Raleigh City Council Meeting Summary - December 2, 2025
Raleigh City Council Meeting Summary - December 2, 2025
The Raleigh City Council convened on December 2, 2025, beginning with a high-level update regarding the fire at the Raleigh Convention Center the previous night. Council members expressed deep appreciation for the fire department's response and confirmed that while structural damage was minimal, sprinkler damage affected interiors and events like the upcoming cybersecurity conference were relocated. The meeting proceeded with standard agenda items, including consent calendar reviews, rezoning approvals, and discussions on public policy updates such as the Tax Increment Reimbursement Program and the Raleigh Engagement Network.
Consent Calendar
- C1A (Raleigh Civil Service Act): Council approved updating the exemption list for the Civil Service Commission based on a recent compensation study. The number of exempt individuals remained stable, with Division Heads increasing from 133 to 137 and immediate secretaries decreasing from 14 to 8.
- C3A (Nash Square Public Realm Plan): Council unanimously approved a consultancy to develop a public realm plan that prioritizes a comprehensive tree health assessment and a tree succession plan.
- C1C (Raleigh Water Bonds): Council approved closing out a construction draw program and issuing fixed debt to fund completed initiatives.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Octavia Rainey: Expressed strong opposition to the proposed BRT housing density increases, stating she does not believe the city is providing adequate housing for Black residents on the BRT corridor and questioning the removal of the scatter-site policy. She expressed concern that high-density housing on transit routes displaces Black bus riders.
- Kevin Kwong: Paid tribute to the recent fire in Hong Kong and urged the city to inspect construction projects for fire code violations to prevent similar tragedies.
- Gavin Wendell: Strongly opposed the decision to end loose leaf collection, arguing it would lead to increased nuisance reports, illegal burning, and more tree removals due to the lack of adequate alternatives for residents with large leaf volumes.
- Sharlin Parker: Honored her late mother and suggested a task-based system for Solid Waste Services to reduce equipment wear and tear, emphasizing the high cost of truck cylinder replacements.
- Dorothea Dix 2.0 (Greenhaired Lady): Advocated for the "Madonna SMALE Act" to mandate body cameras for mental health workers and called for accountability regarding gross negligence by mental health agencies.
- Emma Kate Burns & Liliana Marin: Expressed strong support for adopting the DHHS model ordinance to make public places smoke-free and vape-free, citing health risks to youth and the non-smoking public.
- Mansib Sah & Yoshasvi Saksena (Youth Speakers): Both students strongly supported the tobacco-free ordinance, highlighting the impact of visible tobacco use on youth addiction and brain development.
- Hanna D. Ali & Alexis Kennedy: Criticized the city's financial contribution to foreign military aid, arguing that tax dollars should instead be used to raise firefighter salaries, fund affordable housing, and address local community needs.
- Sophie Burgess: Urged the council to address pedestrian safety at the intersection of Pogan and Clark, where Dr. Natalia Duke Wilkins was struck and killed, calling for immediate installation of pedestrian-activated signals and lighting improvements.
Discussion Items
- Nash Square Public Realm Plan: Council members emphasized that tree preservation must be a central component of the new plan. Discussions confirmed that a 360-degree tree assessment, including canopy distance from the ground for safety, and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) strategies would be included in the scope.
- Tax Increment Reimbursement Program: Council adopted the revised Tax Increment Reimbursement Policy. The program allows the city to partner with private entities to fund public infrastructure not required by code. Staff noted that projects exceeding $1 million or providing regional infrastructure may require county participation, and the policy includes thresholds to ensure alignment with county efforts.
- Raleigh Engagement Network: Council approved a resolution to adopt an enhanced tiered benefit structure for community groups, including general membership and higher tiers for organizations like the Citizens Advisory Councils (CAC). Benefits include increased community center access, media kits, and grant funding. Staff addressed concerns regarding staff capacity and promised to evaluate needs before the next budget cycle.
- Residential Permit Parking (RPP): Council adopted ordinance changes to the RPP program, increasing the annual permit fee from $20 to $30 and the guest permit from $0.50 to $2. A limit of four permits per lot annually was introduced, with a waiver for caregivers. The program cycle was changed to align with the fiscal year.
- Reflecting Raleigh (Comprehensive Plan Update): Council approved five technical expert teams to support the plan development phase. Staff outlined that these teams will focus on land use, transportation, housing, natural resources, and infrastructure, with an upcoming public draft expected in early 2027.
- Smoke-Free Ordinance: Council agreed to defer a final vote on the smoke-free and vape-free ordinance. While there was broad support for upgrading the policy, members requested more specific data comparing the DHHS model ordinance against the Wake County ordinance and sought further information on the county's position before moving to a committee referral or final vote.
Key Outcomes
- Convention Center Fire Update: No injuries reported; structural integrity of the Shimmer Wall confirmed good; events are being moved to alternative venues.
- C3A Nash Square Public Realm Plan: Approved (Unanimous).
- Z 2325 (1602 Gorman Street): Rezoning to RX4 (with 50ft height cap) approved (Unanimous) with conditions for tenant notice and relocation assistance.
- Z 2725 (721 & 725 Grove Avenue): Hearing continued to January 6, 2026.
- Tax Increment Reimbursement Policy: Adopted (Unanimous).
- Raleigh Engagement Network Resolution: Adopted (Unanimous).
- Residential Permit Parking Ordinance: Adopted (Unanimous).
- Reflecting Raleigh Technical Experts: Approved (Unanimous).
- FY25 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report: Accepted (Unanimous).
- Z 925 (4500 Western Boulevard): Hearing continued to January 6, 2026, pending potential inclusion of the Special Highway Overlay District (SHOD) or vegetation buffer condition.
- Z 1125 (2230 South Hope Road): Hearing continued to January 6, 2026, pending further engagement with environmental justice partners and additional conditions regarding floodplain usage.
- Z 2825 (Sandifer Road): Rezoning to R10 approved (Unanimous).
- AX 2525 / Z 3025 (Hodge Road): Annexation and rezoning approved (Unanimous).
- TCZ 3225 (Creedmoor Road): Text change approving 10-foot height increase approved (Unanimous).
- TC 324 (Historic Preservation): Text change approved (Unanimous).
- Board Appointments: Council made various appointments to the Raleigh Commission for Persons with Disabilities, Design Review Commission, and other boards, and reappointed members to the Arts Commission and RDU Airport Authority.
Meeting Transcript
I'm thinking about the two rooms. All right. We'll go ahead and bring the meeting to order. Before we get going, because we had the Raleigh Convention Center fire last night, I know a number of you just uh wanting updates, and we don't have a lot of detail, but I'll give you uh a little bit of high-level uh additional um progress, and then the City of Raleigh, Carrie Painter or Evan Raleigh, others uh later this afternoon, uh, we will have um additional sort of statements uh prepared. But for for now, um the city uh has just, you know, the city manager's office uh and assistant city manager Evan Raleigh have just informed me that the sprinklers were set off in the building, so there's has been some damage where sprinklers, you know, damage uh some of the kitchens and sort of perishable goods, that kind of thing. They have looked at the um structural uh the shimmer wall. In fact, I was actually in contact with Thomas Sayer, the artist of the Shimmer Wall this morning, um, and it looks like that that structural integrity is good. Um, so that I know that's a beloved feature of that building. Um it looks like that one is okay. Um, but they are still looking at all the other equipment um and assessing damages there. Um, in terms of events, I know there's been some uh you know, concern that what is this what happens to events, cybersecurity, which was supposed to have an event starting tomorrow. They have uh decided given the circumstances that they will find alternative venues. So if uh anyone's going to the cybersecurity conference, they uh uh you know, look for updates from that group. And then uh other really kind of immediate events, we are working with those organizers uh to think through uh what needs to happen. But again, I think we can have more details this afternoon at City Manager. Anything that just high level that you want to add. No, I think that covers it quite nicely at this point. Hopefully, this afternoon after all the inspections are conducted, we'll have more to share. Okay. So just very appreciative that there were no injuries and that our um fire department responded so admirably. So more to come in in a few moments after we get through some of this agenda. Yes. But I do want to thank the fire department for their continued work and service, not just on city property, but also to all of our residents in the city. Uh uh association, and everything's open, all the lights events that were planned, um, of course, the the holiday tree in Moore Square. So no other disruptions outside of the immediate uh convention center. Okay. With that, uh we have called the meeting to order and a pledge of allegiance. Uh Councilor Patton, would you mind leading us? Under God. All right, and then we have some special awards. Okay. It's on here, but no special awards at the moment. All right. Yeah. We'll keep going with the consent agenda. We had uh a few items pulled, I believe that was C1A, although my understanding is we're good with that now. I I'll mention it just so uh yeah, thank you so much. Uh C1A had to deal with Raleigh Civil Service Act and an exemption position. This came up a few years ago, and I was just clarifying or asking questions of clarity to see how many uh if we were adding to the number of people exempt from being able to go to the community or the civil service commission and received uh great notes this morning, and I just wanted to see if um um we can have it just a summary so that the public can understand uh the questions and the responses. Thank you. So Sharnell Jones, our HR director, will be here to speak to this item. Mayor, do you want to approve the rest of the consent agenda before this item or take it separately? Uh I think if as long as Sharnell's uh Ms. Jones is right here, why don't we just go ahead with that and then we can maybe approve the rest. Sharon Jones Human Resources, good afternoon. Um as you all are aware, back in 2023, we went through this process of updating the exemption list and as well as the policy, and we went back a couple of times, and in that policy change, you all did revise the definition for division and division head, as well as immediate secretaries to kind of narrow the list of the individuals that will qualify for um exemption from the Civil Service Act. And just want to be clear that the Raleigh Civil Service Act, that is law and it dictates the individuals that are exempt from the civil service, which are the elected officials, employees or officials appointed by the city council, department heads, division heads, part-time or non-permanent officers or employees, employees serving the probationary period, and any um employees that are applying for those positions that I named previously. Um based on that, we also went through a compensation study, which required for us to be able to um to have to update our exemption list because most of the classification titles change as going through that process. And so we also have an individual's term has expired that is on the Civil Service Commission, and they um currently we need to go through a nomination and election process. And so that was the need of why this exemption list was updated at this time to make sure that we have the right people that could vote in that election process.
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