Good news, if it happens.
3 Likes
Main takeaway: Raleigh isnât growing as much.
âAnything we can do to encourage private sector to do housing and projects in general, I think this council wants to see units coming online, and I see the housing market as supply and demandâ
^ From the Mayor in that video message.
Thatâs encouraging to hear when they are going to be voting soon on a rezoning that will encourage more housing from the private sector.
7 Likes
Iâm really hoping council will double down on the missing middle housing and ADU campaign.
There are many neighborhoods in East Raleigh along the BRT corridor that have countless large and small empty lots prime for development (Cottages, duplexes, triplexes, 2-over-2 townhome condos, etc.).
5 Likes
Wake County imports 75,000 workers from surrounding counties, all of whom are still driving on Wake roads. Pushing workers to further-out sprawl doesnât reduce traffic, it makes traffic worse.
8 Likes
I wouldnât say that, we are still seeing lots of migration to the Triangle. The time period of getting ambitious projects to execute is certainly facing headwinds, but thatâs arguably a more national trend.
2 Likes
Raleighâs opportunity to expand by annexation is very limited. For example, a new development of 1750 housing units near Brier Creek was just announced â but the tract is on Durhamâs side of the line. Nor is there much virgin land remaining in Raleigh that is suitable for housing. The race is between increased density in Raleigh (redevelopment and/or highrise) versus continued suburb and exurb expansion. No one really knows who will win that race over the long run and by what margin.
1 Like
curious on this oneâŚwith all the new density in Downtown where do these occupants go to work (assuming low double digit WFH people) lots of nurses riding the BRT to Wake Med? State govt employees if they can even afford to live downtown? Or has whatâs been created is just more outflow of cars from downtown now in the early peak commutes, in parallel to the numerous city and state and bank employees that have flowed into downtown for years now?
My guess is that people who live downtown often commute out of downtown. That said, and as someone who has done that, Iâd add that I suspect that folks are doing several things.
-
commuting off peak if they can
-
WFH some days a week
-
using their cars less often other than work commutes.
At least thatâs how it worked for me.
3 Likes
Or 4. Drive 3 blocks to the office, like my coworker
Oh, thatâs just insane. I purposely donât drive to things downtown.
1 Like
There is plenty of large tracts near Buffaloe Road, Forestville, and Poole/Hodge Road that are in Raleighâs ETJ and future areas under Raleigh planning. Raleigh didnât just installed a new 96â sewer line on eastern side of Neuse River for nothing. Annexations are voluntary now as the State of NC changed the rules. But if you want public water and sewer you bend the knee and ask to be brought into the City limits. The City can defer based on fire/planning/utilties etc and if the track is contiguous to a tract already inside city limits. Sure we wonât have many more Wakefields or Brier Creeks but there are some large projects in review along Hodge Road and Forestville/Buffaloe Road that will be in Raleigh. There is also the tract south of 540/east of 401 to Neuse River that is in planning stages. Some of the division of area near Durham County line was done with no thoughts on serving them fire coverage/water/police/garbage. Page Rd. & World Trade has Durham one side Raleigh across the street and Cary to south. Go figure.
5 Likes
In effect, the annexation laws are basically there to protect the owners of existing homes from paying city taxes. This is why you may see places like Springdale Estates in NW âRaleighâ not being in Raleigh. However, the city knows that developers will ask to be annexed if they want to maximize their parcels (largely for housing) that require city sewer. Theoretically, an existing homeowner may petition to be annexed, but I doubt that the city is going to be interested in annexing in a onesy-twosy sort of way.
1 Like
Yes they are interested in annexing that way if itâs in their ETJ. They do it now along with the other towns in the county.
1 Like
The knife cuts both ways. Even before the General Assembly changed the annexation laws, the City had little or no interest in annexing subdivisions that had private water and sewage systems (as opposed to individual wells and septic fields). If the City were to annex them, the City would be on the hook to put them on City water and sewage. The City would also acquire responsibility for street maintenance that currently is the burden of NCDOT and/or the residents themselves. Most of those older then-countryside subdivisions have street layouts that are far out of compliance with City standards today⌠narrow, no curbs or sidewalks, few or no fire hydrants, etc.
Thereâs a lot of R-2 zoning in Springdale Estates and similar subdivisions, and the proprerty values are only mid-six figures. Not enough incremental tax revenue for the City to bear the costs.
My subdivision is half in the City limits and half not. Home buyers can decide whether they want to pay 69% more property tax in exchange for City services. I chose to live in the City.
Yes, the motivation for the General Assembly to change the laws did indeed come from controversial forced annexations.
I agree there will be growth to the northeast but I donât believe it will offset the growth elsewhere in the County or the adjacent counties. Despite growth of whatever kind, Raleighâs population as a percentage of the MSA will continue to decrease. The question is, how fast.
Itâs not as if cities didnât annex land as it developed in Wake. In Raleighâs case, it was competing for annexation with adjacent municipalities.
As it stands, and from I understand that council has been taught to scrutinize, annexations have to make sense financially for the city. I agree that the city would likely NOT want to annex places like Springdale Estates, I suppose that buyers in Springdale are the sort that donât want to be annexed. Itâs a win/win. That said, I do expect Raleigh to annex parcels planned for substantial residential on request of developers. This will largely occur up and down the east side of the city, and especially as the last segment of 540 is completed.
1 Like
I described 2 ways: ones/twosy, and large scale residential development. Are you saying that they are interested in one or both ways?
Onesy twosy. Been doing that.
Are these cases where the onesy/twosy parcels were already connected to city services? Or, do those who ask to be annexed are charged for those connections? When I watched the entirety of the council retreat back in the Winter, I swear that it was drilled into the councilsâ heads that annexations needed to make financial sense for the city.
If the services are already running by their lot, I believe the residents have to pay to tap onto them. I also believe that they donât have to tap on if they donât want to. They still have to pay the city taxes. So, itâs not really an additional cost to the city.