Community Engagement in Raleigh

The Pub
364

Adding to my last comment, as a property owner in The West, I am writing city council and I’m happy to share my email below. Also, get a list of current city council member emails at the following:

or CityCouncilMembers@raleighnc.gov

Subject: Support for Rezoning Request at Peace and West Streets

I am writing to express my strong support for the rezoning request concerning 418 & 424 Peace Street, and 708, 714, 716, 722, 726, 804, and 818 West Street. As a property owner at 618 W North Street (Unit 618), I respectfully urge you to approve this request.

This decision should be guided by what is best for the future of Raleigh, rather than opposition rooted in neighborhood resistance (NIMBYism). Downtown Raleigh is uniquely positioned to support increased density due to existing infrastructure and amenities. The proximity to Publix, the R-Line, Glenwood South, Smoky Hollow, and immediate access to Capital Boulevard makes this location ideal for smart, walkable growth.

Approving this rezoning will have several tangible benefits for the city:

  • Economic Efficiency: Higher downtown density lowers the per-capita cost of city services and infrastructure, easing the overall tax burden.
  • Traffic and Environmental Impact: Concentrated development reduces reliance on cars, leading to fewer vehicle miles traveled and lower emissions, as compared to growth pushed outward into suburban sprawl.
  • Sustainable Growth: Studies show that urban sprawl can increase infrastructure costs by up to 40% compared to dense development, and suburban residents can drive up to 30% more than urban residents, significantly adding to congestion and road maintenance needs.
  • Vibrancy and Opportunity: Urban density supports thriving local businesses, job creation, and a more dynamic, inclusive city fabric.

If we do not allow for reasonable, well-planned downtown density, growth will inevitably push further into suburban and rural areas. This leads to higher public costs, increased car dependency, and a less sustainable future for Raleigh.

Most opposition to these types of rezonings comes from a small but vocal minority whose concerns, while understandable, do not represent the broader best interests of the city as a whole. It is critical that we prioritize data-driven, long-term city planning over the instinctive resistance to change.

Please support this rezoning request — not just for today’s residents, but for the sustainable and prosperous Raleigh we are all striving to build.

Thank you for your consideration,

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365

Aren’t we still months away from this hitting council? Maybe all the voices for the rezoning don’t want to waste the council time with unnecessary emails. :grinning_face::grinning_face:

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366

Disagree - sounds like they’re getting a lot of people opposed to the rezoning already flooding their inboxes…last thing we want is for any councilors to think that the majority of residents agree with that vocal minority

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367

To reiterate my point: I don’t really care if the councilors “think” the majority of residents “agree” with a vocal minority OR even disagree with them - does the proposal itself make sense for the long-term goals of urbanization and increasing housing supply in the immediate downtown area? If so, then the answer is simple: approve the rezoning, get the park funded, and do what is best for the entire city. Full stop.

That’s why we vote for City Councilmembers; to make the BEST and most IMPACTFUL decisions ON OUR BEHALF. All of our behalf. Not just the “vocal minority of residents” who happen to be spamming their emails which we all know damn well is NOT representative of the city as a whole. Public input can make people (the public) “feel good” … but I am getting sick and tired of the Council making decisions based solely on public input and not, you know, logic and long-term goals in mind. Public input, in that sense, is more often a detriment than anything helpful or forward-thinking.

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368

@Jake I agree. How long, if it hasn’t already happened, before people start gamifying this by using chatgpt to write and send out super detailed and varying emails to councils to shift their opinion? The number of emails they get on an issue shouldn’t shift their opinion.

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369

A big part of me wants to write a sarcastic email to council that exposes the ridiculousness of the NIMBY arguments. I’d include things like not liking to look at their single family neighborhood outside my condo window, or the fact that I don’t want any of their cars in my walkable neighborhood, or that I don’t want new single family homes being built on their lots because it diminishes my urban experience. I’d also ask council to give me a transition zone outside of downtown proper and in their neighborhood so that I can minimize their car dependency influence and traffic in my urban neighborhood.
Alas, I won’t be sending that email.

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370

Please do :man_bowing:
It would make my day, week and month more :wink::+1:t2:

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371

Councilors of course are legally allowed to decide their vote on any non-corrupt criteria.

As a councillor, would it be “triangulation” to vote down a project you actually are OK with, if you think a yes vote would seriously compromise your re-election chances? Yes, it would - but politics is messy. I’d rather have a council that is mostly supportive of development but occasionally bows to pressure, than a wave of Livable Raleigh types who would refuse every upzoning request that comes across their desk.

Now in this case, I don’t think this project is enough to sway the entire city into Liveable Raleigh’s camp. However it’s something every politician realistically should be thinking about.

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372

I agree with this comment. Also, like anything else we usually hear from the nays. Those who are ok with it or have no comment, don’t say anything typically. I have found we basically have one or two groups in Raleigh who would oppose it unless it happens to be a SFH or some other low density development. It takes a lot of energy and time with the same tired complaints.

373

Please put this in an email and send it to city council lol.

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374

The fact that I could easily send thousands of emails to city council on my own with little effort… I honestly would lose some respect for council members if they decide based on email input at all. Phone calls, and in person feedback is different.

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375

…and yet, still not the #1 thing I want CC members to base their votes and decisions on.

  1. Is the proposal in line with the long-term goals of urbanization? :white_check_mark:
  2. Will it increase housing supply? :white_check_mark:
  3. Is the proposal including any conditions that benefit the city beyond the development itself? (in this case, additional park funding) :white_check_mark:

It’s really that simple, IMO.

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376

Yeah, my point is not exclusive of yours, and I agree with you. my frustration is that council members post here about the ratio which implies they care about emails at all.

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377

I believe there’s only one council member that posts here (perhaps others read) and my guess is that Jonathan is simply suggesting that having more positive support for this project via email sent to his peers will be helpful. I can tell you with some confidence that Jonathan is not basing his decision on a flood of NIMBY emails.

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378

I participate in the online surveys whenever I find them, and the feedback on these surveys seems to trend more positive. It sounds like emailing and attending in-person meetings are a few potential avenues that supporters are missing and we could be better about using. (Maybe it’s a generational thing. I read the advice “email your representative”, but whenever I do I get a form letter back and pretty much expect it to be ignored.)

Are there any other high-impact avenues that we are missing? Also, is there any particular thing that is helpful to include in emails of support to councilmembers? I usually try to include a bit about why I am in support of dense, walkable urbanism in my survey responses, but I wonder how useful it really is to rattle off a couple of the benefits that the recipients are probably already aware of and have already decided how they feel about, but maybe it really is still helpful to have reminders of the benefits in the face of all the negative sentiment?

379

This doesn’t follow at all. I don’t care about 1 member, I care about the council taking email and email volume into account. Just the fact that Jonathan is here advocating to send emails to his colleagues because it will help, is the problem.

If Jonathan really thinks it will help I have no problem blasting 1000s of pro development generated emails until the end of time.

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I started a thread on Something Awful about it. People put their collective energy into mocking the anti-urban side with photoshop.

NSFW

381

A council member giving us pro-development/pro-density residents advice on how to impact the other city council members is “the problem”? I’m confused.

And I promise he’s not advocating for you to send thousands of emails.

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382
  • I don’t like council weighing email / email volume in their decisions. Reread my first message.
  • Noting and posting about email ratios in itself implies that emails matter.
  • Asking for more emails also implies, you guessed it, emails matter.

Thanks for reading

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383

Emails matter. Clearly. You don’t have to like it, but it’s how some judge public opinions. Knowing this information just helps us better communicate our opinions.

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