommodate new residents by increasing density. Density is the ratio of people, businesses or other uses to a particular land area. Raleigh is about 148 square miles in size (according to the City of Raleigh’s 2019 Databook). There are two ways for cities in North Carolina to grow. One way is by expanding its borders through a process called Annexation. Over the last 30 years, Raleigh has expanded its borders through annexation. However, in recent years the North Carolina General Assembly has made annexation more difficult. This has had minimal impact on Raleigh because it already annexed much of the developed areas near its borders. The City also has agreements with surrounding cities in Wake County that designate who will annex most of the remaining undeveloped land in the County. As a result, there is relatively little land available to be annexed to Raleigh’s current boundaries.
This brings us to the second way cities grow: By increasing the density and intensity of development through the rezoning process. Because Raleigh’s ability to expand physically is limited, it must use zoning to guide where and how new development is built within the current City boundaries. That process starts with the Raleigh Comprehensive Plan.
The 2030 Comprehensive Plan notes in the Land Use Chapter:
Since 1980, Raleigh’s auto-dependent suburban growth has become more prevalent and continued further beyond the Beltline (I-440), the first interstate highway spur around the city. From 1980 to 2014, the city’s population tripled from about 150,000 to 440,000.
Like many other cities across the country, Raleigh lacks a robust transit system (though it is in the process of implementing the Wake Transit Plan and Bus Rapid Transit). As a result, auto-dependent suburban growth has been the prevailing development pattern until very recently. To shift away from auto-dependent development, zoning across the City needs to change. The process for changing the way land is zoned is called a rezoning. The rezoning process is regulated by North Carolina General Statute 160D-701 and the City's UDO. Rezoning is a legislative process that can be initiated by the City Council or by a resident filing a rezoning application. Legislative processes are political decisions made by the Raleigh City Council. Other common examples of legislative decisions made by City Council are:
Changes to the UDO
Changes to the 2030 Comprehensive Plan
Changes to the Future Land Use Map or FLUM
Before a rezoning application can be voted on by the City Council, the Planning Commission must review and make a recommendation to City Council. The Planning Commission is a body of 10 volunteers appointed by the Raleigh City Council. Their role is to advise City Council on future growth and development issues.
According to North Carolina General Statute 160D-301, the Planning Commission’s role is to:
1. To prepare, review, maintain, monitor, and periodically update and recommend to the governing board a comprehensive plan, and such other plans as deemed appropriate, and conduct ongoing related research, data collection, mapping, and analysis.
2. To facilitate and coordinate citizen engagement and participation in the planning process.
3. To develop and recommend policies, ordinances, development regulations, administrative procedures, and other means for carrying out plans in a coordinated and efficient manner.
4. To advise the governing board concerning the implementation of plans, including, but not limited to, review and comment on all zoning text and map amendments as required by G.S. 160D-604.
5. To exercise any functions in the administration and enforcement of various means for carrying out plans that the governing board may direct.
6. To provide a preliminary forum for review of quasi-judicial decisions, provided that no part of the forum or recommendation may be used as a basis for the deciding board.
7. To perform any other related duties that the governing board may direct.
The Raleigh Planning and Development Department manages the rezoning application process. Managing that process includes presenting the case to the Planning Commission and Council. Planning staff also makes sure the rezoning application process follows City and State law. A chart showing the rezoning process is shown below.
In the next post, we will go into more detail about the rezoning process.
Image Credit: City of Raleigh’s Planning and Development Department