OUR PATH FORWARD

This past Monday night, following extended consultations with Midtown Neighbors United legal counsel, we announced that MNU was choosing not to pursue legal action to challenge Raleigh City Council’s approval of the North Hills rezoning application Z-34-25.

We understand this may have been surprising and disappointing to many of our members, especially because other community groups in Raleigh have chosen to litigate after other rezoning decisions. Each case presents a unique set of factual and legal issues that must be evaluated under the circumstances.

Litigation is expensive, lengthy, and time-consuming. It is also, by design, an adversarial process. Whatever the merits of the case, the outcome is uncertain.

Considering all of these factors, we concluded the best course of action for achieving our goals was to focus our limited time and resources on daylighting the very significant problems – those currently existing and new ones that will be created by the City’s approval of this irresponsible development.

Just because we are not challenging the City’s legal authority, that does not mean Council’s approval of the Z-34-25 was right, wise, or in the best interests of the future of the City of Raleigh. It was most certainly not in the best interests of our Midtown neighborhoods.

Consider:

• Approval of the rezoning request resulted in an immediate windfall to the developer of an estimated $400 million in entitled land value.

• Development typically adds value to the affected communities; MNU has repeatedly stated its support for responsible development. In this case, the extraordinary level of windfall called for an equally extraordinary level of commitment by the developer to address the known impacts, some known, some hidden or ignored.

What did the City accept in exchange?

• Undisclosed increased tax revenues, which, based on history, will flow out of Midtown to other parts of the City.

• 1 million dollars for its affordable housing fund (0.25 percent of the Developer’s windfall), also flowing out of Midtown where affordable housing is desperately needed.

• 500 thousand dollars for a donation to the City Fire Department, which must relocate the existing North Hills Fire Station, at an estimated cost of 3 to 5 million dollars. The budget and location of the station are currently unknown and unplanned.

• Zero dollars for traffic and transit in North Hills.

This last point deserves further explanation. The City’s own data show traffic congestion in North Hills is real and increasing. This was a major concern expressed by MNU and others in Midtown, given the projected increase in daily trips that will result from approval of Z-34-25. The Developer’s own estimate is 20,000 trips; based on the size and scope of this development, we believe the actual increase will be at least 25-30,000 daily trips.

Rather than make any attempt to deal with that reality, the City chose instead to redefine “traffic” as the “Travel Time” for cars on Six Forks Road between Lynn Road and the Beltline. Voila, North Hills traffic congestion disappeared. Besides the intellectual dishonesty that led to that redefinition, the reality is that there will be no improvements to Six Forks Road or any of the side and neighborhood streets in Midtown in the foreseeable future.

Under these conditions, traffic on Six Forks will be increasingly siphoned to feeder roads and neighborhood streets, which are conveniently outside the scope of review for this development.

This development has been described as “transit oriented.” In reality, it is gridlock oriented. The ballyhooed Midtown Bus Rapid Transit route is still in the early planning stages, with huge issues to be resolved. The project, if ever built, will not be in service for a decade or more. No near-term traffic relief there.

The Multi-modal Bridge, also still in planning, faces similar obstacles of connectivity, funding, and estimated completion – hardly a solution for traffic congestion today or in the near to medium term.

Finally, the Six Forks Road Improvement project was cancelled last summer, not because it wasn’t needed, but because the City couldn’t afford it. Somehow, though, the City was eager to gift a 400 million dollar windfall to a developer without any conditions related to traffic or transit improvement.

Then there’s consistency with the Midtown Area Plan and Urban Form Map. Density is supposed to transition in height from its core to its edge for compatibility with existing neighborhoods. Council determined that tall towers located on the perimeter of the development were “consistent.”  How can tall towers facing single family homes be consistent with responsible City planning?

We are told Midtown is no longer a “suburban” area - it is now “urban.” We say the devil is in the details. These new tall towers will front into the developer’s private property. Their backs – 20 to 37 stories straight up with no setbacks or step backs - will face Six Forks and Lassiter Mill Roads. For a good example see the existing 20 to 30 story towers along the east side of Six Forks Road. No building access from the Main Street of North Hills. No sense of the neighborhoods that have existed here for more than 75 years. No sense of community.

Worse, rather than allowing for the necessary space for truck deliveries, service vehicles, and trash dumpsters within its own space, the developer and its tenants have shown an appetite for appropriating the public right of way for these auxiliary services. As an example see the entirely inadequate loading dock at the Highlands Apartment on Lassiter Mill Road. We won’t be surprised to see the developer apply the same “freebies” strategy for these tall towers which will be squeezed into very small footprints. For similar reasons, we expect the developer’s site plans will rely heavily on placing staging and construction activities in the public right of ways onto neighborhood streets, including very narrow ones such as Rowan. This promises further congestion and neighborhood disruption during years and years of ongoing construction.

Z-34-25 promised a rosy picture of expanding the “vibrant urban environment in North Hills.” The picture we see is an estimated 10 years of continuing construction activity, the ongoing disruption associated with that, and a degraded community environment - followed by permanent gridlock as planned transit “improvements” become hopelessly mired in extended planning delays and prohibitive cost increases that will undermine public support for these promises made way back in 2026.

WHAT WE WILL DO

Midtown Neighbors United will focus our resources on daylighting the negative realities that will accompany Council’s dogged pursuit of this pipe dream for an “urban” North Hills. While exposing the consequences of the massive giveaway to the developer, we will use every tool at our disposal to advocate for a give-and-take approach to dealing with the real-world consequences of this development and others around the City - an approach grounded in authentic public engagement where affected communities have a meaningful voice in determining their futures.

Considering the powerful forces driving Raleigh in the wrong direction, it might be tempting to lose hope for the future. However, concluding that a developer's plan may be “legal” is the lowest possible bar for the City and developers. We will add what is “right,” “wise,” and “the best interests of the future of Raleigh” to the issues driving the conversation. No lawsuit required, just seeking respectful dialogue with a City government and developers willing to engage in good faith with affected communities at risk.

Larry Helfant

Randy Jones

Organizers

Midtown Neighbors United