Lineberry Alliance Blogs

Please find below my notes from the University Park Candidate’s Forum held on Monday, September 17, 2007. Over 50 folks in attendance with 8 candidates from the upcoming October election. If I’ve written any inaccuracies, please contact me so that I can correct them. I wrote this live during the forum and completed this post within 24 hours while the information was fresh in my head.

Candidate Attendees & Opening remarks

• Anne McLaurin
  • School Board (unopposed)
  • Looking to improve one of the largest school systems in the nation, focus on

• Thomas Crowder (District D – unopposed)
  • PROP, 6 new Environmental Inspectors, 7 new RPD officers (in D26)
  • Future for next 20 years: Comp Plan

• Mary-Ann Baldwin (At-Large)
  • 19-year resident of Raleigh (Lived in University Park
    for 5 years – but was never a member of the UPHA)
  • moved here for many reasons that you and I live here
  • Marketing & Communications professional
  • Community involvement – non profit, economic development committee

• David Williams (At-Large)
  • 11-year resident or Raleigh
  • Financial advisor (planning and advisement)
  • Strong fiscal conservative, taxes/spending constraints (focus on home ownership / fixed-income)
  • Volunteer at several organizations

• Paul Anderson (At-Large)
  • Been in Raleigh since 1985, currently a pastor
  • Currently on Planning Commission, Board of Urban Ministries
  • Maintain quality of life for residents

• Russ Stephenson (At-Large, incumbent)
  • Went up through the ranks, Planning Commission, currently At-Large
  • How can we continue to grow? Thinks growth should pay it’s fair share, currently they pay 15% and thinks that growth should pay more (85%). Conserving natural resources, community improvements.

• Helen Tart (At-Large)
  • Involved because of the Hillsborough St. Partnership. Make it easier for neighborhoods to get together and talk to the city. Strong support of the environment, concerned with the comp plan (based on natural systems) and this may get lost in the process.

• Will Best (At-Large)
  • Former employee of planning department
  • Dept of Commerce, planning & policy issues

Questions 1: 2 Things they would like to accomplish.

1. McLaurin – a) funding issues in school system, keeping up with growth; where does this money come from b) get back to business of educating.
2. Crowder – a) strengthen the PROP, criminal activity (landlord license) & Front Yard Parking b) develop a comp plan to address a sustainable city, economically & environmentally.
3. Baldwin – a) development of the new comp plan (to address growth issue) with a focus on continued sprawl, with good (vertical) infill. Preserve watershed, balance of commercial and residential b) currently do not sit down with other municipal folks like county commissioners, this needs improvement for broader vision
4. Williams – a) environmental protection, Dix park; protection of green space b) tax restraint & better municipal control (thinks there is a spending problem)
5. Anderson – a) growth; how to grow, comp plan, inclusion of green space b) transportation – regional view
6. Stephenson – a) growth (urban planning professional) track record with growth; grow intelligently b) Sierra club has supported Russ on protection of natural resources
7. Tart – agrees with other candidates on growth & natural res. a) support of CAC’s b) 5 year transit plan (past chair of transit authority)
8. Best – a) re-evaluate & re-write parts of the comp plan (focus on smart infill) b) in 2005, 100k residents were ages 18-35, wants representation of his age group.

Question 2: Children not doing well in a current school system; how do we improve?
McLaurin – use prediction of those who might be suspended, use that to identify where help is needed; school system should partner with dealing with children who need additional assistance

Question 3: Proposal to deal with FYP (Front Yard Parking)?
Crowder – currently no regulation on FYP, with no enforcement. Get a 16-foot drive (designated parking area) and allow 300 sq ft. extra (that’s it)

Question 4: Campaign financing and contributions?
Baldwin – explained contributions from a broad base of support. Made comparisons of “development” backed funding to other candidates.

Question 5: Financial house in order?
Williams – activity-based costing (stretch municipal dollars); lots of investments, water, roads, but wants to protect quality of life. Get value to tax dollar. Realize efficiency. Has a problem with the convention center as a city supported item on the budget (rushed into).

Question 6: In Favor of Tax Increment Financing (for North Hills parking deck)?
Anderson – No; not in favor of TIF for the north hills parking deck. Typically used in blighted areas. City does not have a policy for using TIF, needs to create a policy and focused on areas of blight/need.

Question 7: What are the arguments against increasing impact fees?
Stephenson – disclaims that raising IF’s hurt home ownership (supports a graduated impact fee based on dwelling size)

Question 8: Improve bus service?
Tart – Make the buses run on time; re-align schedules; half cents sales tax dedicated for transportation.

Question 9: What guidelines could be put in place to improve quality of life in neighborhoods?
Best – Proper zoning, b/c it addresses property right. In-fill; height restrictions. need better zoning and requirements, which now needs stricter rezoning. Size of lot zoning.

Question 10: School planning
McLaurin – has not been enough planning; get more municipalities to talk and provide better planning with large and small scale projects. Focus on location, town and school board decision.

Question 11: Impact Fees

• Crowder – at least double impact fees (personally triple them) and work to incentives; meet the urban design guidelines, water conservation
• Baldwin – supports impact fees; but has issues with tripling them. talked about district c and mortgage crisis. concerned with graduated fees (requires study)
• Williams – does not support impact fees; wants to look at stretching municipal dollars
• Anderson – in favor of IF, graduated fees, does not know the magic number right now
• Stephenson – supports infrastructure investments; get impact fees in-line with surrounding areas like Cary
• Tart – agrees on increasing fess; pay for past and future growth; like the idea of graduated fees.
• Best – thinks looking at Cary may be a mistake (talked about their loss in revenue)

Question 12: Local school lost magnet status.
McLaurin – would like to re-magnetize the school; but there may be a lot or work there

Question 13: Most important changes to the comp plan?
Crowder – loosing 50 acres land /per day in Wake County; multi-nodal transportation system (greenways), look at urban-based code (UDG), neighborhood centers, regulate it, enforce it.

Question 14: Better communication with legislature?
Baldwin – currently have a rural legislature; needs to meet on a regular basis (perhaps quarterly)

Question 15: How to fund the Dix property?
Williams – general obligation bonds, not support TIF. Gov’t owes Raleigh money.

Question 16: Support policies that protect natural resources, LEED design?
Anderson – look at more buildings being greener; helps with air quality.

Question 17: Endorsed by Sierra club – what can a city councilor do to improve environment?
Stephenson – it’s a global issue. Thinks the city can help reduce green house gases, using renewable energy resources, land use patterns, more trees, climate protection agreement.

Battery ran out. There were a few more questions that went through and then closing remarks.

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

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 5:00 pm and is filed under DDNA, Raleigh City Council. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.