Raleigh clears way for heliport near North Hills over noise, gentrification concerns
Raleigh residents living near North Hills could see more helicopters in the future.
The Exchange Raleigh, a large development of apartments, retail and office space, and green space, now has the ability to add a heliport to its commercial offerings.
Raleigh leaders voted unanimously Tuesday to allow heliports, but Dewitt Carolinas, the developers of the property, would still need to seek special permission from the city’s Board of Adjustment.
“Dewitt Carolinas is absolutely willing to commit publicly to work with the entire community, ensuring that those kind of health and safety concerns are addressed should a special use permit ever be requested,” said Sam Morris, the developers’ attorney.
Shane Collins, who lives near North Hills, said helicopters will add noise in the area and disrupt neighborhoods.
“I acknowledge this permit is not a guarantee of a heliport being included, but if we start granting exceptions for one development, then what’s to stop the rest of the developers from requesting exceptions,” he said.
Delmonte Crawford, who is running for Raleigh mayor in the 2024 election, also spoke against the change and said it contributes to gentrification when the area “is already trying to rebuild from the pandemic.”
“And I feel like with this rezoning aspect of it, it’s really telling the people of Raleigh that we don’t care about living here,” he said. “We care more about a helipad.”
The zoning change approved Tuesday also lifted the cap on how much square footage in the estimated $1 billion development could be dedicated to commercial uses and office uses and the number of residential units. Instead, the new rules cap the number of vehicle trips that will be created by the development.
“The goal is not to increase development activity,” Morris said. “In fact, there is a net zero increase in the potential overall trips. ... It’s just the ability to shift between different uses to respond to market concerns as opposed to being locked in to a specific concern.”
There are six helipads in Raleigh, including helipads for area hospitals, state agencies and a television station.
This story was originally published September 6, 2023 at 1:35 PM.
