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DDNA Meeting Notes from June 2009

June 20th, 2009 by Jason Hibbets

District D Neighborhood Alliance Saturday, June 20, 2009

We had a small gathering today and provided updates on the 2030 Comprehensive Plan and the upcoming Front Yard Parking text change proposal. After those updates, we went around the room to hear from each neighborhood and their top issues, latest successes, and where they need help.

Meeting Notes
The Comprehensive Plan hearing will probably be the week of July 20th, 2009 (we will send out a note to confirm this date). Mayor Meeker has said the hearing will be held in the evening so it’s more friendly to citizens. Still waiting on the Planning Commission to complete their review. DDNA members are working on a recommended land use map with certain changes on our vision of the comprehensive plan.

Front Yard Parking (FYP) public hearing on July 21, 2009. The proposed text change limits FYP to being on a permanent surface or a gravel surface with a permanent edge. The text change allows a 12-foot driveway with an additional 300 square feet (if needed). Some landscape requirements are included for the additional 300 square feet if it is not perpendicular to the street, to prevent headlight beams from disturbing neighbors.

This is an issue that affects all neighborhoods in District D and across Raleigh, strong support is needed. There were some questions if this ordinance was targeted at renters, which it’s not. The proposed text change is aimed at chronic abusers. The reality of it is, FYP ruins curb appeal and can damage real estate sales. FYP also has numerous environmental impacts. (more…)

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District D Citizens Spice Up 2030 Maps

May 31st, 2009 by Jason Hibbets

Over the past month, District D Councilor, Thomas Crowder, has lead an effort to gather concerned citizens and foster participation in Raleigh’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan.  Three meetings were held on May 10, May 16, and May 24 where citizens gathered to review the Growth Framework map, Greenprint map, and Future Land Use Map.  The notes from those meetings are available for your perusal:

What are the next steps? (more…)

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DDNA Meeting Notes May 16, 2009

May 16th, 2009 by Jason Hibbets

District D Neighborhood Alliance (DDNA) meeting notes from May 2009.  It was standing room only today, with over 30 District D neighbors attending.  The meeting was focused on reviewing the 2030 Draft Comprehensive Plan.  The Growth Framework map, Greenprint map, and Future Land Use Map were electronically projected for review.  Maps for the draft comprehensive plan can he found on the Supporting Maps page on the city’s website.   A resounding theme throughout the meeting was to keep Raleigh what makes it Raleigh, and maintain the concept of a city within a park.

Meeting Notes
The group reviewed the Growth Framework Map [PDF].  This map is not used for zoning, and is for illustrative purposed only.  We noted that there are five major rail stops planned in District D.  Some folks were concerned with the growth impact on the neighborhoods around Cameron Village; which could create a future bottle neck scenario on Wade Avenue (connecting to RTP) because of the proposed growth area.  There was also notable concern with a dotted line (road proposal) near Ready Creek which currently has a 25 MPH speed limit but is designated a minor thoroughfare.

The group also reviewed the Greenprint [PDF], the map that highlights parks and areas that must be environmentally sustained or are environmentally sensitive.  The 2030 study group strongly believes that the Greenprint should be the foundation of the land use map and that the focus should be on sustainability.

Next, was the Future Land Use Map [PDF].  The group spent the most time on this map and drilled down to each neighborhood where concerns were raised and requested changes noted.  First a baseline was established and the different colors, densities, and designation were reviewed.   Then, a few of the major concerns expressed by the 2030 study groups were stated:

  • transitions from one density to another; the analogy for transitions used was to think of weddings cakes instead of canyons
  • concerns on the 320 units / acre for downtown without any height restrictions and questions from new members: Is downtown big enough to handle that kind of density?
  • planning for schools is not included in the plan
  • opportunities to redevelop older / declining shopping centers

(more…)

Posted in 2030 Comp Plan, DDNA, Lineberry Alliance, Raleigh City Council, SWCAC | 1 Comment »

DDNA Meeting Notes April 18, 2009

May 15th, 2009 by Jason Hibbets

District D Neighborhood Alliance (DDNA) meeting notes from April 2009.  Apologies for the delayed posting. (more…)

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DDNA Meeting Notes from March 2009

March 24th, 2009 by Jason Hibbets

District D Neighborhood Alliance Saturday March 21, 2009

Thanks to Joe Boisvert for taking notes. (more…)

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2030 Comp Plan Gets Strong Support at Public Hearing

March 20th, 2009 by Jason Hibbets

Last night was an important step in the process for adopting the 2030 Comprehensive Plan, the plan that outlines Raleigh’s growth and development for the next 20 years.  There were over 2 hours of comments at the joint public hearing held with Raleigh City Council and the Planning Commission.

District D was well represented.  Bob Mosher spoke on behalf of Cameron Park.  Ron Aycock talked about transitions between downtown and existing neighborhoods.  He was quoted in the News & Observer article, “Residents talk about how Raleigh should grow”

Ron Aycock lives on St. Mary’s Street near downtown. He expressed concern that the plan calls for downtown to expand west all the way to St. Mary’s.

“We really ought to be clear about the transitions to the existing built-out neighborhoods,” Aycock said. Most speakers Thursday night praised the updated draft as a bold new direction for Raleigh.

Donna Bailey and Jason Hibbets spoke on behalf of the District D Neighborhood Alliance (DDNA), dividing up speaking time between Parks & Rec and Environment and Urban Form / Growth Framework, Land Use, and Transit.  Read the full comments from DDNA. (PDF)

Milt Rhodes, who’s been an active member of the focus groups, also spoke – pointing out that support with condition although supportive, still means that there is room for improvements.  Rhodes stated that he was not pleased with some of the comments from staff, (paraphrasing) “Nice idea, thanks for your comment.  No change needed.”

Jeanine Grissom spoke about transitions between residential and mixed use, expressing concerns about safety with parking areas bordering backyards and not having a good buffer.  Phil Poe also spoke providing some of his comments about the plan.

All-in-all, the plan is strong.  There was a lot of support for the document, but still room for improvements.  Mitch Silver, Ken Bowers, and staff received numerous thank-yous.  The time and effort put into this plan from staff and from citizens is countless.  Although there was little opposition, there were numerous words of wisdom from citizens.

Former Councilor Tommy Craven even spoke, warning that council about the choice of words in the plan and how there is room for interpretation.  Several councilors got a few chuckles from that as I’m sure they were reflecting on past debates over staff’s interpretation of previous zoning cases and other planning items.

Posted in 2030 Comp Plan, DDNA, Raleigh City Council | No Comments »

What to Look for in the Revised 2030 Comprehensive Plan

March 15th, 2009 by Jason Hibbets

The year 2030 is over 20 years away, but Raleigh’s plan on how to grow and where to focus that growth is wrapping up.  If you remember back in January and February of this year, citizens from all over Raleigh were participating in public forums, briefings, and reviewing the 2030 Draft Comprehensive Plan.  Our input was heard.  It was reviewed.  And now a new copy of the draft is ready.

If you visit  www.planningraleigh2030.com, you’ll get a sense of how the public review process was handled:

The deadline for submitting comments to the draft Comprehensive Plan was extended to February 28, 2009. All comments received by January 31, 2009 were considered as part of the revised draft for the March 19, 2009 Public Hearing. Comments received between February 1 and February 28, 2009 have been documented and will be presented at the March 19, 2009 Public Hearing as a special report. The City Council and Planning Commission will consider the revised Comprehensive Plan draft and all comments received after January 31, 2009.

That’s this Thursday.  So if you want to get a last word in, review the change log, which is about 215 pages and attend the Public Hearing on March 19, 2009.  The first part of the change log includes highlights to the plan and the bulk of the change log is each of the ~1200 comments submitted to the Limehouse portal.

So what are the major changes to the plan?  
The devil is in the details, but from what I’ve been able to review so far, the changes are generally positive.  The list of comments includes a column on what changes were made to the plan, so you can see exactly how the feedback impacted the revised plan.  At the public hearing on Thursday, I would look for the following items to be highlighted:

  • Additional policies on transitions and density
  • Updates to the Central Business District (CBD) boundary and how it interfaces with surrounding neighborhoods
  • Enhancements to the Growth Framework narrative and how this map is to be used
  • Updates to the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) designations in and around downtown
  • Clarity on transportation issues including mention of the STAC plan and updated finance wording
  • Additional policies on environmental issues and habitat/natural area preservation
  • Enhancements and clarifications on Parks and Recreation issues
  • Additional actions regarding how the corridor designations would be implemented through overlays

Public Hearing information

Joint meeting of the Raleigh City Council and Planning Commission
Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 6:30 PM
Council Chambers of the Avery Upchurch Municipal Building
222 W. Hargett Street, Raleigh, NC 27601

Links

Posted in 2030 Comp Plan, DDNA | 1 Comment »

Public Hearing for 2030 Set for March 19, 2009

March 10th, 2009 by Jason Hibbets

THE CITY OF RALEIGH NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ADOPT THE 2030 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR THE CITY OF RALEIGH.

Notice is given that a joint meeting of the Raleigh City Council and Planning Commission is to be held on Thursday, March 19, 2009  at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber of the Avery Upchurch Municipal Building.  A public hearing will be conducted to consider amending the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The City Council may consider and adopt proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Plan as amended in any manner, following public hearing.

NOTE:  A copy of the proposed 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Raleigh is on file with the Raleigh City Planning Department, the Raleigh City Clerk’s Office and /or can be accessed via the internet at www.planningraleigh2030.com.

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

CP-1-09 The 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Raleigh. The proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan update existing System Plans as Plan Elements; add new Elements addressing Land Use, Environmental Protection, Urban Design, Arts and Culture, and Regional and Inter-jurisdictional Coordination; replace the Urban Form Map and related guidelines with a Future Land Use Map; discontinue District Plans; and reduce the number of Area Plans from 67 to 21.

NOTICE TO HEARING IMPAIRED: Audio enhancements have been installed in the Council Chamber. Assistive listening devices are available upon request. Interpreters for Deaf and Hearing Impaired are available.  If needed, please provide a 24-hour notice by calling 890-3100 (voice) or 890-3107 (TDD).

Mitchell Silver, Planning Director

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DDNA Meeting Notes from February 2009

February 28th, 2009 by Jason Hibbets

District D Neighborhood Alliance Saturday, February 21, 2009

A well-attended meeting of the DDNA that talked about the 2030 plan, the Planning Commission, front yard parking, Community services, and neighborhood organizing. (more…)

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Letter to Editor: 2030 Is Too Important

February 8th, 2009 by Jason Hibbets

Below is my unpublished (to date) letter to the editor. I submitted this last week via the News & Observer online submission form and have been looking online for it everyday. So just in case they don’t publish it, the power of having my own blog allows me to post it now!

During the January 22 Raleigh City Council meeting, I formally requested a 30-day extension for public comments on the 2030 Draft Comprehensive Plan. It was denied by a 4-4 vote, with Mayor Meeker and three other councilors refusing to recognize the importance of citizen involvement. The N&O failed to cover this matter and instead elected to write about dog tethering.

In Southwest Raleigh, neighborhood leaders and I are heading-up citizen focus groups who are analyzing the proposed plan and submitting feedback to planning staff. While digesting the plan’s 380-plus pages, we and other citizens realized much more time is needed to fully comprehend its content and collaborate on how we can make this plan the best it could be for Raleigh’s future. More citizens are just realizing the implications of the proposed plan and how their neighborhoods, future transportation systems and other elements like urban form, environment, arts & culture, parks, and historic preservation, will be affected.

A public forum and panel discussion has been scheduled for 6:30 PM on February 11, 2009 in City Hall Council Chambers in order to facilitate additional dialog and input. I hope you’re present to listen and participate.

After all, this is Our Plan…Our City…Our future!

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