This article got me thinking about how tax policy and and zoning laws shape not just the density and mix of uses, but can have a profound impact on the form our buildings take.
Do y’all see ways that our policies might be shaping unique outcomes in our city?
In my neighborhood, lots of houses have a huge attic room that is easily converted into a bedroom or family room. This is due to the current restriction of 2 stories for a SFH. The attic room must be below a certain ratio of sqft to the first two floors, and we get lots of houses with very steep, very tall roof lines.
I’m thinking of new houses on tear-down lots in the Midtown area. I’m not sure if its policy or market driven, but most of the old houses built in the 60s have a standard attic that is not a living space. New houses in the area almost always have finished space up top.
Got Ya, we have very few new houses over here in East Raleigh. I can think of ~7 built since 2005 ish. I live in one of the 4 that are 2 stories, and maybe they are what you are talking about. The second story is mostly covered by roofing with a big dormer that doesn’t feel like an attic from the inside? There are 3 single story houses that were built, which don’t look like they have live in attics. Here is the latest 817 N King Charles Rd, 817 N King Charles Rd, Raleigh, NC 27610 | Zillow
But, we have loads of remodels and flips. There are 8 around me that are being flipped right now. It is interesting to see which ones do additions or just remodel and sell. I thought this one was neat 2343 Stevens Rd. Was a 1300 sqft single story. They kept the front facade, stripped to bones, and are building back with a second story. Should look really nice and have more space. You can’t see it from these views, but they saved the old chimney which is cool.
Hey Dwight, I was thinking about the ADU options that are moving at a glacial pace through city council, and one thing that made me think of this is the “1 and 1/2 story options”. The proposal was for a 15’ setback from side and back property for that, and
“20.5’ total/12’ sidewall (habitable space on second level cannot exceed 50% of floor area).”
Wouldn’t this incentivise me to build a “barn style” roof, to help have more headroom/maximizing interior space and keep within a 12" sidewall?
I just saw this new video from Strong Towns about a Tax Assesment Investigation that has been done in Asheville, NC which was really facinating.
They essentially find that homes under ~$300,000 are over assessed for tax purposes while really expensive homes are all under assessed for tax purposes.
Something I have noticed (which would be good to have others track) is that the people who come to speak against lots of the latest rezonings seem to mostly be owners of houses that are assessed way under current market value. It got me thinking that it would be an interesting project to track the difference in current values of those who speak against upzoinings to see how many affordable unites we could build each year by just taxing those people at their current home values .
Rep. Pare, who represents southern Wake County, has introduced a bill that would allow all municipalities in Wake to keep half of the tax revenue they generate, which, on its face, sounds like it makes sense. However, doing this would dismantle the current interlocal agreement and cause everyone in the county to go back to the drawing board. This would, in essence, halt funding for the Lenovo renovations and the new convention center for the foreseeable future.
Raleigh and Wake County, as well as the North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association all oppose this move.
Mecklenburg has a similar agreement to what Pare wants, however, Charlotte takes up the vast majority of Mecklenburg County whereas Raleigh takes up about 19% of Wake’s land area. This was one agreement where we thought about the good of the county as a whole, rather than the individual pieces.
If that comes to pass, I will make sure that I stop spending money outside of Raleigh proper when possible. No more trips to Lidl in Garner for me; I’ll just go north out of downtown to Lidl on Wake Forest Rd.
It’s just astonishing to me how many people in the suburbs are antagonistic toward their central cities.
Also, let me guess: Pare is Republican?
This seems like it would have lawsuit written all over it. Isn’t the Canes lease extension based on them completing the renovations? Either way, maybe Rep. Pare should spend this energy on getting the budget passed. Only a year late!
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