City to take controversial ‘missing middle’ housing rules on Raleigh neighborhood tour
The city of Raleigh is kicking off a neighborhood tour to explain its controversial decision to allow different and denser types of homes throughout the city.
Five in-person and one virtual community events will take place over the next six weeks to explain the zoning changes and get residents’ feedback.
The new rules, approved over the last three years, became a political talking point in Raleigh, especially once a plan for 17 townhomes on a 2-acre lot galvanized residents in the Hayes Barton neighborhood.
Terry Henderson, who has spoken repeatedly against the “missing middle” changes during Raleigh City Council meetings and lives in Hayes Barton, wants the city to throw out the rules and start over.
He called the upcoming meetings “window dressing,”
“Now they’re coming along after the fact, after we have developers having free rein to build virtually anything anywhere,” he said. “And trying to make people feel better about the so called text change.”
The rules let people to build more duplexes, townhomes and small apartment buildings in areas of the city that previously only allowed single-family homes. It also expands where tiny homes and backyard cottages, called accessory dwelling units, are allowed and allows for greater density in frequent transit areas.
The upcoming meetings are meant to “clear up” confusion that residents have about these new changes, Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said.
In the most recent city elections, voters kept four incumbents in office who voted for the missing middle changes, and elected four new members who all said in a News & Observer candidate questionnaire they disagreed with the changes.
No ‘silver bullet’
On Tuesday, the City Council heard a presentation similar to what city staff members will make six more times in the coming weeks.
New Council member Mary Black asked how these changes were different from “urban renewal,” when government-funded projects displaced people, particularly in predominantly Black neighborhoods, for new development and highways.
“It’s a huge concern, right?” said Patrick Young, Raleigh’s planning director. “We don’t want to do anything that encourages, accelerates neighborhood change. … What we’re trying to do with these provisions is create options and opportunities for folks of all parts of the income spectrum to live in Raleigh.”
The demand to live in Raleigh is driving displacement, he said, and not the city’s zoning policies.
There’s some anxiety about not knowing what neighbors could do if they choose to sell their homes. New Council member Megan Patton asked that the city create a map or tool that lets people look at what development options are available on the lots near their homes.
“I think there is sometimes some murkiness for residents who think ‘I live in my house, my neighbor can tear (their house) down and build an apartment complex,” she said.
New Council member Christina Jones asked how the city will track how many affordable units are created by the missing middle changes.
Missing middle housing is not a “near-term solution” or “silver bullet” solution to addressing house affordability, Young said.
“Many of the newly created units will be expensive,” he said. “But these units are serving demand from our high-wealth residents. (Our) new high-wealth residents (and) existing high-wealth residents help create a more competitive, accessible housing market for lower-income families. Creating more supply is a frustrating long-game strategy. But because of the size of the private housing market it is a necessary prerequisite to create sustainable affordability.”
The city will consult with “local academic institutions” to devise ways to track the number of affordable units created under the new rules because “it’s very labor intensive,” Young said.
Want to go?
There will be five in-person events and one virtual event in January and February.
- 6-8 p.m. Wednesday Jan. 11, Durant Nature Preserve, Campbell Lodge, 8305 Camp Durant Road.
- 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, Five Points Center for Active Adults, 2000 Noble Road.
- 10 a.m. - noon Saturday, Jan. 28, John Chavis Community Center, 505 Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd.
- 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, Dix Park, the Greg Poole, Jr., All Faiths Chapel, 1030 Richardson Drive.
- 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, Virtual meeting, link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81960898972
- 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, Sertoma Arts Center, 1400 Millbrook Road.
The city will also hold a “small-scale homebuilders” workshop for small and diverse builders to learn about the city’s development and missing middle rules.
The event is from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, Feb. 23, at the N.C. State University McKimmon Center, 1101 Gorman St. Check-in starts at 8 a.m.
Registration is free but required. The link is: https://forms.office.com/g/pvCtDDq4jq
This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 2:19 PM.
