Separate post since it’s kind of a separate topic: one of the first things the Community Engagement Board will do is to overhaul how the City handles rezoning cases and asks for public feedback.
The City already knows there’s a ton of issues with how rezoning cases are handled and communicated, how people understand them, and how much information on them is available. This is seen as so important that they will do this before they even decide how to make community committees work (see above post). Their new efforts will include:
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Creating a set of definitions and frequently asked questions about rezoning
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Recruiting and training volunteers at neighborhood meetings, and creating a community of people interested in new developments
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Creating more education programs about how rezoning and development works in Raleigh
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Create an outline and baseline expectations neighborhood meetings. This is so that developers can hold them in more consistent ways (since inconsistent communication seems to be a big issue).
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Better connection to project-specific information. This includes better signage as well as website design so that it’s easier and quicker to learn more about an upcoming project.