OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Raleigh City Council Regular Meeting - February 4, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, February 4, 2025
BodyRaleigh, North Carolina
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, February 4, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
1:24

I pledge allegiance to divide the United States of America into the Republic for which it stands.

1:43

Thank you.

1:45

Next we had the consent agenda.

1:47

And I believe there was one item polled, but that no longer needs to be polled.

1:52

Thank you so much.

1:54

No, I'm not going to pull F1 now.

1:56

We had this amazing uh follow-up to questions that we had over the weekend for the agenda items.

2:03

And I just wanted to uh first of all thank that how quick it was to get those responses.

2:08

So thank you guys so much.

2:10

I think as we move forward and we streamline how these questions get answered.

2:14

Um we got this at 1105, so I had already submitted for that to be polled.

2:19

So if there's any way how we can all work together to get those answers prior to 11 o'clock, so I don't keep pulling stuff that doesn't need to, then I'd be really interested to do that.

2:29

But no, I do not need to pull anything.

2:31

Thank you.

2:31

Thanks, Councillor Jones.

2:33

Move to approve.

2:34

Second.

2:35

Okay.

2:35

Any other discussion on the consent agenda?

2:38

If not, all in favor say aye.

2:40

Aye.

2:40

All opposed, nay.

2:42

Right.

2:42

So unanimous.

2:44

And then we go to the report and recommendation of the Planning Commission.

2:52

Good afternoon.

2:55

I am joined as usual by the Planning Commission Chair, Blaine Miller.

3:01

We have a handful of items to walk through with you today in advance of that.

3:06

A preview of upcoming holidays that you might want to be aware of.

3:17

And we currently don't have anything scheduled for public hearing at this time.

3:33

And I will just note that uh the first item there is E1224 Old Cruise Road and Mill Burney Road.

3:38

It's a very large assemblage.

3:40

It includes a concurrent annexation.

3:43

You will see that on your consent agenda next week with a recommended or at the next meeting, excuse me, uh, with a recommended date to match whatever action you take today, so that those will show up on the agenda together.

3:56

Whether you uh go with March 4 or a different day.

4:04

This is a very large request, and it ties right smack dab in the middle of the conversation you had at your retreat about annexation and peripheral development.

4:14

And so um our plan is to bring forward to you a little bit of a different presentation on this one.

4:19

So you have some context that ties into those issues you were discussing uh at the retreat, just to help you inform your decision.

4:28

Right.

4:29

Recognizing that we need to help you with more information than we've been providing previously.

4:33

So again, recommending uh, and this is uh outside the uh ETJ, it is a adjacent to River Town and eligible for annexation because of a um and therefore zoning because of an adjacency to a city-owned property that is not in our corporate limits.

4:52

Planning commission recommended approval by a split vote.

4:55

Again, recommending that March 4 public hearing, and we would bring the annexation at the same time.

5:01

The second item, C 3224, this is a request for change to conditions for a property up in the Triangle Town area.

5:09

The commercial entitlements are really what's changing here.

5:15

So this is a uh But the applicant has advised me they would like to defer setting the public hearing to your next meeting.

5:26

So not the March 4 date that we published in the agenda.

5:30

This item on Lichford Road is a request for just under three acres to go from residential one, which requires about 40,000 square feet uh per unit historically to R 10 with conditions.

5:45

This is uh consistent with the Future Land use map and Planning Commission recommends approval.

5:50

And then we have an item on Chapanoke Road.

5:54

This is uh going from industrial mixed use to a commercial mixed use district uh with TOD and some increase in height as well and some conditions.

6:05

This is inconsistent with the future unions map, but consistent with the plan overall as well as the urban form, particularly the urban form map and planning commission recommends approval.

6:14

This is a property that is Plan for Affordable Housing with some public support from the county.

6:20

Uh so again recommending a March 4 public hearing date.

6:24

What questions can I answer for you before you take action to set public hearings?

6:32

Go ahead.

6:33

Um The dates look fine for the three cases, old cruise, Lichford, and Chapinok to me, unless there's other thoughts from the table.

6:43

Um and then would just ask that some the Sumner Boulevard case be brought back as a special item.

6:47

So revisions can be made and we'll set the hearing at our next meeting.

6:51

All right.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████████████████34%
Public Engagement█████████████████17%
Public Transportation███████████████15%
Arts And Culture█████████9%
Technology and Innovation█████████9%
Miscellaneous█████5%
Community Engagement████4%
Land Use And Zoning███3%
Public Safety███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Raleigh City Council Regular Meeting - February 4, 2025

The Raleigh City Council met on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, in two sessions (1:00 PM afternoon and 7:00 PM evening). The meeting covered consent agenda approvals, rezoning public hearing dates, an update on the e-bike rebate program, annual work plans from the Raleigh Arts Commission, board appointments, and a major discussion on reforming public comment procedures. The council voted on several items, and a motion to change the time and length of public comment failed on a 4-4 tie.

Consent Calendar

  • Sale of Surplus Property: Authorized public sale by electronic auction.
  • City Code Revision: Updated utility extension rules and repealed a fee-in-lieu of construction.
  • Grant Awards: Accepted a Duke Energy Foundation grant for 300 weather radios.
  • Contracts and Services: Approved multiple contracts, including a regional call center agreement (GoTriangle, City of Durham, Town of Cary, Town of Chapel Hill), professional services for Lake Wheeler Road improvements (STV Inc.), final design for Smoky Hollow Park (Hazen and Sawyer), on-call engineering services (HDR Inc.), digester gas system maintenance (DMT Environmental Technology), and annual biometric screenings (WakeMed Hospital).
  • Street Closing: Approved STC-05-2024 for East Whitaker Mill Road right-of-way.
  • Budget Amendments: Approved FY25 midyear budget ordinance amendments.
  • Right-of-Way Items: Authorized GoRaleigh Bus Stop Improvement Program change order and set 9.
  • Bid Award: Awarded contract for Spottswood Street stormwater retrofit and Durant Nature Preserve stream restoration to Fluvial Solutions, Inc.
  • Traffic Items: Reduced speed limits on Laurel Shire Drive, expanded controlled residential parking, and established no-parking zones on Morgause Drive.

The consent agenda was approved unanimously after Councillor Jones withdrew a previously pulled item (F1) due to receiving answers.

Discussion Items

Planning Commission Report

  • Z-12-24 (Old Crews Road & Old Milburnie Road): Large assemblage with concurrent annexation; planning commission recommended approval by split vote. Council set a public hearing for March 4, 2025, with staff planning to provide context on annexation and peripheral development discussed at the retreat.
  • Z-32-24 (4020 Sumner Boulevard): Request to change conditions; applicant deferred setting a public hearing to a later date.
  • Z-36-24 (Litchford Road): Rezoning from R-1 to R-10 with conditions; planning commission recommended approval. Public hearing set for March 4.
  • Z-37-24 (326 Chapanoke Road): Rezoning from industrial mixed-use to commercial mixed-use with TOD; inconsistent with future land use map but consistent with overall plan and urban form; planning commission recommended approval. Public hearing set for March 4.
  • Planning Commission Vacancies: Councillor Jones requested input on desired expertise for new commissioners. Chair Blaine Miller highlighted need for time availability, experience in housing/development (including affordable housing and various housing types), architects, real estate professionals, and legal expertise (her own term ending).

Raleigh E-Bike Rebate Program (City Manager Report)

  • Staff presented history: initial $150,000 (federal grant) funded 150 vouchers (75 income-qualified at $1,500, 75 standard at $500). As of February 3, 2025, 65 vouchers redeemed (52 income-qualified, 13 standard). Uptake was slower than anticipated; voucher redemption period extended to 90 days.
  • New Funding: Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities Grant awarded $80,000 (non-federal) for an estimated 60-80 additional vouchers, drawn from the existing pool of ~1,300 qualified applicants.
  • The council authorized the city manager to execute grant documentation and accept a budget amendment of $80,000. Motion passed unanimously.

Raleigh Arts Commission Annual Work Plans

  • Mary Silver (Arts Commission Chair) reported: 16 artworks added to municipal collection (total 703), 29 calls for artists, 49 exhibitions, 163 events, professional opportunities for 797 artists, 104,400 ceramic objects produced. The commission oversaw $2.94 million in grants, including $2.4 million to 39 nonprofits. The arts industry generates $516 million in annual economic activity.
  • Angela Lombardi (Public Art and Design Board Chair) highlighted: 24 active percent-for-art projects, six artist-in-residence programs (including BRT corridors, nature preserves, Dix Park collaboration), a new artist residency with the City Sign Shop for wayfinding, and ongoing mural projects.
  • The council approved the work plans unanimously.

Public Comment Reform (City Attorney Report)

Discussion followed the January 24, 2025 retreat. Three areas addressed:

  1. Clarifying Purpose of Public Comment: Approved adding website language and a mayoral statement at the start of public comment that it is a time for listening, not debate. Passed unanimously.
  2. Revising Digital Media Process: Approved a new process allowing speakers to submit PDFs/JPEGs (size limits to be set by staff) via city departments, which will be attached to the agenda as backup material (not broadcast). Staff will vet only for malware, not content. Motion passed 7-1.
  3. Revising Time and Start of Second Tuesday Public Comment: After debate, a motion to start at 6:00 PM and limit to two hours failed 4-4. A subsequent motion to change only the start time to 6:00 PM was withdrawn after staff presented survey data (73% of respondents preferred 7:00 PM from a 2023 survey). No changes were made; the current 7:00 PM start and three-hour maximum remain.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda: Approved unanimously.
  • Rezoning Public Hearing Dates: Set for March 4, 2025, for Z-12-24, Z-36-24, Z-37-24; Z-32-24 deferred.
  • E-Bike Voucher Additional Funding: Authorized acceptance of $80,000 Bloomberg grant; approved budget amendment.
  • Arts Commission Work Plans: Approved.
  • Appointments:
    • Human Relations Commission: Dr. Mary Ellen Kelly appointed (regular vacancy), Helen Sporkin appointed (alternate vacancy, one remaining alternate to be filled).
    • Raleigh Transit Authority: Colin Beamer appointed (alternate vacancy).
    • Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission: Joe Caruso and Brian Thomas reappointed (two regular vacancies remain).
    • Design Review Commission: Saravia Suria Devara elevated from alternate to regular member (alternate vacancy to be filled).
    • Environmental Advisory Board: Lanya King reappointed.
  • Closed Session: Council entered closed session to discuss specific litigation (Clark Brothers LLC, Mary J. Rogers, Carolina Realty) and gave direction to staff. The meeting recessed to reconvene at 7:00 PM for the evening session (not covered in this summary).

Meeting Transcript

I pledge allegiance to divide the United States of America into the Republic for which it stands. Thank you. Next we had the consent agenda. And I believe there was one item polled, but that no longer needs to be polled. Thank you so much. No, I'm not going to pull F1 now. We had this amazing uh follow-up to questions that we had over the weekend for the agenda items. And I just wanted to uh first of all thank that how quick it was to get those responses. So thank you guys so much. I think as we move forward and we streamline how these questions get answered. Um we got this at 1105, so I had already submitted for that to be polled. So if there's any way how we can all work together to get those answers prior to 11 o'clock, so I don't keep pulling stuff that doesn't need to, then I'd be really interested to do that. But no, I do not need to pull anything. Thank you. Thanks, Councillor Jones. Move to approve. Second. Okay. Any other discussion on the consent agenda? If not, all in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. Right. So unanimous. And then we go to the report and recommendation of the Planning Commission. Good afternoon. I am joined as usual by the Planning Commission Chair, Blaine Miller. We have a handful of items to walk through with you today in advance of that. A preview of upcoming holidays that you might want to be aware of. And we currently don't have anything scheduled for public hearing at this time. And I will just note that uh the first item there is E1224 Old Cruise Road and Mill Burney Road. It's a very large assemblage. It includes a concurrent annexation. You will see that on your consent agenda next week with a recommended or at the next meeting, excuse me, uh, with a recommended date to match whatever action you take today, so that those will show up on the agenda together. Whether you uh go with March 4 or a different day. This is a very large request, and it ties right smack dab in the middle of the conversation you had at your retreat about annexation and peripheral development. And so um our plan is to bring forward to you a little bit of a different presentation on this one. So you have some context that ties into those issues you were discussing uh at the retreat, just to help you inform your decision. Right. Recognizing that we need to help you with more information than we've been providing previously. So again, recommending uh, and this is uh outside the uh ETJ, it is a adjacent to River Town and eligible for annexation because of a um and therefore zoning because of an adjacency to a city-owned property that is not in our corporate limits. Planning commission recommended approval by a split vote. Again, recommending that March 4 public hearing, and we would bring the annexation at the same time. The second item, C 3224, this is a request for change to conditions for a property up in the Triangle Town area. The commercial entitlements are really what's changing here. So this is a uh But the applicant has advised me they would like to defer setting the public hearing to your next meeting. So not the March 4 date that we published in the agenda. This item on Lichford Road is a request for just under three acres to go from residential one, which requires about 40,000 square feet uh per unit historically to R 10 with conditions. This is uh consistent with the Future Land use map and Planning Commission recommends approval. And then we have an item on Chapanoke Road.

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