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District D Neighborhood Alliance Saturday March 21, 2009
Thanks to Joe Boisvert for taking notes.
Attendee’s
- Jimmy Creech – Boylan Heights
- John Keadle – Fairview Acres
- Thomas Crowder
- Jim Paumier – Fairview Acres
- Connie Crumpler – Caraleigh/SW CAC
- Elizabeth Byrd – Avent West
- Renee Bethea – Method
- Phil Poe – Glenwood Brooklyn/5 pts CAC
- Shelby Gainer – Roylene Acres
- Mary Beth Pate – Fairway Acres/SW CAC
- Ana Duncan Pardo – West Morgan/Hillsborough CAC
- Joe Boisvert – University Park/Wade CAC
Discussion started about some housekeeping items with regards to the Comp Plan. Please make sure that you read through the changes and post any comments to the study group leaders or via the blog.
Specific items of concern:
- Expansion of Downtown to St Mary’s – no clearly defined transition area – areas affected include: Cameron Park, Cameron Village, Oberlin Village
- Development around designated Transit Stops – more information is needed
- Inclusionary Zoning – an ideal target would be around 14% of housing stock be designated and designed as “affordable”.
**It is also suggested that each neighborhood talk about the comp plan to make sure it will work for their future needs.
CAC issues:
West CAC has pending land use cases:
- improper procedures being used
- improper use of references or use of conditions
- uncooperative applicants /unwilling to work with neighborhoods
Due to the lack of structure or lack of willingness to follow the current framework, Thomas has asked the council to change the mandatory meeting to before the application is submitted – this should hopefully smooth the process.
A second issue is that it seems that crime statistics do not appear to be accurately reported to the CACs. It is a concern and further inquiry would be warranted as a more comprehensive reporting method is certainly available.
It was also mentioned that there is quite a bit of difficulty in discerning meeting times and such for all the municipal organizations. The idea of a “Master Events Calendar” has been proposed – and hopefully will gain traction within Community Services or Public Affairs.
A new CAC for Downtown?
With the population in our urban core now over 2000 residents, some have expressed an interest in having their own CAC. Whether this is a possibility is to be determined but the bottom line is that they definitely want to be more involved in the political process and within the CAC framework.
Their current concerns are noted as:
- Trains – whistles blow throughout the night
- Poorly maintained Railroad trestles and property – invites further blight
- Dumpster P/U at all hours – this is counter to city policy which prohibits the collection of trash during night hours.
DDNA Concerns:
- Western Blvd westbound – the 2 left turn lanes onto Avent Ferry are very dangerous as there have been several incidents of cars running red lights. Increased enforcement has been requested as well has further exploration of a pedestrian bridge or tunnel for that area. – Will be escalated to Lt Perry/RPD
- LED Lighting – it is largely prohibited – any violations are to be directly communicated to Larry Strickland
- Prop Registration – is now underway with a deadline of 4/30/09 – all rental units must be registered with the city – please contact Officer Drawn or look at the city website for more information.
- Library Closures – due to budget cuts, the county is proposing the closure of Athens Drive and the Downtown Libraries. We will have to work to prevent this from happening.
- Online petition – for ALL public municipal meetings to be held @ night – to encourage greater citizen involvement as most of us have day jobs. I believe that this is on Jason’s blog – but Ana Duncan Pardo also wants to assist in this process.
- Budget Cuts – it has been suggested that DDNA go over the budget, identify critical needs to our area and prioritize them in order to fight for their preservation when the cuts are proposed. (Joe Boisvert has offered to take the lead on this one).
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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 |