The Raleigh City Council met on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, with Mayor Pro Tem presiding due to the absence of Mayor Bertem Harrison and Councilor Jones. The meeting included presentations, consent agenda approval, reports from the Planning Commission and City Manager, committee updates, council member reports, appointments, and an overview of federal advocacy services.
Planning Commission Report (Bynam Walter, Nicole Bennett):
City Manager Report – Property Acquisition at 313 East Martin Street (Ken Bowers):
Transportation and Transit Committee Report:
Federal Advocacy Overview (Jennifer Emo, Ferguson Group):
Welcome everybody. We will convene the meeting. And uh, first item we you will see that Councilor Branch is all by his lonesome down here. Uh Mayor Bertem Harrison is absent and excused, as is Counselor Jones. So I will ask if Mitchell Silver can uh lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. And I know we've got some visitors here. So uh Rebecca Dixon from Community Engagement is going to share the Raleigh Summer Youth Employment Program ambassadors. Good afternoon, Mayor Cowell, City Manager Adams David, and Council members. The Raleigh Summer Youth Employment Program is a forty-three-year-old City of Raleigh workforce initiative that hires and develops youth ages 15 to 18, providing work experiences while equipping them with essential professional and life skills. One of our very own used to be a former Raleigh Summer Youth, Mr. Clay Brench. Four years ago, I started the Raleigh Summer Youth Ambassadors. So our Raleigh Summer Youth Ambassadors are returning participants who serves as youth leaders and representatives of the program. They support our outreach efforts, volunteer at local community centers, and strengthen their leadership and civic engagement all through the year. It doesn't just provide a job, it provides mentorship, guidance, and real world experience. Serving as an ambassador and alumni alliance member has allowed me to grow as a leader and use my voice to encourage others. So I definitely want to mention that and highlight that as well. But definitely congrats. It's state air because we're going to take a picture. All right. Next we have the consent agenda. There were no items polled, so do we have a motion for the remainder? Move for approval. Okay. All right. All in favor of the motion, aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. And that is unanimous. Next, we have the report and recommendation of the planning commission. Good afternoon, Madam Mayor, members of council. My name is Bynam Walter. I work in the planning and development department. I'm joined this afternoon by Nicole Bennett, the chairperson of the Planning Commission. And we have some items to report out to you. There are a number of holidays ahead in March and April. And you have uh one item already scheduled for your March 17th afternoon meeting for public hearing that's a petition annexation. There's nothing currently on your April 7 afternoon or evening public hearing schedule. We are recommending two items for your next meeting, March 17th and four for April 7th. As you can see, we have a lot of items coming out at once, and we are trying to help you manage this. This is certainly at your discretion. We've just made some suggestions based on what we've uh heard about the requests during planning commission review. Uh numerically, and first on the agenda, rezoning uh this is actually a text change of zoning conditions on South New Hope Road. This is uh the commercial portion of Old Town. It's uh right at 60 acres. The request is consistent with the future language map and the comprehensive plan. There's a split vote there from Planning Commission. Uh but a recommendation for approval nonetheless, and we are suggesting your evening public hearing uh April 7 for this request. The next item is two lots on Trailwood Drive.