The week before Thanksgiving is usually pretty low key. Lots of people take off a few extra days and travel to see family. But this week there was a flurry of activity around a proposed text change in the Raleigh residential zoning language. Read the proposal here (opens a PDF). It basically changes the text to make setbacks more restrictive for the side, front, and back yards of residential lots.
Apparently the text change was proposed as a temporary solution to the complaints from many neighborhoods about all the tear downs and the oversized homes being built. The public meeting to discuss it was last night. I didn't want to miss it. I wanted to witness the debate because I was certain that it could be historic.
To make a long story short - the place was packed. As expected, most of the attendees were builders, developers, and REALTORs. I saw plenty of folks from YSU there as well as agents from other brokerages. However, THERE WAS NO DEBATE. When the time came to discuss the text change, Mayor Meeker asked if there were any speakers in support of the change. No one stepped forward. NO ONE! I was shocked. There are so many groups whose purpose is based around finding a solution to the current infill issues, and there was no one to speak in favor of the text change. Maybe they had already left town? No.
One of the first speakers was from Community Scale. They were against the text change because it was a blanket proposal that would effect everyone in Raleigh, and really didn't address the majority of the issues that they have with current community preservation.
So here is my question - if no one in the community supported this text change – then why was it even being discussed? Who put it together? Was any thought given to it at all? My only guess is that it came from a new council member who thought that they had all the answers. I can't imagine anyone with experience proposing something without anyone to stand up and support it in public. I mean, that's what politics is all about, right? Who goes to a meeting in the corporate world and proposes something new without talking to other staff in advance for feedback?
The only thing stopping me from saying that the whole meeting wasted everyone's time since there was no support for the proposal in the first place is this: developers, the public, and Community Scale were all in agreement on something. And that something was basic property rights. People are not stupid. I was very pleased to see a young man, who I don't think had any involvement professionally in the real estate business, stand up and speak about his property rights. He had over 400 signed petitions faxed to him in 2 days from friends who were against this proposal.
Anyway, I could go on. You should watch the meeting on RTN if you're interested. The news will likely focus on the developer/real estate turnout angle, but you really should watch the whole meeting. There were many citizens there who opposed the proposal.
Some comments that I liked were:
- one gentleman brought language from Alexandria, VA that showed how they dealt with infill issues. Certainly we aren't the only city to deal with this, so I thought that was smart.
- Gordon Grubb, a developer, suggested that council provide incentives to builders who *do* consider the neighborhood when building a new home. Most people's complaints with new construction where an old house stood have to do with the fact that the home looks nothing like any others in the neighborhood. That's architecture, setbacks, and general quality.
Tear downs have not hit my neighborhood yet. I don't want to live next door to a high rise McMansion either. There has to be a better way.
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