City Council - Regular Meeting

Welcome. We will start the meeting, as always, with the Pledge of Allegiance. Councillor Silver, can you lead us?

I pledge allegiance to the flag

Right, and we had a consent agenda. There were no items. Oh, sorry, we have recognition of special awards. Is there any? Okay, right. Consent agenda, no items pulled. Do we have a motion to approve?

Second.

All in favor, aye. Aye. All opposed? All right. This pass and we will move to public comment. We have 22 folks signed up so two minutes each and I will just remind everybody that our goal here is to have a space where everybody feels comfortable to speak and we can all hear and respect each other so please refrain from clapping or certainly jeering or anything like that but just being respectful to everybody. First folks, John Crew.

I see that I made the list twice, so you can drop me off down there somewhere. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thanks for your service. Dr. Harrison, thank you for your cogent questions this morning concerning water supply. They illustrated a preservation mindset. Preservation considers not only monuments, buildings, and vistas, but is also mindful of communities and their goals and achievements. One of the primary preservation tools is community-led and community-endorsed zoning and land use planning. The result of this activity is predictability, the ability to live and grow within our means, and clear public benefits. When we seek to change our zoning, we challenge community decisions, and we must make a rational assessment. Will this benefit the owner? Will denial harm the owner? Will this benefit the community? Will this harm the community? Is the harm or benefit substantial? How do you balance potentially minimal public benefits against a potentially substantial detriment to a neighborhood absent detailed plans and a complete assessment? You're swamped with zoning change requests that lack the details that allow a more than hypothetical assessment of public benefits. and any decision you thus make is by nature arbitrary. Therefore, honor the process, honor the public plan, protect our publicly identified historic and neighborhood character districts. Stay off the thin ice of spot zoning. Thank you.

Thank you. Mama Kai Sanders.

Good afternoon, y'all. It's another amazing day in paradise. Thank you for your service. I'll be honest, this less than three minutes thing is kind of messing me up, so I just got some bullet points for y'all, okay? Although I'm grateful for everybody who's participating in public comment, because that's what makes our city better. One thing is just an idea. Wisdom and I started fostering a pup through a third party person who was trying to help out a friend of hers and we realized that this pup was not trained properly and I was just wondering if there's any way to find somebody who can do maybe pre-dog parent training for people who are interested in having a pup here in the city because we have a lot of dogs. And for them to not be trained is really unfortunate for them and unfortunate for the community that they're living in. So that was just something that I thought about that could be maybe included in the leisure ledger as something that the city offers maybe through somebody who's interested in offering that type of training. Another thing that I wanted to mention was Toshiba Rice, with all this talk about the teen curfew, Toshiba Rice, who is the district representative for the Board of Education for Wake County, for District 4 in particular, she's holding an event called Journey Mapping on September 24th. It's in the evening at New Hope Collaborative for people who are interested in actually mapping what it looks like from pregnancy to profession is how I say it. And then the last thing is I just have a question about what happened to the Go Raleigh Live site and app. It was the most accurate way that we had to track bus service, the Go Raleigh bus service, and it all of a sudden stopped working one day. So if somebody could just bring some clarity to that, I would really appreciate it. Otherwise, thank you guys so much.

Shane Stanley.

Hello, city council members. Thank you for being here. My name is Shane Stanley. I'm a Glenwood South resident, former NC State student, and former Raleigh teenager. I myself was present on the 4th of July on Glenwood South. My buddy Joe got engaged that night because he thought it would be nice to get engaged with the fireworks. And then he wasn't able to leave his house to go have a glass of champagne with his new fiance because it was too dangerous right outside of our door. A coworker of mine works a second job on Glenwood South. And she let me know on Monday that she saw a man shot in the leg and bleeding from the leg. outside a Dogwood bar that very same night. This is not the kind of experience that we want to see in our city. You may recall that I attended the August 18th meeting to ask what measurable policies you will be putting in place to prevent this kind of future gun violence in our city. You may also recall that question was not meant to be rhetorical. That very same weekend, there were two additional shootings on Fayetteville Street downtown. Since then, I've still not heard any solution from the city council other than punishing our city's teenagers for something they are not responsible for. So I'm here to put the same question to you all again. What measurable policies are we going to put into place to make a change about this? Additionally, I would like to bring up a particular... crosswalk. Northwest Street, where it intersects with Tucker Street, is becoming increasingly busy with pedestrians due to the increasing business both at Smoky Hollow and at the Whiskey Rose, which is additionally across the street. There are no crosswalks there, and there's only one stop sign for the people who are coming from Tucker Street towards West Street. I believe this constitutes a dangerous situation both for pedestrians and especially late at night when there's lots of pedestrian traffic and tons of Ubers moving through that area. There's not another crosswalk for another at least 100 feet in any direction and it's the only thorough way between Smokey Hollow to Glenwood. So it's very, very heavily trafficked by pedestrians who are constantly, constantly jaywalking across it. And so I would like to bring that up and say that maybe we'd be a lot more safer if we could get some crosswalks put in there. Thank you for your time. Appreciate it.

Thanks. Octavia Rainey.

Good evening. I would like to make some corrections. Last Tuesday, there were some statements made. Number one, Tarver Road has not been rezoned. Oakwood Avenue has not been rezoned. And if they have been rezoned, please, I stand to be corrected. Now we are all aware that we all focus on the BRT coming down New Bern Avenue. And that was a big thing with the city of Raleigh and the citizens of Raleigh trying to figure out what is the best approach for the BRT. But I resented the statements about the rezoning that occurred. There was no rezoning on Tarboro Road or Oakwood Avenue. I would like to say, I have held two meetings on the BRT at Grace AM Design Church. To the city manager, we need to hold a third one now. because it's been a long time since they have came out and communicated about the BRT on New Bern Avenue. And I think when you go a long spell with no communication, it really caused a lot of headaches, a lot of frictions. For example, in the block of Carver Street in New Bern Avenue, it flooded over the weekend. cars could not turn off of Newbern Avenue and come down Carver because it was flooded, it was flooded. And I think that was because of the work of the BRT. But you must understand, if you are not having communication, then people do have concerns, they do get headaches, and then a lot of things happen, miscommunications, untrue facts, and...

Thank you. Kevin Kwong.

Hello, everyone.

Hello, everyone. Well, today the first thing I'm going to talk about, obviously, I recommend people who vote in November go to vote against, against, against in state constitutional amendment. The other way is no, no, no, but it's actually against, against, against. No, no, no is for Margaret Thatcher. Against, against, against is the word we use there. The reason probably, I think the common reason would be all those three it's not suitable to be on the Constitution, and you try to handicap future legislature from doing their work, so there's a basic reason for that. And for income tax, probably they want to demonstrate that North Carolina being business friendly, right, but what about if there are new recession coming, and then they could not do income tax increases, then would it fall, Think about like, in Richmond, Virginia, they have a meal tax, 7.5%, in addition to 5.3, so the total sales tax you pay for restaurant meal is 12.8. So think about that, if income tax is handicapped, then they are looking for sales tax, right? Maybe they'll find a creative way to tax more on your daily purchases. And for property taxes increase, then that's even more weak, right? Because they do not talk about how much property tax they're going to limit on increases. Then we handicap local government from spending on school, on police, on fire. And the second thing I want to talk about is I want to challenge the Park and Recreation Department. What standard do they actually use in the coating system for red, yellow, and green?

Thank you. Lamesha Whittington.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you so much for your service. Professor LaMisha Whittington, co-founder and president of Democracy Green. When Raleigh ran its citywide heat study in 2021, the data confirmed what we already felt in our bodies, saw in our rising utility bills, and it substantiated what the research already showed. Concrete and asphalt trap heat, leaving some neighborhoods nearly 10 degrees hotter than the rest of the city. In my research years ago, I published an alarm on the real human cost alongside other local advocates, crushing utility bills from families running their AC around the clock. Surging medical emergencies because extreme heat drives up blood pressure, strains the cardiovascular system, and triggers deadly strokes. In 2021 and 2022, I stood with the Method Road community, my family's home at the time, Method Road boys to men, the leaders of the local masjid, and the NC State and Meredith students to fight these urban heat islands. As a result of my organizing on this issue, ABC 11 Raleigh named me a climate change hero. The outgrowth of this organizing and city planners and the increasing impacts of this heat index and droughts, this fight led to the city of Raleigh and you all creating a program that launched this year, putting money back into people's hands, asking folks to capture rainwater or to remove those impervious surfaces we were warning about back in 2020, 21, and 22 to decrease these heat island effects. But now we face a new challenge, massive AI data centers. A single facility breathes fire, dumping the waste heat of 40,000 homes. One is an equivalent to 40,000 homes. This blasts the heat directly into our streets, blasting exhaust up to 25 degrees hotter, 25, than the outside air. They are sited in black and working class neighborhoods, but understand heat does not stop at a fence line. That thermal plume travels for miles, which means all of Raleigh is the impact zone. Monopolies like Duke Energy are hitting us with a double feat. We pay higher bills to run our AC against artificial heat.

Thank you. Sanja Whittington.

My name is Sonya Whittington, and I'm also with Democracy Green. We're an environmental conservation organization with a sidearm of disaster relief and recovery. So, of course, today we're here to share more about pollution impact with data centers. We know that cornucopious amounts of water is going to have to be used to cool the systems, but maybe we're not aware of the PFAS that is embedded in those cooling semiconductors. and other internal components of data centers that are going to be seeping into that water that is being used to cool it. There's also other chemicals that's added to coolants during that cooling process. And what isn't evaporated is going to make its way to the ground. What doesn't sink and soak into the ground is going to make it away to our wastewater. It's going to be in our water systems. And I was here last week and I heard so many people talking about, you know, this happening in southeast Raleigh. It doesn't matter. Once that gets in our wastewater, that's all of us. The next point that I wanted to make was about noise pollution. Noise pollution, you know it keeps a constant hum that is going to travel a half a mile. If it's diesel generator, it's going to go for a whole mile. That noise is going to be stronger in the summertime. It's going to be stronger at night. And it doesn't cease. It never ends. You can't turn it off. A lot of people feel like they get tendonitis and different migraines and issues. There's a lot of data on this. Well, it does have human impact. So I'm just asking that we will consider the moratorium because moratorium isn't permanent. No, it's not a permanent yes. It's an opportunity to pause and to become educated about all the different impacts And not to be fooled that because it happens in a black and brown neighborhood or a marginalized neighborhood that it's going to stay there because it will not. Because the wind blows and the water flows to a neighborhood near each and every one of us. And as I conclude, I'm up.

Thank you.

Thank you. Isaiah Allen. Isaiah here. Elizabeth Palizzo. Is Elizabeth here? Vicky Reich. Is Vicky here? Bonnie Landaverde.

Good afternoon, Mayor and members of the Council, and happy Hispanic Heritage Month. Yesterday, I was really pleased to see the Hispanic Heritage Month celebrated at the Governor's, well, the North Carolina Executive Mansion with our Governor. However, I didn't see it mentioned in today's agenda, so I wanted to make sure it was acknowledged here in this room. Today is particularly meaningful for a number of countries as they celebrate their Independence Day. I myself, a Guatemalan American, am very prideful of my culture and also being a resident of here, Raleigh, North Carolina. I've been a resident for 12 years and I just recently started getting engaged with a lot of the civic programs that exist with the city, such as Neighborhood College. Shout out to Neighborhood College. Anyway, I'm still learning how our city works, boards and commissions, council appointments, public meetings, and I'm realizing a lot that this participation depends on knowing that these opportunities exist. in the first place. It took me 12 years to know. It also took me 12 years to have a part-time job and part-time grad school to be able to have the time to do so. People are working. They're raising families, coaching kids, running businesses, going to church, et cetera, et cetera. Those people aren't necessarily disengaged. They just may be engaging with their city somewhere else in a different way. So my question is, how does government get better at getting to them? I want us to reimagine civic engagement for different groups in a way that brings more opportunities for them to have the avenue to be at the table. So celebrating our culture matters. Having a seat at the table matters, too. So I want to thank everyone for their service, because it is a big commitment to serve the public. And again, happy Hispanic Heritage Month.

Thank you. Jen Lawson. Is Jen here? Okay. Eva Fairlinden.

Good afternoon. My name is Eva Verlinden and I'm a resident of Johnsdale Road. I'm here for the third time to strongly oppose rezoning case Z4325. Our neighborhood has opposed this request from the beginning because the impacts will be there long after a decision is made. The Planning Commission has twice voted against Z4325, even after the request was reduced from R10 to R6. Whether they're 47 units or 32 units, the core issue is still the same. There is no infrastructure in place. When development changes stormwater flow, the impacts can reach our yards, homes, and finances. Our neighborhood should not face flooding, erosion, or repair costs because growth was approved before proper infrastructure is in place. Raleigh is already behind on needed infrastructure and road improvements around our neighborhood, Litchford Forest, yet we keep adding growth to the area. Traffic congestion continues to worsen on Litchford Road, Atlantic Avenue, Old Wake Forest Road, and Dixie Forest Road. Millbrook High School students, parents, and staff remain a concern on Johnsdale Road because they cause a major part of our traffic. Please remember that the planning commission appointed by this council has twice recommended denial. Please trust that recommendation. Please listen to the residents who have repeatedly shown up, spoken respectfully, and asked you to protect the neighborhood we call home. Growth should not force existing residents to bear the cost of inadequate infrastructure. Please say no to Z4325. Thank you. Thank you.

Larissa Green.

Larissa Green, and I oppose Z4325. This rezoning is about more than the number of homes on a parcel. It is about development, bifurcating an existing neighborhood. A new street connection between Litchford and Johnsdale will be built because we understand the impacts NCDOT's Litchford widening will have on community access. A median will change traffic patterns for Johnsdale and many other streets of Litchford. The developer stated that they cannot limit Johnsdale access entirely because if NCDOT denies the access permit, the site becomes undevelopable. The scale of 47 homes on 3.79 acres will not fit the character. It will dominate the property as it touches. The conditions allow full Johnsdale access when half of the road is improved. This further bifurcates the neighborhood based on the resulting streetscape changes. A gate may sound like a protection, but a gate does not solve the underlying infrastructure problems. Instead, it creates a physical and psychological boundary. Does this proposal strengthen the existing community or divide it? Growth should not have to mean erasing the character that already exists. Current zoning allows for housing without creating a sharp divide. I also need you to understand how behind growth the infrastructure on Litchford and Old Wake already is. We have a huge problem. We are already spending millions of dollars on something designed to address 2018. Thousands more people live on this corner now. Litchford Road is already at capacity. The brand new intersection that is still four years away at best does not accommodate... the Litchford widening and this will extend backups even further once crosswalks are timed to the cycle. Will Johnsdale only feet away be gridlocked? This is relevant to the access conversation. What type of road is this developer building? An alley or one designed for the actual functional use? Thank you. Thank you.

Next speaker is Claudia Chambers. It's Claudia here, okay. Whitney Hill.

Good afternoon, City Council. I'm here to speak about Z4325, the Johnsdale-Litchford rezoning. My name is Whitney Hill, longtime Raleigh resident. Raleigh's comprehensive plan on 316 states that land use designation does not automatically recommend the most intense district available. Yet, this proposal would shoehorn much higher density development into a single family traditional neighborhood with no reasonable transition. Zoning changes should reflect infrastructure capacity, community character, and prevailing density, not simply the maximum amount of development that can fit on a property. The Johnsdale-Litchford residents have done their homework. They have studied this proposal, documented existing conditions, and gave the city a detailed information about their concerns. They deserve to be taken seriously. Development in this area has already outpaced its infrastructure. Students, families are expected to walk to school, shops, parks without adequate sidewalks or safe crossings. This is what happens when growth is approved before infrastructure is ready. If you have not visited this community, I invite you to go see and speak with the residents. I have. Infrastructure must come before development, not years afterwards, if it ever comes at all. Raleigh decision makers must listen before approving changes that residents will live with every day. Please support the motion to deny C43-45. Stay with me.

Thank you. T.J. Lansbury.

Good afternoon. I'm speaking again today regarding KC 4325 at 6309 Litchford Road, and I'm still not anti-development. Smart, appropriately placed growth is essential for Raleigh's future. It is exciting, but growth must align with the existing infrastructure and surrounding community, and not sticking high-density development into the specific location, because that fails the goal. The proposed rezoning of this 3.79 acre parcel to allow up to 10 units per acre dramatically changes the character of an established lower density, rurally designed neighborhood. More importantly, it creates and intensifies existing severe safety and operational hazards right in the backyard of Millbrook High School. If you spend 10 minutes on Litchford or Johnsdale Road during morning drop-off or afternoon dismissal, you will see a corridor already at its breaking point. Litchford is already heavily congested and lacks adequate infrastructure to absorb the additional daily vehicle trips. The pedestrian reality here is even more critical. Everyday teenagers walk to and from Millbrook High. Neighboring side streets like Johnsdale Road lack sidewalk coverage and curbs. Placing additional traffic onto the narrow street creates a direct daily conflict between motor vehicles and high school students walking to school or home through our neighborhood. Adding more dense traffic access here before upgrading pedestrian safety infrastructure is a recipe for disaster. Appropriate development belongs along corridors designed with the capacity transit options and sidewalk networks to handle higher density. Quadrupling the allowed density at the specific bottleneck without prior infrastructure improvements places the burden directly on existing residents and students. Please deny Z4325. Please focus high density growth where infrastructure exists to support it, not on a congested...

Thanks. Next we have Zainab Balak. Not here?

Okay.

Hua Huang. Is Hua here? Okay. Giselle Torres.

Hello, my name is Josel Torres. I am the resident of Raleigh in District C, and I'm here today in opposition of two things before this body, a teen curfew ordinance and the AI data center infrastructure being cited in and around our city, because they are not separate issues. They are two arms of the same authoritarian system. One arm controls when black and brown youth are allowed to exist in public spaces, and the other builds the physical backbone, server farms, data pipelines, compute capacity that make it possible to watch, record, and track their every move. The data centers being proposed in Raleigh, built to train and run facial recognition and predictive policing software, tell our youth their presence is a threat at every hour, and it will be logged and processed at scale. When both are sold to the public as a value add to our community, we have to ask for whom. Data and research prove curfews do not stop violence. They stop young people, disproportionately black, Latine, and immigrant youth from walking home from work, a friend's house, a bus stop, without becoming a target for a summons or worse. AI data centers expand the state's capacity to watch, catalog, and predict the behavior of young people who are already the most heavily policed in the city, building databases that follow them into adulthood. And they do this while consuming enormous amounts of water and electricity, straining local utilities, and driving up costs for residents who never asked for this trade-off. AI data centers also draw millions of gallons of water a day for cooling in a region that has already faced drought and water restrictions, while offering little transparency about how much they'll use or what it costs to the public. They are frequently approved through special tax incentives, so residents rarely have a say in the final deal. And once built, these infrastructures become the backbone of what private companies lease to police. I ask this council to reject the proposed teen curfew ordinance and review any existing curfew policies for disparate impact on black and immigrant communities.

Thank you. I will just say for those speaking on the teen issues, we are going to have a forum on October 12th, 5 o'clock, at the Adult Activity Center in Five Points area. So that conversation, if you are interested, will be held then. Athena Wallen is our last speaker.

Hello again, my name is Athena Wallen. I am a creek dweller. I once again submitted another image of the map of creeks and a secondary image with the city of Raleigh kind of overlaid around it just to put it into context of these relationships that we have with natural waterways. We must conceptualize how to develop and grow knowing that this necessary infrastructure is degrading. It's struggling. We need to know that as a city, we have collectively neglected our creeks for decades and for generations. We know that the neglect has allowed for invasive overgrowth, widespread stream bank erosion, and the loss of the riparian buffer in certain areas. And knowing that this administration is in support of environmental protections means that we need to step up a little bit more. Knowing that the rate of development outpaces our ability to impart meaningful policy change means that we need to get going. Part of mitigating this situation requires new strategies regarding how we develop around creeks. Plan around each segment of creek being a part of a connected system. Acknowledge that the loss of riparian buffered land is permanent if impervious surface marches right up to it. The margin of error grows narrower and that diminishes neighborhood resiliency. Stabilizing our land adjacent to stormwater creeks needs your leadership because we can't do it by ourselves. We need to strive to adapt infrastructure methods to move sewer lines away from floodways and relocate them into roadways. Just because that's the way it's been doesn't mean it has to continue that way. Increasing the relationship of tree canopies along stormwater creeks and plant diversity is a flood mitigation strategy. Evolving our engagement over these remarkable ecosystems is our collaborative future. So I just keep reminding you that these creeks... Thank you.

Okay, that concludes our speakers and public comment. We will move on to the report and recommendation of the Planning Commission. Good afternoon.

Planning and development. A review of upcoming holidays including Hispanic heritage month. We have public hearings scheduled already for your next meeting on October 6th including street closure and a half dozen rezoning requests. The two items coming out of Planning Commission today, we are suggesting for October 20 at the afternoon meeting. The first item is Z15 at 7600 Falls of Neuse Road. This is a request to rezone just under six acres from a residential district to an office mixed use district. Planning Commission recommends approval. This is consistent with the Future Land Use Map and the Comprehensive Plan. And then the second item is at the northwest corner of Bragg and Southeast Streets. These are 10 parcels that total just under an acre. And the request here, the base district of Residential 10 would remain the same. The South Park NCOD would be removed and conditions would be offered. This is consistent with the Future Land Use Map, the Urban Form Map, and the Comprehensive Plan. There's a split vote from Planning Commission here. And then I wanted to add a third item in the course of COMPLETING PUBLIC HEARING NOTIFICATION FOR OCTOBER 6. STAFF HAS IDENTIFIED THAT Z1926 AT EDWARDS MILL ROAD WAS NOT PROPERLY NOTICED FOR PLAN AND COMMISSION REVIEW. AND SO I WOULD RESPECTIVELY ASK THAT YOU REFER THAT BACK TO PLAN AND COMMISSION AND COUNCIL THE OCTOBER 6 PUBLIC HEARING SO THAT WE CAN PROPERLY NOTICE IT FOR PLAN AND COMMISSION BEFORE YOU HOLD YOUR PUBLIC HEARING. WE WANT TO COMPLETE A FULL PROCESS FOR THE APPLICANT AS WELL AS THE ORGANIZATION AND THE COMMUNITY.

Okay. Thank you. Questions?

Just one thing for Z2226. I asked if we can actually move that to the November 4th because it's in the evening so that residents that may want to attend can since it's involving the NCOD for the neighborhood. So that would be my only request. Other than that, with that change, I will move to approve the remaining, if there are any more questions from all the councillors? I do have questions. Okay, so I'll pull back.

But we need a motion on the request for... Yeah, for the other one she mentioned, yeah.

Go ahead. Questions? Okay. Bynum, can you speak a little bit more? I mean, I can see in the blurb a little bit about the split vote here on this case, but could you elaborate a little bit?

Sure. So the folks who were voting in opposition here were essentially supporting retention of the neighborhood conservation of Relay District. They felt like the zoning in place was sufficient and that there could be a redevelopment outcome.

Okay, so the three dissenting votes were all, that was the reasoning for all three? Yes. Okay, great. And then will you follow up with us about the notice error? I know there's been different reasons for them across time, so by email or something.

Okay, other questions? If not, do you want to- I don't know, Council Branch, you want to make a motion?

Yeah, so my motion is to set the hearing for Z1526 for October 26th, set it for Z2226 for November 4th, and to send Z1926 back to the Planning Commission. And cancel the... 1EF.

I heard 26. And cancel the hearing.

Cancel the public hearing.

Okay, thank you for making that complicated motion. Is there a second? All right, second from Councilor Patten. All in favor of that motion, aye.

All opposed, nay, and that is passed. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Okay, then we have special items. Justin Rometta.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council, Justin Romero with Planning and Development here to present a citizen petition text change request. It's related to the custom signage plan process. Specifically, the petitioner here is seeking to amend two individual limitations that are associated with the custom signage plan process. The first being increasing the limitation on lines of copy for certain sign types from five to ten. This second would be increasing the maximum sign area for those same sign types from 100 to 300 square feet. The custom signage plan process itself is relatively new in the code. It was adopted about two years ago, also at the behest of an external petitioner. To date it has not been utilized, but nonetheless it does permit certain developments that qualify to modify and customize their signage regulations to allow certain sign types or dimensions, et cetera, that would not otherwise be allowed by the sign code. So in order to qualify for this process, a development has to be at least eight acres in size. It has to include at least three commercial establishments in addition to either 100 dwelling units or 100 lodging units. Again, so larger developments. They also have to either be zoned with an urban frontage or front on an approved streetscape plan street or be located within a growth center or frequent transit area. If a development qualifies and chooses to go through this process, there are four primary limitations associated with it. The first being a 15 foot height maximum and five lines of copy maximum for all types of ground signs. A 100 square feet maximum for those same types of ground signs. Wall signs and other specialized sign types can be increased through this process, but only up to 100% from what the base code allows. And then finally, there's an allowance for public street signs to be on nonstandard supports if approved by the city. Again, what the applicant is proposing here is simply to increase those lines of copy from 5 to 10 for ground signs, increase the square footage from 100 to 300 square feet. Notably absent here is any limitation on the total number of signs. However, I would note that this process is a legislative process, so it does go through design review, commission review for approval, back to city council for a legislative hearing, includes public notice, etc., And so your action today is whether or not to authorize the text change to move through the process. This isn't adoption of any specific language, but if you choose to move forward, the language will go through planning commission review, ultimately back to this body for a public hearing. Happy to try and answer any questions you might have. Jamie Schwedler and Walker Abbott from Parker Power here as the applicants to answer any questions if you have any of them as well.

Councilor Patton.

Hi, thanks for this. So I want to make sure I've got my procedural understanding straight. So in the custom signage plan, if someone's pursuing that, and no one has pursued one under our current structure, right? Is that what you said? So if they did, they would submit an application, would go to design review commission, who could apply any sort of Conditions or changes to the case and then it comes to City Council for final approval. That's correct And then but on the text change the procedure is that we would authorize today Planning Commission would review and can Planning Commission make changes to it or they can only vote on This that we send they can recommend changes that would come back to you and you could choose whether to incorporate those or not.

I

Got it.

Okay, yeah, I think I'll just offer as feedback and however it goes into the stream, we'll see it at the end. But I think some mitigation on the sort of amount whether it's like total square footage that can be Chopped up in any variety of ways or like total number of signs or something. So we're not just ending up with Infinite 300 square foot signs, but it's probably like an appropriate Loose end to tie up Okay, much counselor silver I Know this is just introducing it to City Council

It would be very helpful as if council authorized it to proceed through the process. I strongly encourage illustrations for the average citizen to understand five lines of copy versus 10 lines of copy, knowing zoning. I'm familiar with it, very foreign to the public, but also high profile, medium profile, and low profile zone sign, it may be an opportunity for the public to understand what we're talking about And then if there could be kind of this is existing, this is proposed, it would help, I think, everyone in the entire process. Because you're right, Raleigh's known for basically clamping down on their signs. I think there was a... huge article back for Capitol Boulevard, and so we've been very, very aggressive. So I think it'd be helpful for the conversation for people actually to see illustrations. And so I don't have any questions, but if it would go forward, that would be my strong recommendation.

Thank you. Yep.

Yeah, I just want to note a few things, and correct me if I'm wrong. 300 square feet, that is about the size of a regular highway billboard, is that correct? It's okay if you don't know.

Yeah, sure.

Okay. Well, that's what I think from my read. And so I think to several of the points that I've heard, you know, I just want to ensure that we are not unleashing Pandora's box. You know, I think this is for a very specific request, you know, a specific place. I don't necessarily have an issue with this one property that has an interest, but what would be helpful I think when we were looking at billboard Policy before is we had a map of where this could impact So can we see across the city? You know who this would apply to and then in terms of these criteria Because it's an external request, you know, it's not coming from the council I'm just you know I want us to think a little bit more about where this is going to be appropriate. And so I guess if we were to approve this process to begin today, who could or who would be making suggested changes as we move forward? You said the Design Review Commission. Does it also go to Planning Commission or no?

No, just a design review commission.

Okay, and will planning staff weigh in in any way?

Yeah, so it will go through a staff review prior to getting to the design review commission. They would hold a public meeting that will be open for public comment as they deliberate on the changes, and then obviously their feedback would be incorporated back to you as part of your legislative hearing, which would be another public process.

And I guess one question perhaps for the applicant, if they are here, the person who started this, is there a way to narrow this to your property, or does it have to be done in a way that is available to many properties? Or I don't know if that, maybe that's questions back to you, Justin, sorry.

So as Councilmember Patton, I think, alluded to earlier, you could place additional restrictions that would apply to anyone. So that would live in the code as part of the ordinance that could be included as part of this, whether that be limitations on the total number of signs, the total number of square footage, et cetera. You could also apply specific conditions to any individual applicant that came through this process that would apply only to their plan. But you would have the opportunity to review that plan, provide feedback, and place any conditions that you might feel appropriate that are specific to that individual development that could include the same type of criteria.

Could it be as narrow as only this one address can have this kind of signage?

Yes, so as part of your review, you would have a site plan of the development and presumably they would be showing you the types of signs that they want and where they want to place them. And you could place any limitations on sign types or sign sizes that you would like at that time.

I guess from the folks that are here representing this text change, I just would like for the public to understand what is your goal, that would be helpful.

She's here.

Good afternoon, Jamie Schwedler with Parker Poe. Good questions, and we're dealing with kind of a layered approach, right? So the text amendment comes first, and then it would always be followed by this custom signage plan. Both have opportunities for public feedback and staff feedback. So we're just looking for the text amendment to allow for additional signage to mainly streamline Crabtree Valley Mall's wayfinding and circulation signage. Some of the new tenants we've been able to track to the mall. have been inquiring about different copy and ways that that ground signage could work. And we could bring forward a custom signage plan but it wouldn't allow for some of those innovative ways that malls are reinventing themselves and attracting tenants to keep malls vibrant. And so these tweaks would be needed overall to then allow us to bring forward a custom signage plan that would only apply to the mall. And in both situations, you can have a text amendment that could have specifics that would apply citywide, and then that would be followed by the custom signage plan that would only apply to them all. So kind of two levels of oversight for the council to ultimately make that legislative decision with the feedback of the design review committee and the planning commission.

Thank you. Other guests, councilor Jones?

This is for staff and it would just be to tag on to Councillor Silver's comments. I think in the process of conversation, learning why, since this is only 2024, it's not a very old ordinance, why the five lines was important. I think that explaining that, not just that we want the change, but why we initially just two years ago thought five was the number and wanting to increase it. I think that's gonna be really clear for the public. I just wanted to extra highlight that and put a pin in that.

Sure, and we'll be sure to include that if and when it comes back. The five lines of copy is taken from the existing, again, this was also an externally petitioned amendment, but they utilized what is existing today as the maximum that any type of ground sign would allow today, is that five lines of copy, so they just used that same provision.

Council Cotton. Just to put a fine point on figure back on Council Member Harrison, movable copy or changeable copy If that is captured somewhere else in the code, it would not be made available through this, like movable or changeable copy signs?

It wouldn't be eligible to be modified in any way through this process.

Okay, so adopting or allowing this to begin the process does not make available movable or changeable copy signs? It does not.

Okay.

All right, does somebody want to make a motion?

Move to authorize the text change process to begin.

second all in favor aye aye all opposed nay so that passes thank you next we have the public art strategic plan adam foreman

Members of the council, my name is Adam Foreman. I'm the assistant director with Raleigh Parks. And I actually sit at the intersection, or I oversee Raleigh Arts and our capital planning division. So the public art ordinance really sits at the nexus of those two groups and responsibilities. I'm very excited to bring some proposed ordinance amendment changes to you, because they are long coming and we're excited about the ordinance themselves. But also because this really was the work across the city, Dozens of times with engineering services, with budget, with finance, with transportation, this really was an all-city effort, and I'm always affirmed by the interagency coordination that occurs in Raleigh. In terms of the agenda, I'm going to do a quick overview of the Percent for Art legislation, then kind of specify our proposed amendments, which we'll bring to you next council session for approval, look at the fiscal impact of these changes, some benchmarking around what other cities are doing, and then just next steps. In terms of the Percent for Art program, I think particularly Percent for Art is the program that comes to mind when we think about public art in Raleigh. But in fact, public art encompasses, I think, three major pillars. It is that permanent public art, the Percent for Art program, our acquisition program. Then there is kind of temporary, our murals. Scooter corrals have gotten a lot of really fantastic press recently. That was a partnership with Raleigh Transportation and Public Art. They're kind of the temporary, also residencies, exhibits, events, performances. And then community, that's another, that's a grant program we have for Seek Raleigh where artists can receive grants for community-based art and community-initiated projects for artists. piece of art that folks want to see in their neighborhood, in public parks, in public spaces. For this presentation, we're going to focus on that permanent, the percent for public art program and the ordinance amendments that we are proposing. So something in an overview of the public art ordinance. It was passed in 2009. Initially, it was a half percent of capital projects. The construction budget would go towards our percent for our program. This legislation or code was written in part by Thomas Sayre, one of the greatest Raleigh public artists. And it really was very thoughtfully written in a way that's been a model for cities around the country. In 2017, that half percent was increased to 1%. And in 2022, about 13 years into the program, a couple of years ago, we did our first strategic plan since the ordinance had been passed to look at the successes and opportunities for changes to the program. And a lot of what I'll be discussing today is kind of what arose from that public art strategic plan. There were changes that were recommended towards cultivating local artists, cultivating young artists. A lot of those were administrative and policy. But there were also recommendations to the ordinance itself. which is what we would like to move forward with in the near future. So in terms of the recommended amendments to the percent for art ordinance, it's updating project coordination responsibilities, which I'll elaborate on, clarifying which capital project qualify for percent for art funding, and then the most important one is the revise the percent for art calculation to include design costs. So right now, the percent only includes the construction costs of a capital project. This would be ad design. and community engagement as well. As I'll elaborate on soon, everything but FF&M and land acquisition would be included in the calculation of 1%. So why update the ordinance now, I think, is an important question. One, of course, it comes on the back of the strategic plan. But also modernizing the ordinance. There have been changes in state legislation on project delivery, on procurement. We want to align the ordinance with those changes at the state level. Planning for the future. We are now 17 years into the program. We have accumulated some really fantastic projects around the city. And a lot of those works need maintenance funding. So making this small but meaningful increase to the Percent for Art program and to the public art funding will allow us to create a maintenance pool so that we can continue to maintain our fine public art in the future. And then I think the crux of it, which I'll be discussing on the next few slides, is support advanced planning. As we know, we are shifting to a small but meaningful extent our capital planning strategy around funding for advanced planning where we can look at community engagement, early design, cost projections for projects, and then funding construction as a next stage. It's important that public art funding comes in at that advanced planning stage so that artists can be engaged in early design, schematic design through 30% and community engagement. So making sure that a percent of the advanced planning and design funding brings in the artists and makes sure that they're on the ground floor is really important. And that's kind of the crux of what I'm, I think why we're moving forward here. Integration of the artists really matters at the early stages. Having them come in only when we get construction funding rather than at the design funding or design stage would really kind of throw off the balance of our public art. It was really important that our artists are involved in public engagement at the design phases. It improves coordination. Make sure we don't need major change orders to the building models in order to include our public art. And I think if we don't have the artists there at the stage, we can't really integrate it into the project the way we see with Chavis, the way we've seen with the Shimmer Wall. Having the artists engage really at the outset in design is really important for them being plugged into what the community wants, but also kind of embedded in the fundamentals of the project. And then now for the specifics of the Public Art Ordinance proposed amendments. That is a bit of a mouthful. Recommended updates. So the first one is technical but important. Right now it's kind of very, A specific about seven members are on every panel for public art projects. We found that more members are often necessary for particularly complex projects, and we've had more and more complex and more expensive projects in recent years with Fayetteville, with the new City Hall. So we want to provide that flexibility to have more members on the panels where needed. Project coordination. Right now, the artist selection panel is responsible technically for managing the project. These are volunteers. That should be staff who is responsible for managing these projects. And there's also languages to be changed around coordination with the construction firms, with the design firms, making sure that public art is written into the RFPs and is engaged at the start of the design and the construction phase in order to support timely project delivery. clarifying eligibility. We want to kind of expand and more importantly clarify project eligibility. The major strike through here is at this moment there are written several examples of where public art would be eligible for a capital project. That's just led to confusion really over the last 20 years of it's not explicitly stated that this project is eligible so therefore it shouldn't be. We just want to provide kind of a broader overview of what type of projects Are eligible and is ones that are in the public sphere that have a strong educational component that have a strong community value so allows kind of a broader set of projects to be eligible which will be determined during the annual capital budgeting cycle Also for transportation, and this was kind of a long conversation with transportation, I think we really landed in a good place. There's some confusion in the language around kind of gateway projects around traffic calming. There are kind of terms that weren't defined in the original ordinance. We wanted to define those terms and make it clear, you know, for minor intersection landscape improvements, those would not be eligible, but anything major would be, and those will come through policy in terms of defining what those are. So a greater number, I think, since we've seen such success in our coordination with transportation, kind of clearly defining a greater number of transportation projects to be eligible. And then this is, I think, the core of the ordinance change is including designing costs in the funding calculation. So before, as I said, it was just construction. Now it is, except for costs associated with furniture, fixtures, and equipment, land acquisition, and feasibility studies, the amount of funding for a project shall be 1% of estimated project costs. So it really is the entirety of project costs other than land acquisition, FF&E, and feasibility studies would be included. So again, small but meaningful change in order to make sure that artists are engaged at the right stage as we move to advance planning and also to create increased funding for public art so that we can continue to grow our program and better maintain existing assets. And then to provide the fiscal impact, just so there's a better understanding, as I said, small but meaningful to the public art program. But in the scheme of capital projects, this is not a dramatic increase in budget or even funding for the public art side of capital projects. This is not going to break the bank for our capital projects. So I'm going to give three examples. The fire station relocation, it was $11.5 million budget, $800K for design, $9.1 for construction. The way we do the percent calculation in the past, it would have been $91,000 for a percent. Now that we're including the design budget, that'll be $99,000, so an $8,000 increase, 0.07% total budget increase. I want to give another example so we can highlight land acquisition. This is a larger project, but land acquisition is a large component here. So again, 10.7 for construction for this project. That would be 107 for public art currently. With the 1.2 for design, that's another 12,000, or 0.08 increase in total budget. And then lastly, this is one that has less land acquisition, kind of more higher percentage of total budget increase, but still fairly small. Construction for this project, Lakeland West Loop, $3.2 million. The percent for art off the construction, 1% of construction is $32,000. Under the new legislation, it would be $38,420, $6,420 increase, a .17 total budget increase. So that is an overview of how this is going to affect the budget for projects. And then just a little benchmarking of where other cities are. Most cities, to be clear, have 1%. Or a large number of cities have 1% of just construction costs, as we do. But we can see that a lot of the peers that we're aspiring to have similar policies to what we're asking to be adopted here, or sometimes even more ambitious in terms of the percentage. but we feel very comfortable with 1% and where we're going here. So 1% of design and construction, Nashville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Seattle, New York, 1.5% of total project costs in Minneapolis and Salt Lake City, and 2% in Austin and Portland. So we want to get on kind of the same benchmark of that Nashville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Seattle, and New York City, all of which have fantastic public art programs. And then next steps, that is at the October 6th meeting, we'll bring back the ordinance change with strikethroughs for approval, hopefully by this council.

Questions for Mr. Foreman? Councilor Patton.

Hi. I'm curious if you would apply this to, only to projects at their inception at the time of adoption, or something like New City Hall, which is not complete, but has already, we've already done a lot of the approvals and community engagement for the public art in New City Hall. Like, would you sort of retroactively apply this and make changes?

No, only moving forward.

Any other questions? Good job explaining it all. So, let's see, do we need action? Receive his information, okay.

Thank you.

Thank you. Raleigh sister cities update, Symetria Jones.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. Sametria Jones with the City Manager's Office. I'm here to give you all an update on Sister City since we last met in June. This is an agenda. The first half of this will kind of be familiar or sound familiar to you all, and the second half will really get into where we see this going over the next several months. So as you know, Sister Cities International granted the city of Raleigh a charter on December 31st in 1985, and then we have an external nonprofit in Raleigh Sister Cities that incorporated in 1986. They are purely volunteer-led. They help us create new sister city relationships. They manage our current sister city partnerships, and they develop or support cultural and educational community outreach and programs throughout the city. These are our sister cities, the current ones that we do have. Some of you all have faced time with some cities more than others. I know the Mayor and Councilman Patton saw our Rostock delegation again this year and they visited last year. We had Nairobi, a delegation from Nairobi come earlier in this year. So just to show kind of how we've evolved over the past several decades with our partnerships. So staff was asked to explore the history of the partnership between the city and Raleigh Sister Cities. A former council member and Ed Walters helped kind of spearhead the initiative into the city becoming a part of Sister Cities International and as well as helping to create the nonprofit that exists today. The city has, through our parks department, has really kind of contributed resources and personnel to help not only with delegation visits but also some financial costs and in-kind contributions as well with Raleigh-Central Cities. We were also asked to explore some opportunities to improve the relationship and refine the relationship really to make sure that there's alignment between what council wants, what your priorities are, and as well as just the streamline of resources and staff that are working on this program. So some opportunities that we identified were communication, alignment with council priorities, participation, and fairness. communication being that because Sister Cities is volunteer-led, turnover at their organization but also staff turnover here, just natural turnover, doesn't necessarily allow for the transfer of communication and institutional knowledge that will allow some of the processes and procedures that have been implemented or were discussed previously to transfer to new council members or to new volunteers. Also, as I mentioned, alignment with council priorities. Participation in the program ebbs and flows between both organizations. As volunteers decide to leave, they may manage particular sister city relationships that may kind of fall or delay over time, and we obviously want to see participation of all of our partnership programs, and as well from council members as well. And then just fairness, the Sister Cities program has kind of operated in a gray area for quite some time. Some of that is due to just not having formal procedures and policies in place about what the expectations are from both organizations as well as what those responsibilities are as well. The city does contribute, as I mentioned, quite a few resources to Raleigh Sister Cities in a way that doesn't necessarily look like other programs and external nonprofits that we have. So this is to kind of clean that up a little bit. So in June, you all approved four recommendations. These are the first two. One was for us to create a border commission. The second was to evaluate our current partnerships. The third was to adopt selection criteria for new partnerships. And the fourth was to formalize a new city partnership with Gangseo in South Korea. So previously I listed several cities that we benchmarked and we did a little deeper dive into Wilmington as they closely resemble kind of the structure that we have or are aspiring to have here. Wilmington's sister cities commission was created by council in 1986 and they primarily oversee and implement the processes related to the creation of new sister city partnerships. They have committees that explore using a questionnaire, explore the benefits, of even considering a new partnership city, and then from there, they break off and take, spend several months exploring whether or not the city has the resources, the time to add a new partner city, and if it would benefit their city in the long run, based off of the criteria that they have selected. They also have a nonprofit organization that is the City Association of Wilmington. They were formed after their city commission was formed, so they were formed in 2004. And their association primarily does programmatic and community outreach. So we are proposing the Raleigh Sister Cities Advisory Commission. The purpose of this commission would be to advise council on these processes and procedures related to formalizing new partnerships, procedural functions to enhance our partnerships with our current cities, and then scope and guidelines to support our established partnerships as well. Their responsibilities would be to consider and prioritize prospective partnerships that are sustainable and aligned with council priorities, to communicate and collaborate with our nonprofit partner, and then to support delegation visits from partner cities. We've proposed a composition for the commission. It would be to have two seats held by Raleigh Sister Cities. That could be the President, Mary Claire, or her designee, or any of their other executive board members. One seat for Raleigh Chamber, one seat for the Secretary of State. That's supposed to be one there. And this is primarily because the Secretary of State has a very active partnership with the Muldovan delegation. I know Council Member Fort participates in that. And they have that experience working with international partners, so we thought they would be good to have on the commission as well. One state for North Carolina State University, they're actively involved with our nonprofit partner and have a lot of connections in the academic community and just abroad in general. And then six seats for community members. So the timeline that we propose is to have the commission stood up and ready to work by the start of the next fiscal year. That gives us time to really create a process and a foundation that is efficient and will be able to be sustained over time. So between now and December 2026, We plan to formalize the selection criteria and the process for prospective partnerships, work with Raleigh Sister Cities to amend their affiliation process. If you recall, in June, we kind of talked through how they go about selecting new partners, and I highlighted for you all that the city is not really involved in that process until the very end when you are asked to approve. We have recommended that they work with us to include incorporate your opinions and your voices much sooner in that process. So we plan to do that during those three months as well. To also work with Raleigh sister cities to establish shared goals and clarify roles and responsibilities. That's some feedback that we heard from Mary Claire, their president, about really wanting to understand what they're responsible for and what their avenue is and what the city's avenue is as well. So we want to work with them to accomplish that goal, and also to develop a marketing and promotion plan that will help us get the word out about this commission being created and how people can join. For the first three months of next year, we plan to come back to you all and present basically the work that we did in the last quarter of this year. And then to also collaborate with community engagement and communications to execute that marketing promotion plan that we'll work on for the next few months. And then from April 2027 to July 2027 is when we'll work to help you all appoint these commission members. The members will be trained and then they'll prepare for their first meeting. Also highlighting that this time period does align with the start of the fiscal year. So it's a fresh starting point for this new commission to be created and for those members to get started. So now I'm going to bring up Nestor, our director of the Economic and Social Advancement Department. This commission will live in the ESA department, so he's going to talk to you all about kind of what their role will be in supporting this commission.

Good afternoon. My name is with the Department of Economic and Social Advancement. As Ms. Jones stated, I'll be providing to you some detailed information about the department, but also guidelines in regards to how we plan to support the new advisory body. To start, I'd like to just basically go over some information about the department. We really focus on economic development and quality of life. We do that by really building partnerships with the community, highlighting business opportunities as well as providing learning resources to all businesses. We help the local community thrive through different partnerships and as well outreach events. The three different service units within the department include the Business Engagement and Opportunities Program Division, the Small Business Development Division, and the Community Relations Division. As part of this particular presentation, I'll be diving a little bit more about the Community Relations Division because they are the ones that provide the logistical and administrative support to the advisory bodies within the department. The Community Relations Division engages the public through the work of advisory bodies, and they build partnerships with the city departments as well as community-based organizations in identifying gaps and providing connectivity to resources as well. As you are familiar, there are four different advisory bodies supported by the department that include the Human Relations Commission, the Police Advisory Board, the Substance Use Advisory Commission, and the Rally Commission for Persons with Disabilities. ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I WANT TO GO AHEAD AND HIGHLIGHT FOUR KEY ASPECTS OF SUPPORT THAT ALL ADVISORY BODIES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT RECEIVED FROM THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS DIVISION, AND THAT INCLUDES THAT STAFF LIAISON IS ASSIGNED TO EACH ONE OF THE DIFFERENT ADVISORY BODIES. We specialize also in particular trainings. All advisory body members received two trainings coming into the department that includes the Robert Rules of Order and the Public Meetings Law training. So they are equipped to effectively run their meetings. They also received a boards and commissions, economic and social advancement handbook that includes information about the department, but also specific policies and guidelines that allows them to be more effective in their work plan. And finally, they also receive ongoing support in developing their bylaws, the annual reports, and yearly work plans. More than happy to answer any questions that you may have at this point, otherwise I can pass it over to Ms. Jones for the next slide.

This is a somewhat random question, but I was meeting with the Embassy of Singapore delegates and they just opened a new office in Austin, Texas. And so I'm wondering, in addition to all this excellent work around sister cities, like targeted strategies around consulates, offices, and do we have a pulse on that and a strategic sort of plan in this region to try and pursue those sorts of presence by various?

I would add that definitely this is something that we can work with now the new established commission. That's something that we can determine as part of the goals and their objectives that also align with a non-profit, but I'll also let Sumitra. Okay.

if you want to add something else, but I think that's the perspective there. I just think it should be on one of our agenda. I don't know whether it's federal agenda or through this body, but it just hits me that there are increasing numbers of international groups coming directly to cities, and they're getting off the coast and coming into the heartland. So there are opportunities, and I would think, again, they are already coming here. We should just have a strategy of how to recruit or spend our time.

Yes, and then we can definitely add that as part of their ongoing duties and scope.

Thank you.

Okay, so we only have one recommended action, that is to approve the resolution to create the sister city commission. It was provided in your agenda items. Happy to answer any questions before you all make a motion. Councilor Jones.

Thank you so much for this. In terms of the board members, you broke it down. There would be Raleigh, there would be two appointments from Raleigh. Who appoints the community members? Because I know currently they do that kind of on their own. So is that, would it be a mixture or would it be all us and the others that you?

Yeah, that's a good question. It would be your appointments. They would still, their board would still operate external to the city. They would still have their own process for appointing their board members. So all of the commission members would be appointed by council.

Okay, so outside of the Secretary of State, the NC State, all eight other positions, there were six community and then two, that would be us? Yes. And currently we only do three, right?

You do three directly to their board. Got it, okay. So some of the conversations that we'll have over the next several months will kind of pertain to those three members, how to- How do we keep them? Because they do have, I think you all just appointed two of them late last year. So they still have terms that they will have to finish out as well. So some of the conversations we'll have will be around kind of what that looks like for those three folks. But Raleigh City will still appoint their own board, their own. And this is completely internal to you all. You all will appoint all commission members for this commission.

Got it. Understood. Thank you so much. All right.

Council for yeah so if you remember when this conversation came up I voted against forming the Commission just based on a couple of things which was we had gone through an extended process with staff of reducing the number of boards and commissions and there has been a long-standing conversation with some folks who've asked for an African American Affairs Commission which we've not taken up and so when I vote against it today, it's for those same reasons.

Okay, any other questions? Okay. Is there a motion?

Yeah, I'll just say, you know, I think without this, the sister cities, the status quo is a pretty informal and very flexible, squishy relationship that I think is not really great for the city in terms of, like, exposure, accountability. Like, I think this will add a lot of clarity, so definitely understand that. other positions but for me that is why it's important to move forward at this to like codify a very informal relationship that's currently existing and I just I think the status quo is is too squishy so um with that I'll move to adopt the resolution all in favor of the motion aye all opposed nay okay so we have a 6-2 vote thank you

All right, next we have the report and recommendation of the city manager.

Good afternoon, mayor and council. We have two items, no formal presentation today, but we do have some exciting news. If Sharnell Jones, our HR director, will come down and share some exciting news about some events coming up, particularly in October.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. As you are aware, last year we had our first citywide job fair, and so we are excited to announce that we will be hosting our second annual job fair. Last year, due to the overwhelming response, when we were at Solid Waste Services, we are now having to move the event to somewhere a little bit bigger. So it will be at the Atlantic University. Union Bank Convention Center. I want to say Raleigh Convention Center. But it will be there on October the 21st from 10 AM to 4 PM. The purpose and the theme of this particular job fair will be where passion meets purpose, discovering the careers that shape Raleigh. Representation from all of the departments will be there, as well as some external vendors. So I'm just excited to announce that we will be expanding and having our second job fair.

Yeah, go ahead.

Sharnell, can you come back? I'm so sorry. No, no, you're fine. You're fine. I raised my hand as you were going. Can you review just briefly some of the wins from the last job fair? And then how many departments, if you remember, I may have missed it at the beginning. I was chatting. So how many departments are we going to be doing this time? And then how successful was the last one?

The last year, I don't remember all the departments that participated, but we had majority, and we had over 400 participants at that last shop fair, which was that Soloway Services facility. So that's why we're moving it to a larger venue, so that we can make sure that we have space for everyone as well. For this particular year, all of the departments will be participating according to the city manager. That's right. So just want to put that out there.

That's awesome. So 400 people interested last year. Yes. Wow. All right. Well, I'm excited about that. Thank you so much.

You're welcome. So with this notification for our view and audience, for people who might not keep up with us in the way that we do internally, this will open up opportunities for folks in the community to apply for city jobs. And again, great pay and a lot of these respective jobs as well as an amazing benefit package that I would put up against anybody. So hopefully everybody will turn out next month to our citywide job fair. And lastly, we have Michelle Millett in the city manager's office just going to give us an update about this weekend's activities that we have planned.

So I'll just say to your point about success, we were actually able to hire someone in the manager's office from that job fair, so thank you HR and all your hard work, as it does work. Go out there and ask for a job, people will get it. So for the retreat, the manager is very excited and she wanted me to remind you all, and in particular I want to thank the committee one more time, Councilmember Branch, Councilmember Patton, as well as Mayor Cowell for all their hard work and a very thoughtful agenda. We will start on Friday at 1230. All right, good job. Everybody knows, 12.30, RTN will start their cameras rolling at 12.30 p.m. We will jump right into some of our really meaty topics. Always, you want to start with revenue and budget outlook, so we can talk about how much money we have, or in this case, don't have. And then we'll jump into some projects and some discussions, and then we will wrap up around 5 o'clock, and we will start right back on Saturday at 9.30. Audience? What time we started? 9.30 a.m. Exactly. And we will wrap up at 2.30 p.m. if everyone is on time and in their seats and ready to go. So I want to say again, thank you all to all the committee and all your hard work. And we look forward to seeing you all either virtually or at Lions Park on Friday from 12.30 to 4 o'clock or 4.35 o'clock around that time to Saturday at 9.30 a.m. Manager, anything else?

I think that covers it all. We have lots of important agenda topics, particularly as we are already getting ready and getting started with our FY28 budget conversations. And there's so much economic uncertainty that some of the decisions that you all will make in this retreat will help us better plan for next year. So that concludes my report today.

Great. Thank you. Next, we've got the report and recommendation of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. My name is Will Shoemaker, and I act as the staff liaison to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission. Today, we're coming to you to have that touchpoint, to share what the BPAC has accomplished over the past year, as well as ask you to adopt their work plan at the end of this presentation. From a high level, the mission statement of BPAC is to advise Raleigh City Council on all things matter related to bike and pedestrian activities. So there's a lot more to that, but they really are taking a look at the things that are coming active transportation-wise to the city, what infrastructure projects we're pushing forward and making sure that we're staying in line with the community needs with best practices and advancing safe and equitable transportation systems. They really have have three main objectives and purposes. It's this one to really advise the City Council on all things matter all things I Can't talk all matters related to active transportation. Sorry about that Make recommendations on the implementation of programs policies and regulations and as well as funding priorities and then really go out in the community and promote active and multimodal transportation with all of Raleigh's residents and from that the responsibilities they really want to facilitate that participation you know we don't want this to only be a top-down city going out we want that that ground support grassroots effort they are a major component in helping us do that they want to help us look at and evaluate current laws standards best practices and make sure that we're incorporating those that actually work for the city. They want to help promote that intergovernmental public-private coordination and then really advise the public on projects that are coming out as well as advise the city council on policies that you can help direct staff then to implement or change direction or continue advancing forward. Looking at the composition and the structure of this, so the members that we really try to target, we want landscape designers, city plannings, health and wellness advocates, youth and children advocacy, business owners, senior disability advocates. We want everyone. We want really anyone that can. and does use active transportation to be part of this body, so we get really a full perspective. And right now, the commission is structured. The full commission meets once a month as a body, and they have three standing committees, the policy, the planning, and the outreach committee. And then as needed, they can form an ad hoc committee. As part of what they've accomplished, the planning committee previously has reviewed and provided recommendations to the city staff on the 2026 resurfacing projects, as well as has reviewed, endorsed, and provided feedback. I should have reversed those. Provided feedback and endorsed the projects that we took to construction this past year. The policy committee has reviewed and endorsed ongoing reviewing of text changes, of, again, best practices, standard details, those policies. And then our outreach community has really been great at engaging businesses and residents, you know, that grassroots communication, trying to get the understanding of what the community wants, what those pain points are, as well as supporting our efforts to amplify our outreach. And then from here, I'm going to introduce you to Mr. Smith, his newly elected chair, so he can share a couple words, and then we can move on.

Good afternoon, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here to speak with you today. The commission has a long history of serving the city and making really good forward motion on active transportation, active mobility in the city. And I hope to continue that this year. I am a pedestrian advocate. I have been for about 30 years. I've spoken with many of you about this. I think that the Oaks and Spokes has been a great organization in the city and has led the way on the commission. And it's a good time to shift some of the focus of the commission onto pedestrian issues. It's much easier to form an organization and a community around something like a bicycle. Pedestrians tend to be a little more amorphous as a group. I'm a pedestrian because I'm low vision and I can't drive. There's lots of different reasons why people would be a pedestrian. Nationwide, about one out of three Americans doesn't have a driver's license. Maybe they're teenagers, maybe they're elderly. Who knows? That's why it's hard to get an advocacy organization for pedestrians. So I think the city needs to take a little more proactive approach to pedestrians instead of waiting for an organization to bring these things to you. My vision for the commission this year is to start that conversation, I think it's time, at a higher level. Pedestrian infrastructure tends to get treated in increments. The crosswalk, the different parts of the system. And people walking through the system approach those obstacles and it all becomes about that one area. And I would like to switch this focus to a more systematic approach. 150,000 people in the city of Raleigh, if you use the number that's nationwide, don't have a driver's license. So it's a significant part of the population that needs to be represented on this issue. And the right of way in the city is the largest continuous public space. And it should be accessible wherever it's possible to people who are not in vehicles. Less than 50% of the right-of-way in the city has pedestrian infrastructure and much of the infrastructure that does exist is 50, 60, 70 years old and is broken or was planned at a time when the situation was totally different. The last thing I'd like to say is that in a data-driven process, it's very easy to look at tragic outcomes and map those and address the situation from that point of view. That misses a lot. For me, safety is a function of access, and what we should be trying to accomplish is safe access, not just safety. And concentrating on tragic outcomes to make decisions, it's important to include that, but there are a lot of other considerations, economic development, social cohesion, physical activity, It goes on and on, and that's what I hope that we'll be able to accomplish this year. And next year, after I've had a chance to have an influence on the work plan, there will be even more pedestrian issues on the work plan. I'm prepared to answer any questions if you have.

Councilor Silver.

Thank you so much for your remarks. I was looking through the work program, but you have it as number two bullet. You and I have talked before, and I wholeheartedly embrace. I understand that the work plan may evolve next year, but the focus on pedestrian infrastructure, that's certainly appreciated. You're right, not just as a point where there's an issue, but the entire network. And so I'm delighted as the Commission starts its work to start shifting gears and giving pedestrian infrastructure and sidewalks and all the other greenways the proper attention. So thank you for putting a spotlight on this issue and I look forward to the work going forward. My only question is, knowing it's not in the work plan, What is your plan just to introduce this, to start these conversations with the Commission for this year, 2026, going into 2027?

It's a big issue and it's kind of, I think that it would, we would benefit from kind of starting this slowly and building on success. In the work plan there is, under the Outreach Committee, they're going to develop an educational and public awareness program so that we can gather the information about why pedestrianism is such a vital part in supporting the city's goals. And we'll work with the Department of Transportation and other stakeholders to come up with that. And crafting the message together, I hope that we will discover some areas where we can work together to push the issue forward.

I'll move down here to Mayor Bertram Harrison.

Yeah, I just want to thank you, Mr. Smith, for being with us. Jane Harrison here. And I am so pleased that you're bringing that pedestrian focus to the commission. I have been a bicycle commuter, so I get the bicycle world. But we do need more folks with a real passion and focus on our pedestrian landscape in the Raleigh. And I just want to put a call out to everyone out there. who would like to join the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, please apply if you have a pedestrian focus, because when I go through the applicants, I often don't find that type of individual, and we need more of that. And also, if the Commission has recommendations about pedestrian advocates that could be added to the Commission, that would be helpful. Please let me know. As the liaison, I can help to make sure we get those nominations in. And I do want to note, you know, the tragic outcomes do often bring us to action, and I wish we were more forward-thinking, and I wish we had the funds to be as forward-thinking as we need to be. And in that vein, we will have the transportation bond on our ballot this November. So again, this is just a call in to everyone out there. Please vote for that, because that is going to help us get money for sidewalks, get money for safe roads, for Safe greenways all of those kinds of that infrastructure is critical and then finally just to put on your radar in case it's not I believe the Raleigh Commission for persons with disabilities is looking at an Ordinance around universal design. So I think that's something that our council may be considering soon I'd love to hear how that would Interface or interact with our current policies and whether that's of interest to your group as well at BPAC. I

It certainly is and we're looking forward to taking that up.

Excellent. Councilor Patton. Hi, Megan Patton here. Just want to build on that. So specifically thinking about the transportation bond and how that much of what we hope the voters will adopt is our big jump in our extension of high comfort networks. I'm curious what you think about BPAC's role in communicating the benefits of the upcoming bond.

It's in the mission statement and in the work plan that we're going to be advocates. We're going to promote active transportation, and that includes walking and biking. It also has to do with access for people with disabilities. So there's a lot of different ways to go with that, but it definitely is something that we're going to be looking at.

Okay. So have you had any conversations as a group on how you might...

facilitate messaging are you parceling off organizations to reach out to or well we have liaisons to other commissions and there are like I say there aren't a lot of walking advocate groups to turn to in the city so that's something that we have to work out and and I think that going through the process of crafting a message about why this is important, I think will help us maybe discover some new people who are interested in that.

Thank you.

I had a comment that's probably partly for staff and partly for BPAC, which is I really appreciate all the good work here, and I think our staff does a really good job of prioritizing intersections and mapping data. I appreciate your points about not letting tragedies drive everything, but I would like to ask, because there's been a particularly deadly year, despite all of the good work in the city. I know traffic fatalities are up, I think, over 40% this year, and we've had a number of pretty horrific pedestrian deaths. And I just wanted to ask staff if we could just look at those and understand more what's causing, I think as much as it could be the physical design, my guess is some of it's depression, suicide, drug abuse. I know I was hearing yesterday about teens daring each other out into Glenwood Avenue. So is this seniors? Is it teens? Is it unhoused? Just trying to get a little better analysis of what is happening and part of it's going to be the physical infrastructure, but part of it may be social services or other partnerships to try and prevent some deadly situations out on our roadways. So just to the extent that the commission is looking at that, well, hopefully we can share at least what we find out.

Defining who is a pedestrian is one of the most difficult things about this. It's such a fundamental thing. It's almost better to look at pedestrianism as instead of trying to identify pedestrians and who they are and where they're from and what they're doing and why they're doing it, just assume that there are pedestrians and that if you build the system for them, they will avail themselves of it. And I think that's part of being a world-class city is having walkable communities. And that's what we're going to try and help happen in Raleigh.

Great. Thank you. And with that, should I put a motion forward then? Yes. So motion to approve the work plan.

Second.

All in favor, aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. And that is unanimous. Thank you so much. All right, next we have the report and recommendation of the Police Advisory Board. And we have Brianna Scurry and Cole McMullen.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Council. Brianna Scurry with the Department of Economic and Social Advancement. I'm just here to introduce Cole so that he can present the annual work plan and report for approval and information.

Thank you for this opportunity to share more about the Police Advisory Board's work. Yeah, I'm Cole McMullen, currently serving as the chair for the Police Advisory Board, which serves as a liaison between the Raleigh community and city council. And then the aim of this board is to build trust and relationships between RPD and the community. So a little bit of historical context. Some of you all may have lived this, so sorry for the redundancy. But Raleigh City Council created the Police Advisory Board in February 2020. This was in response to social justice and police accountability advocates' calls for a police oversight board. So the board's responsibilities include reviewing existing RPD policy and procedures, and providing needed updates and recommendations to the Chief of Police, thereby contributing to fair policy and development. And then also engaging community members through educational outreach to bridge the gap between RPD and the community. So this is the current executive board. Myself as chair. Mallory Rogers is currently vice chair, and she has done it all. She's been chair, secretary, vice chair. This is her second time. So she brings a wealth of experience and assistance on the executive board. And then also Thomas McBriar. He stepped in to fill a vacancy at secretary last term, and he did such a good job, we reelected him. So Raleigh City Council created the Police Advisory Board with the vision of representing the entire Raleigh community. So we have specific seats that have to be filled by a specific identity. The victim advocate representative is currently served by our Vice Chair, Mallory Rogers. The LGBTQ plus representative is currently Chase Franklin, who is also the chair of our community engagement committee. Mental health care provider is currently Dr. Jessica Hayden. Attorney Representative Antoine Marshall, police chief appointee is Derek Hicks, who used to be on the RPD force. And then we have four at-large members, Selena Vasquez, who is also our policy review committee chair, Thomas McBriar, Lewis Hutchison, who was a past chair and kind of still serves as sort of the mentor role on the board. and then myself, and then we have two alternate members, Victoria Melbourne and Clinton Jones. So this past term, we had various accomplishments that we did, and I'll run through. First off, with the community-centered policy review, we reviewed three different policies. These are internal to RPD. 110910, traffic enforcement. Out of that review, an inquiry was sent to RPD in April. 110908, on K-9 units. and then out of that review, we sent an inquiry to RPD in February, and then 11-04-08, court appearances, and our policy review committee is wrapping up the review of this policy, and an inquiry is forthcoming. We also did two community engagement events, Trunk or Treat in partnership with the Biltmore Hills Fall Festival, and then also our Spring Community Conversations this past year. The topic for that was RPD and technology. And then in addition to these two things, board members have also tried to have an expanded presence in the community. So this is by no means an exhaustive list, but we had board members that attended events hosted by our sister commission, the Human Relations Commission. So that would be the National Day of Racial Healing, which happens in January, and then also their Community Impact Awards Gala, which happened in May, I believe, this past year. We had members participate in the Community Police Academy, which is hosted by RPD. And we've also had several members do RPD ride-alongs. And as we get new members on the board, we always encourage that they do at least one ride-along and multiple if they are so inclined. So our goals for this upcoming year, we have selected these four policies. This was voted upon during our annual retreat, which we held in April of this year. 11-10-03, sexual assault. 11-10-20, U visa certification request. 11-08-01, use of force and weapons. And then if we have time to get to it, interagency relationships. We plan to do our two community events again this year and hopefully find ways to make them bigger and better than ever before. Trunk or Treat, again, is going to be in partnership with the Biltmore Hills Fall Festival. And then we'll also have our Community Conversations event again in the spring, the theme and topic of which is still under discussion. And then kind of building on that Foundation that we've made in terms of increasing our board members visibility continuing to attend the events of our sister boards and commissions and Also exploring for opportunities where we might not just attend but also help in terms of putting on the events if they if that help is And then also attend RPD community engagement events. I for one need to do a better job of this. So RPD has done hoops nights this past summer. I know for a fact Derek Hicks made it to multiples of those. I personally am looking forward to the bowling events that I think the chief has hinted that will be happening. I hope that comes through. But then also, whenever there's a new officer graduation event, I particularly would like to be at every single one of those. And then also, just attending other community events. For example, the October 12th panel event that'll be happening on the teen youth curfew, that is one that comes to mind. CAC meetings, First Friday events happen, and I think even our sister commission, the Substance Use Advisory Commission, makes a point of attending those. So there are a wealth of opportunities to continue to improve in these areas. So just to expand on our Trunk or Treat event. So the purpose of this is to host a social community event where police officers and members of the community can interact in a positive way that is not a law enforcement touch point. And instead, it's meant to have just kind of a relaxed trunk or treat feel for the kids. The parents can kind of get to know members of the board, members of RPD. And then, of course, in the years past, RPD has always brought the canines and then horses and sometimes even motorcycles. So hopefully we can get some of those again this upcoming year.

Oh, real quick.

I don't know if there's a back button. But yeah, we already know the date for what the trunk or treat will be this year. It's Friday, October 30th, the day before Halloween. And again, we're doing that in partnership with Biltmore Hills Fall Festival at the community center. So for members of the community, if you have kids or you just want to meet some of your police advisory board members, please come out. It'll be from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Biltmore Hills Community Center. And then our spring community conversations events. The purpose of this is to educate the community on a timely issue that's relevant to building trust between the community and police. This past spring, we did this over RPD and technology. So we discussed things like drones was a big topic of conversation. Connect Raleigh, we had questions on that in terms of doing the camera sharing. of the doorbell cameras and the video footage. And also RPD was able to speak to some of the safeguards they have in place in terms of just because you sign up for Connect Rally doesn't mean RPD just taps into your doorbell camera at any time they want. There's a process to reach out. to a person who signed up for this if they request the footage. And then this is just kind of a quick visual that kind of illustrates the board's goal and mission to bridge that gap that exists between the community and RPD and then hopefully bring those two circles closer and closer together over time. So thank you. Any questions?

Council Jones.

Thank you so much. I want to go back to the inquiries. You mentioned that there were a few that were sent to our PD and then you reviewed the ones that you're going to do next year. I'm wondering, can you walk me through the process? What does that look like and were there any inquiries from previous years that closed out this year?

Sure. So the process is we have a policy review committee. And OK, so let me back up to the retreat. So at the retreat, that's where we select the policies that we're going to review for the upcoming year. And we vote upon it. We usually limit it to three. And then as we did this year, we have three and then a fourth in case we have time. So once those are voted upon and then the next term starts, the policy review committee is responsible for beginning review of those policies. And that begins with, of course, those individual members reading the policy and then coming to the committee meeting and discussing it. So that being, you know, bringing forward any questions they have. addressing any questions that can be answered just by ourselves, like they're in the committee, and then any questions that are kind of outside of just, you know, kind of public knowledge, those usually get written down, and then that kind of gets transformed into the inquiry that we send to the RPD chief's office.

And what is the response back? Once you send all that information, how do they receive it and either act on it or don't act on it?

So we draft a memo, share it with our city staff liaison, who then sends it on to the chief's office. And then they review it, answer the questions, and then send it back to us. And then once we have those answers, we discuss it as a board and then decide, are we satisfied with those answers or not? And up to this point, it's always been yes, we're satisfied.

Very cool. And I just learned from SUAC, from the Substance Use Advisory Commission, that you guys spent, at least the chairs, some time together, able to have this conversation with each other within, I think those that were at the Pathway Center, and really interested in learning how that meeting went. And did you feel that it was good to connect? Was that your first time connecting with other chairs within that area?

Second time. So yeah, this actually speaks to our wonderful city staff. So yeah, I think what you're referring to is the recent, I think it was in August, we had a boards and commissions leadership training. And yes, I spoke with Saul, the chair of the Substance Use Advisory Commission. This was actually our second time kind of getting together and meeting. We also had a Robert's Rules of Order training in the spring that was also put on by city staff, and it was excellent. Great preparation for being chair. And yeah, yeah, I would say both of those events have been phenomenal in terms of, I guess, getting to know the fellow boards and commission members, yeah, and then being able to build those relationships to then start to say, hey, we have a trunk or treat event happening. Can we get your all's input on it? Do you want to be a part of it? Et cetera, et cetera, yeah.

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for your work. I look forward to seeing you at the October 12th. Hopefully that will speak to some questions that the board has, but thank you for your service.

Thank you.

Just one question for you, Cole. On these different policy reviews you do, does any of that information get to council? I know that I was able to get your guys' meeting minutes from August. They were very helpful. Thank you. Is this something that you think about for how to just communicate to us, too?

Yeah, so you should have received I think in June a policy status report which basically was an update on all of the information that we had as a board on all of our policy review dating back to 2021. If you didn't get that, feel free to reach out to me.

I will check my email, thank you.

Okay, yeah, no problem. And then our intent moving forward is now that you have that, of course, over the length of several years, city council members will change. But we have that existing document that summarizes our policy review from 2021 basically up until 2025. And then anything that gets added on to that, we plan to include in the annual report every year. So that's kind of how we're trying to approach it, I guess, in the future, if we need to change that, make improvements. We have the existing policy review report that was drafted last year. It can always just be updated to include additional reviews and information. Thank you.

I just want to say thank you for all your work. This will be the last police advisory board work plan that I get the privilege of moving to approve, something that those of us who were on council in 2020 worked very hard to stand up. I think challenging start, and then it really just sort of hit its stride. And I have been the liaison the whole time. I've seen how much work this group has done through some challenging circumstances. I'm really proud of how you've all come together as a group. And to all the chairs, both past and present, I know how much work you have personally put into it. So thank you. If you all can make it to the Trunk or Treat event, please go. It is honestly one of the most fun things that I attend as a council member all year. I will not be able to attend this year because it is taking place on my five-year wedding anniversary. I will be out of town, but I will be with you in spirit. So thank you very much. Mayor, next term, we need to get a new liaison appointed that will carry this forward because this has been something that I've cared deeply about since I got elected, and it is tough for me to let it go, but happy to see it flourish. And with that, I move to approve the work plan.

Second. All in favor, aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

All right. Next, we have matters scheduled for public hearing. Bryce Abernathy.

Good afternoon, Mayor, City Council. Bryce Abernathy with the Housing and Community Development Department. The first item I'm bringing you today is 1908 West Millbrook Road. This property had several structures on it, two dwellings. I brought this before you on December 2nd for a demolition ordinance that was adopted on both of them. We did move forward with demolition. The UDO directs us to bring it back for a resolution for a lien on the property for the cost incurred to demolish those structures. The total cost was $31,183, and that includes the survey, asbestos testing, and the demolition.

Those are the two separate structures that are on those lots.

Okay, so you need a resolution confirming the lien and, yeah, hearing. So let me go ahead and open the hearing and close the hearing.

Move to adopt the resolution. Second.

All in favor of the motion, aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. All right.

The second item I'm bringing you today is just public nuisance lien confirmations. The first one is 117 Ash Avenue. Pretty extreme high grass. There was a lot of rotten wood laying in the backyard and some broken up concrete that was sitting there. 619 Cumberland Street. which is kind of one of those properties that we've kind of revisited several different times. The total number of abatements on that is up to 30 now.

$30,000.

30 abatements, and that's almost $48,000. That does include demolition of the structure roughly 10, 11 years ago. Um, I did, we did get notification from the county that they are foreclosing for, um, taxes. So I'm hoping that that that'll work itself out and that we recover our costs when that happens. 1417 East Martin Street again high grass This is the second abatement on this property and it's not $900 total including this one 322 grand was just a variety of household items and stuff sitting out in the yard 6715 Johnsdale was extreme high grass 321 Martin Luther King Boulevard was high grass and a lot of construction debris that was sitting out of the property and 1700 New Bern Avenue was also high grass and trash kind of spread throughout That is this is the second abatement on that property and the total is one thousand and fifty four dollars And the last one is thirty one seventeen woods place and again that was high grass So if you have any questions Questions for our attorney We're having repeated issues

you know, where we're having to keep going out. How can we address that?

If you recall, we looked at that issue last year, and it does create a challenge for us in terms of trying to get the property owner to respond, but also keep this from occurring. We did reach out to the county about particularly for the ones where It continues, is continuous, and has acquired a large amount of liens about foreclosing, and we did see that has occurred with one of those. But it is a challenge, and quite frankly, we just don't have a good answer. Okay.

All right, well, I just say if there's anyone in the community, those that are seeing this, if you know property owners or people of these properties, please get them in contact with the staff so we can try to prevent these from reoccurring.

We do have some built-in civil citations and administrative fees for repeat offenses within a 12-month period, and we hope that that kind of deters folks from kind of abandoning properties, but it doesn't always work out like that.

Okay, I will open the hearing and close the hearing. Do we have a motion?

Move to- Move for approval. Second.

All in favor of the motion, aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. That is unanimous. Next we have petition annexation AX 1526.

Good afternoon, Mayor Cowell, members of the City Council, Matthew Burns of Planning and Development. This is a request to annex just under 16 acres of property in northeast Raleigh. They are proposing a 103-unit townhome development with multiple associated site plans. There is no rezoning associated with this annexation petition, and neither water nor sewer are directly available. Please let me know if you have any questions before we open the public hearing.

Questions? I will open the hearing and close the hearing. Move to adopt the annexation. Second. All in favor of the motion, aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. That is unanimous. Next we have petition annexation AX2126.

Yes, thank you. This is a site that's just under three and a half acres in northeast Raleigh as well. It is near Triangle Town Center, and they're proposing an 83,000 square foot hotel with 116 rooms. There is an associated site plan, and there is no rezoning with this. I'll note that there is an error in the backup materials. The 10-year financial impact table lists the acreage as 3.94 instead of 3.49. So the estimate is slightly higher than it should be, but this annexation is fiscally positive. And finance staff is available if you have questions about the 10-year table.

Questions? Questions? Open the hearing, close the hearing. Is there a motion? Move to adopt the annexation. Second. All in favor of the motion, aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. And that is unanimous. Next, we have AX 2326.

Yes, this is a site in East Raleigh. It is about a fifth of an acre. It's undeveloped, and the applicant's proposing two single-family homes, but there is no site plan or rezoning associated with this one. So let me know if you have any questions.

Okay, questions. Open, close.

Move for approval of annexation.

Second. All in favor of that motion, aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. That is unanimous. Next, we have rezoning Z1226 on Rock Quarry Road.

Good afternoon again. Bynum Walter, Planning and Development. This is just over 42 acres across three parcels on Rock Quarry Road. The change here is a change in height. So the base district of commercial mixed use is maintained. The request is consistent with the 2030 comprehensive plan, as well as the future land use map. And planning commission recommends approval. So this is on the west side of Rock Quarry, just opposite Whitfield Road. There's some conditions here offered. So there's a limit on residential density to no more than 20 units per acre. There are some prohibitions on specific uses that otherwise would be allowed in the commercial mixed-use district. And then the applicant has also prohibited vape and tobacco shops, as well as internet, electronic sweepstakes, cafes, or parlors. Those changes were made right before you said the public hearing. They've limited non-residential principal uses to no more than 300,000 square feet and there are requirements for post construction stormwater around stream a I have a picture of stream a to show you in just a moment and Then also regulations for pedestrian access for the apartment building type So zoning in the area is generally Residential on the same side of rock quarry commercial mixed use on the other side is a view of the site from the air And you can see stream A here traverses across the site roughly from north to south. This goes with condition six. There's no change in setbacks, projected or allowed units, or square footage. They're really just trying to build the same amount of stuff in a slightly taller building up to four stories. This is consistent with the comprehensive plan. There are a couple of inconsistencies here. The frontage inconsistency is they have not offered a frontage, but they have addressed the pedestrian access from multi-unit living as a response to that. And then the response time standards here are triggering land use 2.6 as well as community services 4.4. Planning Commission does recommend approval. What questions could I answer for you before you open the public hearing?

Councillor Patton. Hi. Perhaps for you, or you can push the applicant if needed, what's going on with Stream A? I tried to quickly glance at these conditions, but I'm not sure I'm getting it.

I think that would be a great question for the applicant and or stormwater staff.

And we do have the applicant signed up for the hearing. So anybody else before we? OK. So we'll go ahead and open the hearing. And Worth Mills is here.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. Worth Mills with Longleaf Law Partners here on behalf of the two property owners whose properties comprise the rezoning request. So as Bynum mentioned, we are asking for an additional story from our existing CX3 conditional use zoning district. The purpose of the additional height is to create conditions that are conducive for elevator serving apartments. Typically with a three story apartment building, that's gonna be more of your suburban style walk up. Whereas with a four story apartment, you have more central access, elevator served units. We think that's a better outcome. if multifamily is developed on this site. As Bynum also mentioned, we are consistent with the Future Land Use Map, the Comprehensive Plan, and Planning Commission did recommend approval unanimously. I'll try to keep my comments brief. 42 acres were part of a larger 275-acre rezoning back in 2021. I think it was adopted or approved in 2022. Here you can see the subdivision that's approved for the balance of the 275 acres. It includes 479 single-family detached homes and 404 townhomes. This 42 acres was reserved for future development and is the subject of this rezoning. So as currently mentioned, we're zoned CX3 conditional use. Across the street, we have CX4 and CX5 zoning districts. So there is some precedent for the additional height at this intersection with Whitfield Road. The three zoning conditions that apply specifically to the 42 acres here residential density not to exceed 20 units an acre. We have about nine prohibited uses and then we have a limitation on non-residential development. The proposed zoning conditions are on the screen here. Conditions 1 and 2 are identical to Z8121. Conditions 3 and 4 were added at the behest of Planning Commission to prohibit vape shops and internet electronic gambling. We have defined both of those uses in the condition. Condition 5 is identical to Z8121. Condition six is the stormwater condition that tries to limit total suspended solids into stream A. That is a condition that was part of Z8121. It was not specifically referenced as pertaining to this CX3 portion in the old rezoning request. So we wanted to make sure that we included it in this version to, again, protect that stream. There are, during the Z81 review, there was the leased brook lamprey, which was identified in that stream, which is an endangered species in North Carolina. And so we offered that condition to make sure that their habitat remains intact during and after development. And then condition seven is our attempt to create more consistency with the urban format, requiring buildings to have pedestrian access points facing both Rock Quarry Road and the future Whitfield Road extension through our site. I think staff noted in our staff report that although we are inconsistent with the urban form map, just given the context of this area, adding a frontage to this specific property would not really achieve a lot of the goals that the urban form map recommends. And I think that's more of the suburban nature of where we are. I did wanna show the street plan. So Whitfield Road is planned to extend to the opposite side of Rock Quarry Road through our site. There's two properties in between us and ultimately connecting Whitfield to Auburn Church Road, but we are providing a new access point to Wall Store Road as well as part of the larger 275 acre development. So just to summarize, we're asking for an additional story of height. We have carried over conditions from the old rezoning and brought new ones in to address comments from Planning Commission. We think that this request is reasonable and in the public interest, but we are happy to answer any questions that you have this afternoon. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Miller? Yes.

Hey, Worth. So I understand the intention of this condition around the stream A is to protect it and the endangered lampreys, but what does it do?

So it limits, or it has... A requirement for at least one stormwater outfall to be discharged upstream of Stream A and Stream C. Stream C is more in the southwestern corner of our site. It requires that no runoff from impervious will reach Stream A before it is treated. It requires level spreaders. at all points of discharge and then it requires sod stabilization around those SCMs rather than seeding just to ensure that it has that sort of natural retention feature immediately around the pond rather than waiting for the seeds to sprout up and start functioning that way. We took this We took this condition verbatim from the Z8121 case, and that condition went through a lot of review, both with the planning staff and with Stormwater, just to make sure that everything was as they would like it to be.

Any other questions? Okay, I'll go ahead and close the hearing, as there is no one signed up in opposition. Is there a motion or further questions?

Now, I just thank you for your work in continuing to keep the conditions from the previous case, as well as those that you've added. So with that, I move to adopt the proposed consistency statement dated September 15, 2026, contained in the agenda materials, and to approve the zoning amendment with the adoption and effective dates described in the agenda items under recommended action.

Second. All in favor of the motion, aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. So that is unanimous. Thank you. Thank you. Next we've got rezoning z17 on Hillsboro Street Yes, ma'am.

Good afternoon mayor and council Matthew Clem planning and development This is a city initiated rezoning request for city-owned property for the purposes of developing a subsidized affordable housing project it's at the intersection of Hillsboro and Western Boulevard, it's about three and a half acres and CONSISTENT WITH THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OVERALL IN THE URBAN FORM MAP, YOUR PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDS APPROVAL 7-0. LOREN NORTH WITH HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, CITY STAFF, IS THE APPLICANT FOR THE CASE AND HAS A BRIEF PRESENTATION FOLLOWING MINE. Here is a look at the site. You can see the mix of uses in the area. And of course, we know that Western Boulevard is planned for bus rapid transit. So this will be some affordable housing with good access to BRT. Closer look at the site. The portion of the site to the south is undeveloped. The portion of the site to the north is developed with these two structures, as you can see. To the east is an existing townhouse development. This is a general use rezoning request. There are no proposed conditions. This is a look at the existing and proposed zoning entitlements. So you can see the two different zones for the existing properties are 10 and industrial mixed use. Building heights are the same roughly across them. Of course, the residential 10 zoning has a maximum building height of 45 feet. So that will increase by five. And then the setbacks are there at the bottom. DROPPING THE INDUSTRIAL MIXED-USE ZONING FROM THE PORTION OF THE PROPERTY WITH THE I.X. ZONING REMOVES THE INDUSTRIAL ENTITLEMENT FROM THE DEVELOPMENT, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE RESIDENTIAL ENTITLEMENT OF 124 UNITS AND THE RETAIL ENTITLEMENT OF 10,000 SQUARE FEET FOR OFFICE AND RETAIL SPACE. SO THE RESIDENTIAL MIXED-USE ZONE PERMITS OFFICE OR RETAIL USES IN AN APARTMENT-TYPE BUILDING AT THE CORNER OF TWO PUBLIC STREETS, SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THOSE NUMBERS THERE. CONSISTENT WITH THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP AND URBAN FORM MAP, A NUMBER OF POLICIES ABOUT IMPROVING ACCESS TO TRANSIT, BUS RAPID TRANSIT, PROVIDING SUBSIDIZED AFFORDABLE HOUSING, COMPACT DEVELOPMENT, REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION BY ALLOWING FOLKS TO LIVE IN PLACES THAT HAVE HIGH ACCESS TO TRANSIT. THERE IS A FRONTAGE REQUIREMENT WITH THE TRANSIT OVERLAY DISTRICT THAT IS ON THE PROPERTY. SO IT'S CONSISTENT WITH OUR FRONTAGE GUIDANCE. ALSO CONSISTENT WITH STATION AREA PLANNING POLICIES FOR HOUSING AND GROWTH AROUND TRANSIT. AND MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT INTENSITIES IN THE ARENA BLUE RIDGE PLAN. inconsistent with two policies related to fire response time standards. Your planning commission recommends approval 7-0. I'm happy to answer any questions for you before we invite Lauren to speak about the specific project they're working on.

Questions for staff before we have another staff member?

Go ahead. Thank you so much. On the two structures in the north side, are there people currently living there? I didn't see the staff report.

No, they're vacant.

They're both vacant. Great. Thank you so much.

Okay. Any other questions? All right. We'll go ahead and open the hearing and invite Ms. North to come up.

All right, good afternoon, Mayor and Council, Lauren North, Housing and Community Development, and I am excited to present a rezoning of our Hillsborough Western redevelopment site. Next slide, please. Oh, wait, I can do it here. The goal of this rezoning is to develop the site at the intersection of Hillsborough and Western Boulevard as a multifamily affordable housing development. These parcels were purchased with affordable housing bond funds by the city as a strategic investment in affordable housing along a future BRT route. We're proposing to rezone from mixture of industrial and residential to residential mixed use. This will change two things from the current zoning. It will allow ground floor residential on the parcels that are currently IX and the possibility of limited retail on the R10 parcels. Having the same zoning for all parcels increases flexibility and makes the site more straightforward for a developer. Here's the street view from the site from Western Boulevard at the corner of Hillsborough. And this is the site from Hillsborough and Etta Burke. You'll notice the structures in the photos. They are slated for demolition. They are vacant. They were formerly offices. So the site is located on the future Western Boulevard BRT line, and it is in a TOD overlay. The circles on the map represent a half mile radius of the two planned stops. In addition to the future BRT, the site's also very close to two current bus stops with 30 minute service intervals. We think RX3 is the best future zoning for the site as it will allow greater design flexibility while providing adequate transition to the surrounding area. This rezoning converts to the industrial parcels to residential use, and it will allow that ground floor residential. With RX3, it will allow that limited retail of less than 10,000 square feet. However, the site size and location limits the viability of retail, so we really aren't sure if a developer will include it in their proposal. With RX3, this will allow an apartment building up to three stories, and the building can be up to five stories if the developer includes at least 20% of units that are affordable to someone making 60% of the area median income for 30 years. The TOD density bonus is not changing with this rezoning, but we think it's important to mention since it will allow more affordable housing on this site. The site does have some limitations that a developer will have to follow. On the Western Boulevard parcel, there's a small stream running through part of the property, and it's subject to the Neuse River buffer rules, which means that in a future development, the developer must leave a 50-foot buffer on either side of it by law. Within that buffer area, the first 30 feet are undisturbed, and the next 20 can be managed vegetation. That's the large green area on the slide. It's approximation of that buffer area. Here's a breakdown of the overall timeline of our proposed project. We already contracted with a firm to demolish the existing structures on Hillsborough Street parcels. The firm's almost done obtaining permits, and the demolition should take place in the next month or so. We are utilizing a two-step process for selecting a developer on the site. We released an RFQ in June to select a limited number of qualified developers. The responses were due on August 7th, and we've chosen three developers to move forward to the RFP stage. We're hoping to issue that RFP in September after this rezoning decision is finalized. We'll use the remainder of Q4 to receive responses, evaluate them, and then be ready to present our recommendation to council once you all are back for winter break in 2027. So in January of 2027. This also allows time for the potential developer to meet the LIHTC pre-application deadline, should they choose to pursue that funding mechanism. So we anticipate design, permitting, and obtaining firm financing will take the remainder of 2027, with construction beginning in 2028. That will take approximately 18 months. Here are some of the parameters that were laid out in the RFQ. The developer must commit to at least 20% affordable units for a minimum of 50 years. As a note, all the responses from the RFQ phase were for 100% affordable development, ranging from 30% to 80% AMI. Our test fits indicate the potential development could yield about 89 to 124 units with a three to five story surface parked building. And our RFQ responses were around the same range. The city is also prioritizing walkability and connectivity to the future BRT at this site. Based on our conversations with community members and the rezoning meetings, we will include language to prioritize retaining trees between the site and the townhomes on Bradford Pair Court if those trees belong to the city. And the city is making available $1.5 million in gap financing for this development. Thank you for your time. Do you all have any questions?

No questions, just a motion.

Okay, I will go ahead and close the hearing.

All right, I just am really excited to see this permanent affordable housing project get going. Yes, I am gonna vote yes on this one for sure. Thank you all for being here and supporting it. I move to adopt the proposed consistency statement dated September 15th, 2026 contained in the agenda materials and to approve the zoning amendment with the adoption and effective dates described in the agenda item under recommended action. Second.

All in favor of the motion, aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. That is unanimous. Thank you. Excited to see come to fruition. Next, we have petition annexation AX1726.

Good afternoon. Hannah Reckow, Planning and Development. This item, AX1726, goes with your next item, Z1826. So I'll present on them together. This is 6918 Pool Road. It is just under two acres in size. Currently outside of our ETJ, but contiguous to city limits. The property directly to the east is the Banks 20 planned development, which was approved several years ago. The proposed use for this site is a future fire station. See the location along Pool Road here. location inside the annexation eligibility boundary. It is in an area with known fire service considerations, but again, the proposed use is a fire station. Moving on to the rezoning, this site currently has Wake County zoning, R30. The proposal is to rezone to Raleigh zoning, R10. You can see a little bit more of that context and the location east of where Pool Road crosses the Neuse River. The requested district is a general use district. So this table does reflect the full range of uses that the entitlement under that general use district. It is consistent overall with the comprehensive plan, inconsistent with the future land use map designation, which is low scale residential. Some consistent policies. Inconsistent policies are touching on that future land use map inconsistency and then the known fire service considerations in this area. Being inconsistent with the future land use map approval would amend the map, in this case to public facilities. And then finally, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval. With that, I'm happy to answer any questions about either of these two requests.

Okay, any questions? All right, I will open the hearing. And we have Anne Anderson.

I'll be brief, OK? Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. I'm Anne Anderson of the Morning Star Law Group. I'm here on behalf of the property owner who, for practical purposes, is Mungo Homes. And we acknowledge that this one's a little different. We are asking for annexation and rezoning of property, not for our own use, but so that the city can build much-needed fire infrastructure. And as you can see, and as Ms. Raquel said, thank you very much, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve this project, and we ask you to do the same. I can answer any questions that you have, but otherwise I'll keep it brief. Okay. Thank you.

Any questions for Ms. Anderson? Okay, I'll go ahead and close the petition annexation hearing, and then we can open the rezoning. Did you have anything additional to present, and did you have anything? Not unless you have questions for me. Okay, so here's opening the rezoning, closing. All right, questions or motions?

Just move for approval of the annexation of AS 1726. Second.

All in favor of that motion, aye.

Aye.

All opposed, nay. And that is unanimous. Thank you.

And for Z1826, I move to adopt the proposed consistency statement dated September 15, 2026, contained in the agenda materials, and to approve the zoning amendment with the adoption and effective dates described in the agenda items under recommended action. This approval is also deemed an amendment to the future land use map to the extent described in the adopted consistency statement. Second.

All in favor of the motion, aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. And that is also unanimous, thank you. Okay, final item is text change TC-426, minor and exempt subdivision regulations.

Good afternoon again, Justin Romero with Planning and Development. This is the proposed adoption of TC-426, minor exempt subdivisions. This was an item that was brought to you not too long ago, back in July. It was a text change that was authorized to do two primary objectives. The first was to adopt an exemption from state law that allows certain types of subdivisions to be exempt from our development regulations. The second was to create a process for a minor subdivision. Text change is being proposed primarily to expand housing choice, hopefully by reducing barriers to certain smaller scale subdivisions and developments. It's intended to do that by creating opportunities for more modest residential development, removing some of the barriers and costs that are associated that can be disproportionate to some of the smaller developments as opposed to a larger greenfield subdivision. So starting with the exempt subdivision, This comes directly from state law. You can see North Carolina General Statute 160D802 on the screen. It provides five exemptions to the definition of subdivision. The city currently utilizes three of the five of those, but does not utilize numbers four and five on the screen there. That goes back to some Special legislation the city has from the night from the 50s that allow us to treat basically all subdivisions the same The first of those is when a tract of land that's no greater than two acres in size is being split into no more than three Lots and no new streets being dedicated and of course those Lots do have to meet our dimensional requirements of the zoning code and The second would be a lesser utilized provision, but it allows the division of tracts in accordance with a probated will or intestate succession to be exempt as well. So procedurally, you can see the steps that are required for any type of subdivision that gets approved today. It is a multi-step process. By adopting these exempt subdivision regulations, that would essentially remove those first two steps there. It would thereby be kind of significantly beneficial in terms of time and cost to an applicant and resources to staff as well. So as an example, here's a 1.37-acre parcel in North Raleigh. If a property owner wanted to split that into three lots, this is R4 zoning, so it could be split into three about 0.46-acre tracks. Those meet the minimum lot width and depth dimensions of our UDO. This could be done as an exempt subdivision as it meets all those criteria on the screen and that we just went over. The minor subdivision piece is another tool that's available to us that many other jurisdictions use. It allows for kind of an intermediate step between that exempt process and a larger development. We do have control over the eligibility requirements for a minor subdivision. directly defined, but what we are proposing would be what's on the screen here to allow them only when the lot abuts in existing local streets. Those are the smallest classification of streets we have, typical in residential neighborhoods throughout the city, not on major thoroughfares or mixed-use streets. It would be limited to residential zoning districts, be limited to no more than six lots, and have that same provision as exempt subdivisions with not allowing any new public streets. And then to prevent the kind of process of kind of iterating these minor subdivisions to create more and more lots, there's a limitation that only one in every five years could be recorded. Minor subdivisions would be subject to some level of public improvements, albeit reduced, as opposed to the straight exemptions for the previous example. Sidewalks would be required. In some cases, they would actually have to be constructed as opposed to a fee in lieu being taken by the city in areas where walkability is more desired or existing. So if a development is contiguous to an existing sidewalk, the new development would be responsible for it then. If it's located within a quarter mile of these amenities, like schools, greenways, libraries, existing or planned transit service, sidewalks would need to be constructed as well. And then finally, if the site is located within a quarter mile of transit stop or a BRT station. So going back to our process diagram, the minor subdivision would essentially be able to skip that first step, the preliminary approval. Still significant as that is generally one of the more time consuming steps in the process. So going back to that same parcel before, if an applicant, property owner wanted to divide that into up to five lots, this site could not accommodate six under the R4 zoning. But it could accommodate five compliant lots. They could do that through this minor subdivision process. This, again, meets all those criteria that we just referenced. Here are those reduced standards that minor subdivisions would be responsible for. Essentially a 44-foot right-of-way. Today, the smallest right-of-way for a local street, I think, is 55 feet. And we have the six-foot sidewalk and six-foot planning strip that is required today. They would be responsible for a five foot sidewalk three and a half foot planning strip Contextually that matches many of the older neighborhoods and existing infrastructure in the city. So that's the reasoning for those numbers A lot of these proposals are modified, or excuse me, modeled after existing ordinances throughout the state. As I mentioned, nearly every jurisdiction in the state, if not everyone, utilizes the exempt subdivision process other than Raleigh. Many also use this minor subdivision process. Durham's Small Homes and Small Lots program has created nearly 300 lots primarily through the exempt process and their minor subdivision process, which is similar in that it allows up to six lots as long as no new streets are being dedicated. Here's some examples from Durham. I believe we showed these last time. Nothing inherently unique or special about this type of development, and we do have some of this type of development in Raleigh, but typically what we would see on this more often because of our existing regulations would be one or two larger single-family homes as opposed to four smaller ones or, in this case, duplexes. That concludes my presentation. Happy to answer any questions you have.

Okay, questions? Yep, go ahead.

How widespread do you think this would be utilized in our current city, if this change were to happen?

I think it would be heavily utilized. I think it is very significant in terms of the reduced costs and removing some of those barriers would encourage certain sites to be subdivided that might not otherwise Looking back through the last year, we've had about two dozen of those subdivisions that would be classified as at exempt level. So two to three lot splits. We would expect that number to increase.

If I might add to Mr. Mehta's comments, Pat Young with Planning and Development. A big part of the intention of this, Councilmember, to your point, is to allow homeowners who want to do lot splits and small-scale development for maybe their family members or for their community church members, and for small developers, right? There's a kind of, Durham's had these rules in place now for five or six years and have developed kind of an ecosystem of builders that use these provisions over and over again. And they've made representations to me that they're ready to come to Raleigh, right? And for Raleigh developers, first time startup developers to get trained and exposed to this, to use these provisions. So that's, I just wanted to note that Based on the example in Durham.

We think it'll be really highly used very successful Okay other questions before I open the oh, yes councillor Patton I have a handful I think maybe building off of councilmember branches point on these It seems like four or five and six splits It's like only in residential, not where Street Plan Street is called for, not near a school, Greenway, et cetera. So there are all these places where you would not trigger it. So I am curious if you have a sense of how much land area is unlocked once we've kind of removed all the people who won't, parcels that won't qualify.

So the eligibility requirements are what you see on the screen. So any site that meets these could go through the minor subdivision process. Those further criteria, I think you're referring to these that are mentioned here, are areas where if you are a minor subdivision, you still have to build your sidewalk.

Okay, so you can still go through the minor subdivision process, but at the end of the process, you have to produce the sidewalk.

Correct, as opposed to just potentially paying a fee in lieu for a sidewalk, which is taken sometimes. The intent here is that in areas where walkability is desired, we would actually get the pedestrian infrastructure as part of the subdivision.

Okay, okay, helpful. And sorry, one more. Roughly how much time for both the parts, roughly how much time is saved if these are adopted?

So if we go back to our process diagram here, Generally, that first step, the preliminary plan approval, is a three to six month process, whether that's a two to three lot split or a four to ten lot split. Okay. So at least that amount of time.

Thank you. I do want to highlight that in the questions we asked about this, in that 23 developments that you mentioned, that also it created 50 to 70 lots. So that's a really impressive number of homes that could have been added. I do have a question about stormwater. As we increase density, and I know in five points we have a lot of, maybe some potential for this to be an area where this is utilized. Will you walk me through what the UDO would require with the stormwater concerns with that increased density on smaller lots?

I will say none of these changes here would amend or change any of our existing stormwater regulations. I don't know if Ben is coming down to the podium or if he's leaving. Don't leave, Ben. I think he could speak to those in more detail.

Good afternoon. No, this is something that we've talked to our partners in Durham and Charlotte and a few other places about. The stormwater regulations are going to remain in place for these developments. It's just going to get pushed back at a different time for us to check it. It'll be more like the building permit time and that time prior to the subdivision happening, so it still will save some time on the applicant side with that. Awesome.

Thank you so much.

Okay. We'll open the hearing, and I have eight people signed up for the eight-minute slot for the support and nobody in opposition. So Hannah Mull, Tyler Metz, Jamie Ferguson, Harold Yell, Aaron Yelly, James Holloway, Daniel Coleman, and Danielle Plard.

Hey, everybody. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you. Councilman Silver, thank you to the rest of the council for looking into this matter. I've been pursuing this for three years. And I got into this pursuit as a result of... Mr. Holloway and his family, classic example. He had about an acre and a half. He wanted to put his daughter on one lot, his sister-in-law on one lot, and his cousin on another lot right next to his house. And I submitted a subdivision plan because at that time, all of North Carolina had adopted state law. Two acres or less, three lots or less. And at the end of the first review, he was told that he was going to have to spend $250,000. to improve Forestville Road at a median, two lanes, eight-foot bike lane, and a 10-foot sidewalk. That's what I'm trying to avoid. That's why I came to you, and I appreciate you taking my meeting last year, Madam Mayor. And I hope that y'all support this. And as far as the minor subdivision, I helped... comment on it too, and I'm in support of the adoption. I think it'll help Raleigh and the housing. So if I could get y'all to vote for it, I'll love you forever. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

I love it. Hey, y'all. Good afternoon. My name is Hannah. I am a Raleigh resident, and also I am representing City Builder. to make our statement about this. Raleigh made the deliberate decision in 1955 to regulate small subdivisions differently from the rest of North Carolina. We know that planning decisions from this era were intentionally used to make lots larger, more expensive, and to exclude people from our neighborhoods. We have actively pursued undoing many of these prejudice-based planning decisions today. This should have been fixed a long time ago. Right now, currently creating two to three infill lots in Raleigh requires the same subdivision process as creating a 400 lot subdivision. Small local builders who want to build this kind of housing cannot make these projects work within the process that takes a year or more. Instead, they take those projects to Durham, like you just heard, where the exempt plats are approved within a matter of weeks. These are the homes that Raleigh is simply missing. The rule change in front of you restores exempt plats and creates a minor subdivision process that recognizes the scale of these projects. It won't solve every barrier to small-scale development, but it is important and an overdue step. Please support this text change and help us build homes in Raleigh.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, mayor and council members. Thank you so much. This spring, I'm Danielle Plourd. I'm with the Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors. We represent about 10,000 realtor members across Wake and Harnett County. This spring, we surveyed 500 registered voters across this county. 76% of them told us that housing affordability is a big problem here. 82% said that they're aware that essential workers in this community can't afford to live where they work. And then they also said that affordable to them means that houses under $250,000 need to be available. That was 35% of our respondents. The median home price in Wake County is now well over $400,000, and that gap is a supply problem. It's a for-sale supply problem specifically. This tax change helps. Council's already allowed duplexes, cottage courts, and townhomes in our residential districts. but you can't build them until the lots exist. And by creating these lots, it means that they have to have a full subdivision review on a three-lot split. This fixes that for small projects while keeping the standard site plan review and street requirements in place. More lots means more homes people can buy, and we ask that you support this. Thank you. Thank you.

Good day, Mayor Cowell and Council. My name is Jamie Ferguson. I'm a proud Raleigh resident, a housing and connectivity advocate, a realtor, and a developer of missing middle and creative housing. I support TC-426 because it removes unnecessary barriers to creating housing in the neighborhoods we already have. By making small-scale development and missing middle housing easier to create, we will naturally expand attainable housing choices, support thoughtful and considerate infill, and make better use of existing land and infrastructure already in place. I urge Council to adopt TC-426 and continue removing barriers so that we can create housing choices that Raleigh very, very much needs. Thank you all. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Council, James Holloway, resident of Raleigh. I am that person, minor subdivisions. They came today. They started this process way before I did, was a part of it. In 2019, I purchased property, and then there was property right next to me, 1.35 acres of land that was available for purchase. I purchased that property with the idea of having family move next to me, divided that property into three lots, and that property has still been sitting there ever since 2019. So when we talk about minor subdivisions, subdivisions, I've lived that process. I looked at the minor subdivision process online and I said, oh, my God, I got to be independently wealthy in order to be able to do this. As you know, those things that are attached to minor subdivisions like sidewalks and other things. I could not afford to do this. My dream was to purchase that property next to me so that my relatives, three out of those four relatives are military veterans. I'm a military veteran of 27 years myself. My wife is a military veteran of 22 years. And I pride myself in serving my country. And I certainly hope that you all will consider doing something to at least change or consider changing the minor subdivision so that we as small, average people, once we get a certain age, we don't need as much property. To a point, we don't need as much house. And so to have your family next to you, to be able to assist you and be able to live in your house throughout your remaining life, I have more life in front of me, behind me than I did in front of me. So if my daughter's living next to me, she can assist in my care. I had a heart attack in July of this year, and I need that. So when we talk about me, the average person, not just me. I don't want any favoritism, but I think that we need to look at the smaller people in Raleigh that chose Raleigh as a home, that have property that could possibly turn this into an opportunity for family to live next to you and allow us to live our last years in our home. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Dan Coleman, 517 Rock Quarry Road. You know, Councilman Silver, Mayor Cowell, and subsequently, Councilperson Jones, Harold and I met with you at different times trying to push the city to adopt the state standard. Please adopt the state standard. Thank you.

OK. Yep, still got time. Got 25 seconds.

Land Surveyor in Raleigh, North Carolina, appointed with upholding the standards you have in place. The standards you currently have in place, our company will not do minor, small subdivisions in the city of Raleigh. There's other work around. We just won't do them. So it kind of leaves out members of our community from even following this rule.

Yep.

Thank you.

Thank you. All right. That concludes the speakers. So I will go ahead and close the hearing.

That's fine. I have a question for one of the speakers. And actually, it's for Mr. Coleman, because I know at a public planning commission, you spoke in opposition. And there's now your four. Can you help me understand the change? Are you calling him?

You know, I love Councilman Cory Branch. I remember when we were sitting up here, and Cory wasn't on the council, and Weeks was up there, and a transfer was on the agenda, and I introduced Cory that night as the next councilperson for District C to Weeks' detriment. No, at the Planning, I have a breathing problem. At the Planning Commission, I differentiated by saying that if you're going to expand it, the stormwater that you brought up was necessary. Corey, I don't want to be inconsistent, and I appreciate you bringing up the fact that it seems like I'm being inconsistent, but I think if you look at the minutes, I'm very consistent. Thank you.

Okay. Okay. Is there further dialogue, or does somebody want to make a motion?

Well, I was just going, yeah, I was just from Stormwater. I guess you're good with this proposal, the way it's set up and everything. And our infill rules will protect our neighborhoods. Yes.

Stormwater has reviewed and we are good. Okay. All right, I'll go ahead and make a motion. I just want to say, I wish we had done this a long time ago, so I'm sorry I sat here for seven years and left this untouched, but I'm glad we'll be joining the ranks of pretty much the entirety of the rest of the state. So I move to adopt the proposed consistency statement dated September 15, 2026, containing the agenda materials and to approve the zoning text amendment.

Second. All in favor of that motion, aye.

Aye.

All opposed, nay. And that is unanimous. Thank you all. All right. Next, we have the different committees, but there is nothing pending, so I will start with Councilor Fort for the report of the Bay Area and City Council.

No report. Quality NC Gala is this Saturday. I will be there. Hope to see some of you. And other than that, no report. There we go.

I have two quick things for staff that both can be done through manager's update probably. One, North Carolina repealed parking minimums at a statewide level and gave back the stormwater authority as part of that. And I want to just, I'm sure staff's already on this, but understand what code amendments might be needed to utilize the new authorities we've just regained. And then also, I believe this is something that staff is also already on, but I am interested in how our code enforcement policies might like need modification or updates to match more like prairies, wildflower meadows, drought-resistant type plantings. We know there needs to be some order and structure so we don't have pests on people's properties, but want to make sure that we're being responsive to the type of landscaping that we want to move to for the longevity of our water supply. So just want to see what areas of possibility might be possible there.

No report.

No report. I just have a few things. As I am the liaison for our stormwater team, I did send an email out to council about something that I'd like our stormwater advisory council to work on. So I would like to say, as Raleigh continues to densify and experience more intense weather events, we need to ensure our development regulations are keeping pace, particularly when it comes to sensitive sites. And to that end, I would like to propose and motion that we direct the Stormwater Management Advisory Commission to review the UDO, the Unified Development Ordinance, and associated stormwater regulations through their expertise as staff, and then report back with any recommendations for strengthening our stormwater management standards. I move to do all that.

And just, I think I laud your effort. I also wonder in terms of the down zoning bill, how does that intersect? I mean, are we able to do?

anything well I think that through this is the discussion so the goal of this would be to send this to the the team the Advisory Council to discuss and bring back any recommendations so there's no record there's nothing that would change right away it would be just open the discussion so that we can learn maybe there are those issues and we can if possible strengthen what we can do is conditions

My only concern as I look through the Stormwater Management Advisory Commission work plan, there is reference to reviewing policies and codes. I always get nervous when an advisory board is giving an assignment that really is primarily a staff role. My hope was with the expertise of stormwater state regulations. This is something I believe, you know, when I was plan director, we reviewed our code annually through conditions and zoning cases. And so certainly I believe there's a role for the Stormwater Advisory Commission. That is a heavy lift to go through the UDO when our staff is constantly looking to making sure it's consistent with state statutes, there's best and next practices involved. So, I mean, I'm... I understand the desire because Stone Ward's important, but giving it to an advisory commission and not staff, I just believe, and I don't know if staff can weigh in or city manager, that this could be done jointly, but to me this is something that should be done on a regular basis. It is part of their work plan, but to me I'm not sure giving it explicit direction unless I know, you know, what The intent is over time when the stormwater division and planning is to ensure as we grow that we protect it from harm of stormwater and that the city's plan appropriately. So that's why I'm conflicted. I understand the concern and I do support my colleague, but I'm just wondering how does that process unfold?

So I think the request came a couple weeks ago, and we talked about it, and I do think it will be a collaborative approach to this. It's more of a review and not, I think the word direct is really strong in that regard. So staff can obviously work with the advisory group to look at, and pretty much like you've done with some of the rest of your groups, is break it up by section. and kind of review it through it that way. And they work together to look at where there can be some efficiencies gained and then bring it back forward to this board for any decisions that are made.

Agreed. I mean, why are we going to do that? I guess my... Normal concern is that we have stormwater regulations, but then every zoning case, we re-litigate the entire ordinance, and then there are additional stormwater regulations. I think it may be appropriate to find out, is that appropriate? Do we want to have a one-off every zoning case? My hope is that when we have an ordinance, it covers all the development standards, but it seems that there's always something different or extra or over. So I'm fine looking at it, but I agree that it should be balanced between staff taking the lead with the advisory commission giving their cursory review. So I'm fine with it, but I do agree direct because it's in their work plan. Basically it's just saying please exercise what's already in your work plan.

Yeah, I just want to add that we do have a lot of experts on the Advisory Commission, and I liked how the Police Advisory Board has picked up, like, you know, three or four policies to review each year. I think that's manageable, and certainly to work in coordination with our staff. So if you need a second, I'm seconding.

Awesome. Thank you.

We don't need to bet on anything, right? I mean, in terms of a second, yeah.

Oh, okay, perfect. And just to close that, I have just a few more. Our Decoding Democracy Book Club will meet on Saturday, October 10th at the Continental in District B from 9.30 to 11.30 a.m. We will continue our discussion and we will be moving on to Chapter 3.2. DISTRICT E's COMMUNITY MEETING WILL BE HELD WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14TH FROM 6 TO 8 P.M. AT LA CUSINA ITALIAN RESTAURANT. COME JOIN US FOR DINNER AND CONVERSATION. AND THEN LASTLY, I LAST FRIDAY WAS ABLE TO BE WITH THE GUATEMALAN CONSULATE AND WE RECEIVED THIS AWARD. JUST CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION TO THE CITY OF RALEIGH JUST IN APPRECIATION FOR OUR EMBRACE OF GUATEMALA DAY, WHICH IS TODAY. I want to take a moment to recognize that Tuesday, September 15th, marks Guatemalan Independence Day, commemorating the 205th anniversary of Guatemala's independence from Spain in 1821, alongside several of its Central American neighbors. Guatemalan culture and heritage are vibrant, part of our community here in Raleigh, from the traditions of marimba music and antorcha torch relay, to the many families and small businesses that call our city home. So I want to recognize and celebrate the contributions of our Guatemalan American neighbors and wish them a joyful and meaningful Independence Day in addition to our Spanish Heritage Month, which starts today as well. Thank you.

Just ask that we do look to plan the community update on the Bus Rapid Transit where we are since we've kind of started and other than that, no report.

We'll have a District D Neighborhood Alliance meeting on Saturday, September 26th at 9.30 a.m. And the topic will be the affordable housing bond. So please come out if you want to talk about that.

Okay. Next we've got appointments.

Good afternoon. Jumping right in, first is Arts Commission, one regular vacancy. Councilmember Silver nominated Jennifer Moran, so that will be coming back on your next ballot. Next, Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, one regular vacancy. Jason Dale received six votes, so would be appointed there. Lastly, under Appointments, Design Review Commission, two alternate vacancies. Andrew Osterlund received eight votes, so would be appointed. And Council Member Jones nominated Elijah Geis, so that remaining alternate vacancy will be coming back on your next ballot. Next, the only thing under Nominations, Parks, Recreation, and Greenway Advisory Board, two regular vacancies. Two members, their terms are expiring, but they would like to be considered for reappointment. That's Steve Breckbiel and Carrie Hasbrook.

Move to reappoint. Second. All in favor of the reappointments, aye. Aye. All opposed, nay, and that's unanimous. Okay, the report and recommendation of the city attorney.

Good afternoon, Mayor, members of council. This is a follow up. Okay, there it is. This is a follow up to the question raised at the table at the August 18th council meeting regarding improperly parked bikes and scooters. And while information was provided in the September the fourth manager's update, I wanted to take a few minutes to follow up on that request. Specifically, I want to highlight how residents can report improperly parked bikes and scooters, what happens after a report is made, what the compliance data shows, and what else the city is doing to improve parking compliance. And with that, we'll start with reporting. So there are two ways that you can report. First, you can go to Ask Raleigh, to our Ask Raleigh portal. And that, what you see on the screen, is basically when you go to the portal, what you would see in order to report. So you would click under the bikes and scooters. It will take you to another page, ask you for a location. We also have some signs that have been strategically placed around the city. And my friend Bradley... HMRL is showing you what that looks like. It includes a QR code. You scan the QR code. It asks you the same information in terms of reporting. Thank you for having me. So then what happens after you report? Once the report is submitted, it goes to the city as well as to the operator of the micro-mobility vehicle, so whether that's a scooter or a bike. And it creates a timestamp. And pursuant to our rules and regulations, they have two hours to remove the bike or scooter. This also gives us the opportunity to, stay right there. This also gives us an opportunity, no, go back, I'm sorry. But this also, it does two things for us. In addition to starting the clock so that we see when the device is removed, it also gives us a tracking mechanism. So as you can see there, we've had, since 2025, February, specifically 2025, we've had more than 300 parking related reports. Generally, our data shows that the offending vehicle is removed between the one and two hours mark. In addition, the operator has the ability to notify the the user that where they left that vehicle was improper and issue warnings. And so they've issued 2,300 warnings. In addition, they have a graduated warning system. After the second warning, then the user is cited. And we've had about 40 users that have been fined. But generally what we find is that most people comply once they're notified. But let's talk about what we're doing going forward. In order to try to avoid having those scooters and bikes strewn all over everywhere, we are in the process of creating new parking corrals. We expect by the end of 2026 to have over 70 designated parking corrals. Those are also, the operators are also importing that data into their app so that users also know where they need to park those vehicles and we hope that this will help to eliminate the improper parking of those vehicles. Then just on another unrelated but slightly related issue related to micromobility, if you'll recall that the July 7th city attorney's report, I talked about e-bikes and we talked about there was legislation that was pending related to the classifications of e-bikes. That legislation did pass, and so we are in the process of reviewing our city code to see what changes need to be made. We anticipate bringing those back to you in late October or early November. And with that, I'll answer any questions. And if I can't answer the questions, Bradley is standing by. All right.

We'll start with Council Branch.

Yeah, so one of my concerns are no scooters and really bikes in places outside of downtown, in different places. Is there a way where maybe there's some type of identifier? So if I'm driving, there's a number or something I can see on it. So when it's reported, we can say, hey, there's scooter 12 and others 12. Sitting on Rockari Road Bridge because that has happened. So if there's some way Safely in this is distinguishable where these numbers can be placed on these that we can identify it because sometimes people are moving in transit and they're not able to Scan a code.

Okay, that's it. That's a good. That's a good point. And we'll talk to the vendor about that. Okay

Yeah, just one question on legality of where scooters can be ridden. So my understanding is they should only be on our streets and not our sidewalks when you're riding them. Can you confirm that? that is correct okay so i know i see a lot of folks riding these on the sidewalks and i get it because it can feel scary to ride on the street depending on where you are but i just give my own example i was hit by a car when i was younger and it was because i was riding my bike on the sidewalk And when you're riding and you're just going a little bit faster than what people expect and they're coming out of a driveway or doing the turn, they don't recognize that you're there. So I'm just throwing it out there. I know it's been an issue on Hillsborough Street around campus. The speed is just a little bit different than what people anticipate. So I think that's an issue, too, that we're going to have to kind of watch. Can I add a couple of things? Yep.

First of all, thank you for this because I do know that council member for it for this. Thank you this end of the table Council report raised a good issue. You know, you've got some folks that may have not able-bodied or mobility challenge and so if you need the assistance of a wheelchair any other device or you're elderly or disabled, encountering anything in your way is a difficult obstacle. So we absolutely need to be doing everything we can to coerce good, proper behavior. On the other side, I just want to also point out that There are a ton of poor car users that park illegally, and they speed, and they cause accidents. And so I think picking on sometimes micromobility and scooters, not saying it's happening here, but I'll get emails, because I've been the scooter guy, about how this is in front of my building. I get it. If you're able-bodied, you can move them. Like if I see one on the sidewalk, I move it out of the way. I think we all have a shared responsibility as a community to take care of our community. Just same thing if you see a piece of trash on the street, pick it up or report it as litter. So we need to be doing this to make sure that they're parked in the right places. and that they're not a nuisance to people and they're not a safety hazard and and folks can get around the city particularly folks that need the assistance but i also want to point out that they do unlock access to places for people who don't have a car or or or car light and so we need to find the sweet spot i went to austin texas 2019, then I got elected to council and I was the big scooter advocate, but I've always used that as an example. Maybe they've gotten it better, but when I went to Austin, it was like the how not to scooters. It was like a scooter graveyard. There were just mountains of them piled up everywhere. And so I think what we've done in these high traffic areas with the parking corrals and the mandatory parking. I think that's great. To your point, Council Member Harrison, I'm the annoying guy that'll yell at people when they're riding their scooter on the sidewalk. I feel personal responsibility for it. But the reality of it is, is people are riding on the sidewalk is because they don't feel safe in the street. And so that is an infrastructure failure on the city's part. And we are doing a lot with our big leap to make It's safer to get around. But every time we see a scooter on the sidewalk, that is a policy failure. And that is an infrastructure investment failure. And so hopefully it will get better. But we need to just keep hammering home. Don't ride on the sidewalks. Park in the corrals. And again, shared responsibility. If you see a scooter on the sidewalk and you're able-bodied, just move it out of the way. And we'll all get there together. That's all I wanted to add.

The only thing I'll say is just I think the corrals look great. I've been watching them go in all over town. So just thanks to all the staff and the artists who are working on that.

Okay. That concludes my report. Thank you.

Clerk.

Good afternoon, counsel. In your agenda materials, you received draft minutes from the September 1st and September 8th sessions.

Move for approval.

Second. All in favor, aye. Aye. All opposed? Unanimous. Thank you. All right, so I have a motion to enter into closed session pursuant to General Statute 143.318.11a3 to consult with the city attorney in order to preserve attorney-client privilege. So moved. Second. All in favor, aye. Aye. All opposed? So we are now going into closed session.

Thank you.

and council has directed the city attorney to draft a proposed six-month moratorium ordinance for council's consideration on data center development within the city's corporate limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction and to take the steps required by North Carolina law that are necessary to allow the council to adopt it if desired at that meeting. A public hearing on such an ordinance will occur at the October 6, 2026 council meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. And with that, this meeting is adjourned.