RALEIGH - Some say a proposal aimed at reining in teardowns could be the death knell for the city's housing market. Others say it's a good temporary fix to preserving the character of established neighborhoods.

The proposal before the City Council next month would require Planning Commission approval for home additions or new construction that is 25 percent bigger than the original structure.

"We have an issue here that needs to be dealt with in a fair way," said council member Thomas Crowder, who says the proposal -- with some fixes to simplify it -- has merit.

Crowder and others say the trend of replacing older homes with much larger buildings is ruining the character of established neighborhoods and depleting the stock of affordable homes in some neighborhoods.

Since January 2002, about 600 homes -- or 3 percent of all houses built in Raleigh since 2002 -- have been built on land where a single-family home or a duplex was torn down, according to a city report.

The council authorized the city to hire a new planner to study the issue and find possible solutions. The council also asked for temporary solutions until that in-depth study is complete this spring.

On Dec. 4, the council rejected one proposal that limited building height and required larger back and side yards.

Two more proposals are on the table now. One, which Mayor Charles Meeker has said is worth considering, would speed up the process for creating neighborhood conservation overlay districts to address the issue. Overlay districts set standards for new construction.

Neighborhoods typically request the overlay district. More than 50 percent of property owners must sign on. But the council also can initiate them.

The other proposal, which requires Planning Commission approval of homes much larger than the original ones, is getting more discussion.

A city report says that proposal would increase review time for all permit requests for new single-family construction and add to city staffers' and the Planning Commission's already high workload.

"I think realistically people are just in shock that it's even being discussed," said Wes Minton, a broker and owner of York Simpson Underwood. "I've heard people refer to it as it's almost like communism. It's a violation of property rights."

Minton, who tore down a house on Marlowe Road and lives in its bigger replacement, said the proposal would devalue property because owners no longer would be guaranteed that they could build the house they wanted. They'd have to go through a possibly lengthy approval process.

The proposal also comes a month after Wake County updated property values, which have skyrocketed in areas where teardowns are common. County officials have said that it was easier to determine the value of land in areas where homes have been razed because it is obvious how much people will pay for a lot.

"The reasons these tax values are up is due to the teardown lot values," Minton said. "A half acre lot is worth $500,000, $600,000, $700,000 ... If this proposal gets approved, your lot is no longer worth that."

But Sarah Lowder, a leader in the group Community Scale, which has fought for restrictions on new construction in older neighborhoods, said the council needs to do something.

"It's an interim action," Lowder said. "It's not going to keep anybody from actually developing their property or adding on to their house."

The Planning Commission rejected both proposals earlier this month when a majority recommended the council do nothing with the issue until the city's in-depth study is complete.

The City Council will consider both proposals and the commission's recommendation Jan. 8, but it won't make a final decision then. It could agree to place one or both in a public hearing Jan. 22 for comment.

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