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I spent my Saturday morning on September 15, 2007 at the 4th Annual Raleigh Neighborhood Exchange (RNE); an event that any HOA Board members, community leader, or curious citizen should have attended. The caliber of folks who attended, the variety of topics, the knowledge experts who presented, the low cost, the location, all factors as to why someone like yourself missed out on a great opportunity.
I arrived shortly after 8:00 am and was quickly registered. I mingled around the display room where there were numerous booths ranging from recycling, Fire Department, Costco, to RPD. All very inviting, not intrusive.
The first session I attended was the Infill! Refill! Overfill! session lead by Phil Poe (RCAC Chair) and Ken Bowers (Deputy Planning Director, Raleigh Planning Department). This is a really hot topic lately considering several media outlets covering the debate over the issue, such as the N&O who printed articles over the weekend:
I learned a great deal from both presenters including definitions, statistics, and where the issue is now. The majority of the infill seems to be happening north of downtown, south of the beltline. An area that you and I would often refer to as 5-Points. McMansions are popping up left and right, mature trees are disappearing quickly. But what the issue seems to really boil down to is property rights vs. community rights. Point in case, does the impact of your neighbors home have an effect on your quality of life and the character of the neighborhood as a whole? Something that should be considered that the real estate market has no “rules” for per se.
So where does this issue stand? I learned that all infill is not bad. In fact, Planning Departments consider infill good growth. Why? Typical infill projects will come in and possibly tear down an older dwelling and replace it with something newer. Something more energy efficient (pending sq. footage & materials), something with a higher taxable base, and more importantly, something already connected to existing infrastructure (water, sewer, schools, roads, etc.). The problem? An infill project out of character with the other homes surrounding it that can potentially have impacts on gentrification (affordable housing), quality of life, and even sun/shade impacts from removed trees or building heights. Even more so, residents are seeing homes that dwarf surrounding structures in square footage & setbacks and may possibly disrupt the historic nature of the neighborhood.
The solution? None so far. This is a nation-wide issue and Raleigh is just one city among others like Atlanta, Austin, LA, and Charlotte dealing with this. The City of Raleigh Planning Department is hiring a full-time person dedicated to this topic of concern. We were fortunate enough to have Mitch Silver, CoR Planning Director in attendance who added his expertise to the topic. The City is planning on moving forward with a four-phase approach: 1) Scope 2) Best Practices Review 3) Recommendation and 4) Adoption of Processes. And they want public input, according to Silver.
Interested? If you are, there are two things coming up. First off, on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 there is a public hearing for a rezoning case in Fallon Park at City Hall. It starts at 6:30pm and I can almost wager that a good crowd will be in attendance. Second, there is a meeting on the update of the Comprehensive Plan on October 25, 2007 more details to follow, but a chance for you to participate.
I didn’t mean to spend so much time on that topic, but it’s an important issue. It doesn’t quite effect the Lineberry area now, but this is something that could impact us in the future. The outcome now could result in a better quality of life for our area in the years to come. It’s interesting to pay attention and understand the issues from both sides. It’s also important that you understand which At-large candidates support which side of the issue for the upcoming October 2007 election.
At 9:50am I attended a session entitled Will Raleigh Run Dry? Well, if you’re curious, the answer is NO. The session went into details about the Neuse Rive basin and the planning efforts from our Public Utilities Department. We saw historical data as well as projected data. The fact that we are in a severe drought right now is a good time to heighten awareness of conservation efforts that you should be taking. Understanding why watering your grass has such a huge impact on the amount of water that needs to be processed and how you can reduce that amount is important.
I thought it was really neat to understand the entire process which took me back to middle school science and reminded me of the responsibilities of home ownership & water conservation.
The last session I attended was a Fraud Forum. There were numerous topics presented here ranging from Medicare fraud (insurance) to investment fraud and nccash.com monies that may be yours to identify theft. I have an abundance of information from this session and will request the the officers from PRR-Watch consider this as a hot topic during our annual meeting in February 2008.
So that’s pretty much it from the sessions. I heard the Environmental & Financial Benefits of Urban Trees session was also a good one to attend. After the sessions concluded, it was time for lunch and time to listen to the lunch keynote speaker, North Carolina Secretary of State, Elaine F. Marshall. After the keynote, elected officials Russ Stephenson (At-Large) and Jesse Taliaferro (District B) were recognized for their apperances as well as At-Large Candidates Roger Koopman and Helen Tart.
Overall, attending the Fourth Annual Raleigh Neighborhood Exchange was a great use of my time. I wish more of my neighbors saw the same value and had the chance to attend. Everyone is busy and has certain obligations, but this is one event that is already on my calendar for next year.
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About: Jason: I'm a neighborhood advocate. I started off by getting involved in the Pleasant Ridge & Ramsgate Community Watch program and helped grow that organization. I saw an opportunity to unite other neighborhoods in our area with the Lineberry Alliance. I became chair of Raleigh's South West Citizen Advisory Council (SWCAC) in April 2010 along with vice chair Anthony McLeod and second vice chair Mary Belle Pate. I work with other neighborhood leaders in District D alongside City Councilor Thomas Crowder, on the District D Neighborhood Alliance (DDNA). I've completed Raleigh Neighborhood College (Spring 2005) and Leadership North Carolina (May 2007). In 2009, I lead a group of neighborhood volunteers to review Raleigh's 2030 Comprehensive Plan. I have a genuine interest in strong communities, fostering diversity, understanding the issues, and being transparent in my work. You can follow me on Twitter: @jhibbets |