I agree with what you’re trying to say (in that it’d be nice, in general, to have a yes-or-no answer for whether a new development project is going to happen). But going back to what you are saying:
The legal version of this (complete with punishments for breaking this) is what zoning codes are. The whole reason why this mess is happening is because Zimmer wants to go against the current zone.
Keep in mind that Raleigh has both a zoning code (a law that the city must enforce) and a Comprehensive Plan (a long-term wish list). The annoying thing about this is the Zimmer proposal matches up with the Comprehensive Plan but not the current zoning code. A lot of backstage problems were corrected in 2013’s Unified Development Ordinance, but that still doesn’t change how the two documents don’t perfectly match up. This is why so many people on this forum talk about their favorite projects don’t get the DX-40’s they deserve.
It’s not like bureaucracy is happening for bureaucracy’s sake, either. You need to separate zoning laws from your dreamy plans because what you want/need to build today doesn’t always equal what you dreamed of 7 years ago.
I said this in the transit threads, and I’ll say it again: if you don’t like this, learn the rules and be in a place to change them. Otherwise,… …I’ll let other people say it: