Raleigh City Council Regular Meeting - October 7, 2025
Raleigh City Council Regular Meeting - October 7, 2025
The Raleigh City Council met on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, in an afternoon session beginning at 1:00 PM and an evening session beginning at 7:00 PM. The meeting covered recognitions, consent agenda items, planning commission recommendations, special items, reports from the city manager and advisory boards, public hearings, and council appointments. The following summary reflects the afternoon session; the evening session was scheduled for additional public hearings.
Consent Calendar
- Approved unanimously (roll call): All consent items except one pulled for discussion. Items included a mutual aid agreement with Wake County Emergency Management, donation of surplus property to the Town of Winfall, consent for Raleigh Housing Authority bond issuance for Moore Square Apartments (up to $31,682,000), budget transfer for Barton Oaks affordable housing, license agreement with Wolfpack Elite for the Lake Johnson pool (pulled), donation of a retired police canine, petition annexation AX-30-25, grant amendments, contracts for design/engineering services, access control system upgrades, GoRaleigh dispatch software, budget amendments, bid award for Wake BRT New Bern Avenue Corridor Package 2 ($64,676,000 to Fred Smith Company plus 10% contingency), neighborhood speed limit reductions (Bryan Street, Laurel Valley Way, Old Buffaloe Road), bus zone relocation on West Martin Street, and no parking zones on South Person Street.
- Item pulled for discussion and held: License Agreement – Seasonal Pool at Lake Johnson Park with Wolfpack Elite, Inc. Council held the item for two weeks to further review the balance of public access and exclusive use. Councilmember Harrison requested exploring additional public swim time during the 8–10 a.m. window. Staff noted the agreement would increase annual public access hours (estimated gain of 240–960 hours vs. loss of 68 summer hours). Council voted unanimously (7-0) to hold.
- Future consent agenda: Council approved a motion to place fully vetted council contingency disbursements on future consent agendas.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were recorded during the afternoon session. The public hearing on the noise ordinance was set for October 14, 2025, at 6:00 PM.
Discussion Items
- Noise Ordinance Recommendations – Amplified Sound: Staff and consultant Brian Block (Sound City Planning) presented proposed amendments establishing decibel limits for commercial amplified sound, with three tiers: citywide baseline (70 dBA/75 dBC), citywide with permit (up to 80 dBA/85 dBC), and Glenwood South district (82 dBA/92 dBC weekdays until midnight, then reduced). The ordinance includes civil and criminal enforcement, a $500 permit fee, and escalating penalties up to prohibition of outdoor sound equipment for 18 months. Council received the proposed ordinance as first reading and voted 5-3 to set a public hearing for October 14 at 6:00 PM. Second reading will occur on October 21, 2025.
- Reflecting Raleigh Civic Assembly – Remit Approval: Staff proposed a remit asking the civic assembly to address where new growth should occur over the next 20 years, focusing on transit corridors. The assembly will consist of 40–50 randomly selected residents, meeting six or seven Saturdays starting January 2026. Council approved the remit unanimously.
- Development Review Process Overview: Patrick Young, Planning and Development Director, presented an overview of the administrative development review process, including statistics: approximately 120,000 inspections annually, 40,000 inquiries, average site review time of 144 days (60 with staff), and 52 days for building permits. Challenges include staff vacancies and conflicting comments. Improvements include an innovation team, online portal, and pilot programs. Council received the information; further updates expected in December/January.
- Environmental Advisory Board Annual Report and Work Plan: Chair Scott Greenman presented the FY2024-25 annual report and FY2025-26 work plan, which focuses on urban forestry, stormwater, transportation, and sustainable affordable housing. Council approved the work plan as amended to include a public educational event on forever chemicals (PFAS). Vote on amendment: 8-0; full report/work plan approved unanimously.
- Mine Creek Greenway Trail Improvements – Design Approval: Schematic design approved for a one-mile trail segment from Millbrook Road to North Hills Drive, including trail resurfacing/widening to 10 feet, bridge replacements, stream bank stabilization, and neighborhood connections. Budget: $5.6 million from 2022 Parks Bond. Construction expected summer 2027, approximately one year. Council approved unanimously.
- Rezoning Z-52-24 – Tryon Road: The applicant revised the request to remove 1600 Tryon Road. Approved with conditions including a cap on units, traffic signal commitment, cross-access, and 2% affordable units. Vote: 7-1 (Councilmember Jones opposed).
- Special Committee on Council Advisory Boards and Commissions: Recommendations adopted to dissolve the Community Engagement Board, re-merge Hispanic and Immigrant Affairs and African American Affairs functions into the Human Relations Commission, and dissolve the special committee. Vote: 5-3.
- Council Reports and Requests: Councilmember Forte requested a study and RFP for firefighter shift modification to reduce burnout. Councilmember Lambert-Melton requested a review of bus stop cleanliness at high-traffic areas. Councilmember Branch reported on the median panhandling ordinance effective November 1.
- Nominations and Appointments: Diana Youssef appointed to the Fair Housing Advisory Board. Brooke Funkhouser elevated to regular vacancy on the Design Review Commission. Kay Crowder elevated to regular vacancy on the Board of Adjustment.
- 2026 Municipal Election Filing Fees: Adopted resolution setting filing fees at $250 for mayor and $200 for council seats. Unanimous.
- Minutes Approved: September 16, 2025, work session and regular session, and September 27, 2025, council retreat minutes approved.
Key Outcomes
- Council approved: Consent calendar items (except Lake Johnson pool held), contingency disbursements (future ones on consent), Seaboard Station social district ordinance (7-2), noise ordinance first reading with public hearing set, civic assembly remit, EAB work plan (amended), Mine Creek Greenway design, Tryon Road rezoning (7-1), advisory board mergers (5-3), election filing fees, and appointment of Diana Youssef, Brooke Funkhouser, and Kay Crowder.
- Council held: Lake Johnson pool license agreement for two weeks for further negotiation on public access.
- Set public hearings: Noise ordinance public hearing on October 14, 2025, at 6:00 PM; second reading on October 21, 2025.
- Directives: City manager to scope an RFP for firefighter shift modification and to address bus stop cleanliness at high-traffic stops.
- Closed session: Council entered closed session to consult with the city attorney on potential claims (City of Raleigh vs. ASC 509 LLC and Estate of Williams vs. City of Raleigh) and personnel matters. No reportable action.
Meeting Transcript
And that is fine. All right, good afternoon, everybody. Thanks for coming to the meeting. First order is the Pledge of Allegiance. If we can please stand, I'll lead us. I'm going to turn it over to the city manager because we have a recognition and special awards. Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. If we can have Stephen Bentley come to the podium. It is my honor and privilege to acknowledge our Parks Recreation and Cultural Resources Director as he kind of brags on some of the work that his staff has been doing along with this elected body, along with the city's management team, and along with the community to bring our parks um forward in a way that is exciting and in a way that celebrates who we are as a community. So that I won't steal his thunder, I will turn it over to Stephen Bentley. Yeah, thank you, City Manager Adams David, and thank you to my supervisor uh Nikki Jones. Both have been fully supportive of what I'm going to talk about today. Three years ago when the city manager made me director, I said, I want us to be nationally accredited, and she's like, Are you sure? And I said, Yes, I'm confident. So we are here today. Um I'm Stephen Bentley, Director of Raleigh Parks. Uh thank you, Mayor and Council for giving us a few minutes today. Uh I'm excited to share that the Raleigh Parks Department, Parks Recreation and Cultural Resources Department made a significant milestone the last 18 months by becoming nationally accredited. Um you might ask, well, Stephen, what does that mean? Uh there is an organization called the National Recreation and Park Association, which has a group called the Commission for Accreditation for Parks and Recreation Agencies, better known as Capra. Uh it's the only national accreditation program for park agencies in the country. And to put into context, there's about 10,000 park agencies in the United States, and approximately 2% are nationally accredited. And to be even more, we scored perfect. So there's a hundred and fifty-four standards we have to meet. That's fiscal management, that's planning, that's community engagement, that's safety. Because our community deserves it. Of course, as the director, I had the opportunity to stand on stage with some of my peers in this picture. But I didn't do a lot of the work. The work was really done by our staff. We had uh an impact of probably 60 to 70 staff that were involved. There's 10 chapters. Every chapter had a team lead of which they are in this picture here today. But they did this in addition to the duties that we asked them to do every day. So we might have had someone take on an HR chapter, but they weren't an HR specialist, but they said I want to lead, I want to learn more about the city organization. Same goes for fiscal management and safety. So I have a bunch of my staff with me here today. If you were a part of that team, could you please stand up? I do want to give a special acknowledgement. Stay up. Andrea is our social accountability and strategic manager for the department and an advisor to me. She led this entire process. So not only did we have to submit information, we had people come and basically audit our park system. And the four people describe uh Andre as passionate, a fierce leader, detail oriented, and relentless, which I like. So thank you to Andrea. Um she led with passion and compassion and coached a lot of people through leadership and really elevated the thinking for our park system. So thank you, Andrea White, for all your commitment. So we score it perfect. We have to uh do this every five years. I told the staff we have set the bar so we would be perfect again in five years. Um but we also will um will be audited each year.
openpublica.com