Group targets up-sized houses

Rezoning would hinder tear-downs

RALEIGH -- The grassy plot next to Steve Rhudy's house is part of his plans to pay for his children's college education or his own retirement.

But Rhudy fears he'd lose the ability to subdivide his property, and at least $250,000, if a group of neighbors persuades the City Council to rezone his property.

Rhudy's neighborhood and the area around it are in the heart of Raleigh's tear-down territory.

Small, older homes -- considered outdated by some, ample by others -- are being torn down so houses sometimes nearly three times the size can be built.

East of Glenwood Avenue near Five Points, homes typically sell for $300,000 to $1 million or more.

For some, the trend is good news -- boosting property values and replacing ranches and bungalows with old pipes and lead paint with modern houses more common in the city's far-flung subdivisions.

Others see the eventual loss of their neighborhood with each home that's torn down.

Members of the group behind the rezoning bid, Community Scale, said a change is needed so that any new homes more closely match existing ones in the neighborhood.

Group members propose to "downzone" 140 properties. In this case, property where six or 10 homes per acre are allowed would be rezoned for four units per acre.

Philip Letsinger, a state employee, has lived in a small bungalow in a quiet tree-lined area for more than three decades. Letsinger and his wife were part of an effort in the 1980s to rezone large sections of the neighborhood, including their own home, to prevent the construction of condominiums.

Large single-family homes are the threat today, Letsinger said. New homes fill up what were once large yards and shade their neighbors.

"It seems like the builders are just looking to maximize the amount of construction on site," Letsinger said.

Rhudy, one of the first members of the city's environmental quality board, bought his home on quiet Hales Road in 1981. He and his wife have spent years tending the giant white oak tree that shades their comfortable home.

Judging by recent sales in the area and advice from friends, he estimates he could earn $250,000 or more by subdividing his property.

Existing regulations already set limits for what can be built, he said.

"These people are trying to find a problem that doesn't exist," Rhudy said.

Downzoning

Anyone can file a rezoning request in Raleigh as long as he or she pays the $500 filing fee. Although downzonings are rare, they've happened before in neighborhoods across the city, including Cameron Park and Foxcroft.

The rezoning request covers 66 acres in three separate areas near Fallon Park and off Anderson Drive and Glenwood Avenue.

Rezoning would mandate that new homes sit on at least a quarter of an acre and sit 5 feet farther from their neighbors and 10 feet farther from the road than the current zoning requires.

About 30 properties have lots large enough that they could lose the option of subdividing their property or building townhouses or condominiums.

The City Council and Planning Commission will begin to consider the rezoning Sept. 18.

In at least one section, restrictive covenants already control what can be built on lots on Medway Drive near Fallon Park.

The covenants expire in 2016 and are stricter in some cases than the proposed downzoning. Private covenants, however, can be trickier to enforce than city codes, especially in neighborhoods without active homeowners associations that can afford a lawyer to enforce them.

At least 59 property owners of the 140 lots have signed a petition saying they support the proposal, said Nell Joslin, a lawyer and one of the residents who filed for the rezoning.