Thank you, Commissioner O'Haver.

Any further comments?

If not, I would like to open the floor up for a motion.

Commissioner Balters.

I move to recommend adoption of the proposed consistency statement date in May 12, 2026 contained in the agenda materials and to recommend approval of the zoning amendment as presented.

We have a motion to approve.

Is there a second?

Second.

Seconded by Commissioner Bennett.

Is there any further discussion or debate on the topic?

Seeing none, we'll call for a vote.

All of those in favor?

Any opposed?

The request passes unanimously.

All right.

Thank you to the applicant.

Thank you to the neighbors.

Thank you for staying involved and waiting through the whole meeting.

All right.

Thank you for making it through another one, fellow commissioners.

That brings us to the end of our cases, and we will move on to other business.

Starting with the report from the chair.

I'll start off with I'm sure everybody received the email asking for a planning commission representative to the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards judges board.

And I'll say this is a it's a really fascinating thing.

I got to do it one time and seeing the projects and the discussion and the people in the room that you get to interact with, it was a real pleasure.

We have had a couple volunteers speak up, and I just want to make sure that everybody on the commission knew about the offer and what was involved and give everybody a chance to respond.

And I'll uh I'll respond to emails and in discussion with Bynum and Vice Chair Cochrane, we will designate a representative over the next week.

All right.

I'll also like to mention that I would encourage the Commission to as they study the agenda packet.

You can get out ahead of it by looking at the manager's report and seeing the cases that are upcoming because the agenda comes out Thursday.

It is hardly time to schedule any meetings and ask anybody any substantial questions before Tuesday.

So but the cases are posted on the rezoning page in the city well ahead of time.

And Bynum does a very good job on the vice or the assistant director's report and lists the upcoming cases.

And so I encourage you to study those cases.

And if you have any questions, especially for staff or the applicant to reach out ahead of time.

And you can have a much more involved conversation than is possible here at this table.

And I think that's all I have for my report.

Just one more quick clarification.

I would like to make sure everybody was marked present except for Commissioner Omakaye, who is excused and absent.

And that will do it for me.

I'll pass it on to Vice Chair Cochrane.

We don't have any business for the committee of the whole next week, but we're still pending topics for June.

So please keep that one available.

No report.

No report.

No report.

No report.

Just briefly, the text change committee will be meeting on May 20th at 4 o'clock in room 305 of RMB.

We'll be discussing the TC 126 School Lot Area Amendment.

Thank you.

No report.

No report.

All right.

That concludes the report of the members.

And now we will turn to the report of the Assistant Director.

Thank you.

I did just want to mention that in coordination with the council's schedule.

Planning Commission also takes a break in the summer.

We will not have regular oral committee meetings in July, because there was be no one there for you to report to.

So our meeting in June.

We'll have two meetings, our regular meetings in June, and then come back to that first meeting in August.

The second Tuesday in August would be our next meeting after that.

So enjoy your enjoy your Julys.

Thank you.

Thank you for that report.

One more item that I forgot to read off my list is uh we are approaching the end of the terms for Commissioner Fox and Commissioner O'Haver.

They still have at least one meeting left each.

I think the terms expire in early June and late June.

So we will have a more meaningful goodbye at that time, but I just wanted to get that out there.

That's uh you you're through June 30, you're June 9.

Uh but I would note you both the per se code, all commissioners, not just the two of you, uh, serve until their appointment.

Uh their replacement is appointed.

Um there is um certainly action at the council table, but no resolution at this time.

And uh Commissioner Fox's replacement is appointed by the Wick County Commissioners, and again, I believe some discussion, but no resolution at this point.

Uh and then I wanted to I'd uh would be remiss if I did not add that um per your bylaws, you're required to hold uh June elections for officers for chair and vice chair, and we will put that on the first June agenda.

All right, thank you, and Commissioners Fox and O'Haver, your experience and insight and knowledge is uh invaluable, and so we will wring as much knowledge out of you as we can over the next month and miss you when you're gone.

Long goodbye.

Yeah.

If there is no other business for the good of the order without objection, we will adjourn this meeting.

I'm Brett Compton, and this is what I do.

I am the social media manager for the city of Raleigh.

I maintain our platforms called Raleigh Gov.

Give us a like, give us a follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Nextdoor, Threads, and Blue Sky.

I share information about city programs, projects, and services, and how they can impact residents.

Brett loves helping people.

As social media manager, he has an opportunity every day to help people have positive interactions with government.

My favorite part about my job is that it feels like important work.

I feel like I go to work every day and I'm doing something of significance.

And I think that sharing information that affects residents and helping residents when they come to us with questions, it's a privilege and it's something I take very seriously.

I think what makes me effective at this job is I grew up into adulthood being around social media.

I've been using it for many years, and it's something that I'm very familiar with.

I have a pretty good demeanor and uh a thick skin, I guess you could say.

Brett's patience and calm demeanor are helpful in this role.

If he sees that someone is expressing frustration or is having a rough day, he tries his best to work through things with them, hoping to turn that interaction into a positive one.

Sometimes a challenge that comes with this job is finding and correcting this information, especially during a crisis, and then also getting people to get along with each other in the comments.

I think I think all of us we could be a little nicer to each other, and I think that would go a long way.

One of the things I love about Raleigh is I get to use and take advantage of the great services and programs that our city has to offer and the things that I tell residents about on a daily basis.

I'm a big tennis player, big fan of tennis.

I've met a ton of friends playing tennis on those courts, played in a lot of league matches and tournaments, and it's just really neat that I'm able to use the things that I'm always bragging about on behalf of the city.

I love my job because I get to work with a great team of communications professionals, and every day I get to tell people all of the amazing things that the city of Raleigh has to offer.

If you've ever attended an event in downtown Raleigh or spent time at one of our parks or beautiful greenway trails, there's an excellent chance that you've encountered one of our mounted police officers.

The qualities I possess is being able to work with horses, having the knowledge and skills to be able to train as well as look at horses and diagnose problems and issues to keep them healthy, to keep them doing the job that they do, as well as communicating with them well and working with them to do the job as a police officer.

Having officers on horseback provides unique opportunities for citizens of all ages to engage and interact with officers and their horses.

Even working downtown, some of the block parties and festivities.

I'll put her in the round ring and lunch her a little bit.

I'll make sure she gets her food if she hasn't had it already, as well as checking her over for any kind of scrapes or bruises or cuts.

Uh and then tend to those.

Trailer her downtown at that point where I'll wash and clean her up.

I'll also clean up behind her.

She might have some waste or things like that.

And then I also put her in the wash pit, sofa down, cleaner up again, tend to any wounds.

The end of the day, we do everything in reverse.

So it's work, I clean up behind her, I unsaddle her, brush her down, put fly spray on her, and then we uh put her out the pasture.

So it's a lot goes into being a mounted police officer other than just patrol and talking to people and dealing with the public or dealing with crime or anything like that.

Senior Officer Hood has been with Luna for over eight months now.

He describes her as interesting and says that their moods can really affect one another.

There's still a lot to learn about each other, but their trust grows daily.

So what I enjoy most about my job is working with the horses as well as interact with people out in the public.

I enjoy talking to people as well as helping people, uh working with my co-workers as well as training the horses and getting that bond and relationship with them to do the things I asked them to do and then seeing that result.

Mounted officers help keep our city safe and make it easy for citizens to engage.

Be sure to stop by and say hello when you see them out and about.

Hi.

Welcome to Wake TV.

I'm your host, Taylor Shaw.

Summer's here, and there's a lot in store.

So stay tuned, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Wake County EMS, we show staff members photos from the past.

Let's see what they have to say.

This truck.

And it was the smallest truck that they ever bought.

Because you couldn't stand up in the truck.

You had to be crouched over in this truck.

But you know what?

They never got rid of the truck.

No matter, no matter what whatever they got.

No matter, no matter whenever they got phones to replace a truck.

They always kept this truck.

We instituted through the cable network a closed circuit television education program to the Raleigh Fire Department to add what is now simplistic on every wall and automated external defibrillator, an AED.

Well, at the time this occurred, we were hosting downtown at the public safety center.

The cable system had a separate private feed, and we were feeding it with uh education programming where crews could go sit at their station.

There was a number to call to ask questions, and we did all our education remotely.

That was a fun day.

Um, so uh there was a recruit within one of the academies that kind of challenged, if I remember correctly, they challenged uh the director at the time, Chris Calangelo to a volleyball match.

So admin against uh the recruits, which was we were just all for.

Um, and so that was a really memorable day, and you know, not often do you get to kind of step outside of um just the regular stressors of the day and and do something really fun and cool with uh new employees, but um, yeah, we should do more of that.

Old Zebelin truck.

That was a uh probably an old swab unit because that's what we used back then, old box trucks.

Uh they rode like old box trucks, too.

They don't people think what we ride in today are rough.

They had to ride in trucks like this.

I like this one because this proves that I really did do work.

Uh that may not be evident in all the pictures that I'm in now.

So doing news interviews and doing community outreach, yeah, that's stuff, but I I did the lifting work too.

And also I'd like to say, back in my day, we didn't have machines that did lifting for us like they do now.

We didn't just press a button with our pinky and then the patient gets loaded.

We actually had to lift people and load them in and make faces like we're doing hard work.

Okay.

Before this is before I joined Wendell, but that they had a hearse.

That's what they used to respond on.

Because it was pick them up, throwing the back, go to the hospital.

They did nothing else.

So I do remember uh pictures of this before I joined.

Gerald Brown, who was not the first EMS director, but followed um Russell Caps, who was wore a bunch of hats, was the emergency management director, the fire marshal, as well as the newly created EMS director in 76.

He all came in in 1980 to take over the reins.

Yeah, so advanced practice paramedics is the first thing that comes to mind there.

Uh those cars were fast.

Um yeah, so I actually was an APP fill-in for a little bit.

Um ultimately ended up uh I became a uh district chief later on, but um I was an APP fill-in.

I was able to go through the class, um, which was a really cool curriculum learning about a lot of different resources that we could offer um patients within Wake County.

This would have been Easter in 1995 because my baby girl Shelby uh would have just been a few months old, and then my son Neil here, and then my wife Letisha taking the picture.

Uh so it was wonderful when they would come visit.

There there was more occasion to have a visitor at a station then than there would be now.

My son Neil here is now a detective with the Garner Police Department.

This is uh this is a lot of memories here with my group of people.

Um this must have been a dedication to probably Wendell station, possibly when it was open uh with Dr.

Cabanis and Chris there, just looking at some of my Easter Wake folks kind of bring back memories of being able to look at them and uh all the memories we had because we were a big family as well.

This kind of hits me to my heart because as I started off, you had to have a sponsor to go to get inducted into Wendell.

Well, by chance, the guy that sponsored me made this patch.

Yes, he designed the patch.

So it hits right here.

And he's uh unfortunately passed away two years ago.

Free support.

One location, one day, dedicated to those who served.

The Wake County Veterans Stand Down is a no cost event designed to connect veterans with services that can make a real difference.

Join us Saturday, June 6th from 8 30 a.m.

to 3 30 p.m.

at William Peace University.

Free breakfast and lunch will be available along with showers, hygiene kits, clothing, and additional support services.

Veterans will also have access to healthcare screenings, VA benefits assistance, legal aid, employment resources, and more, all in one convenient location.

You can stop by any time during the event.

No appointment is needed to receive services or speak with providers.

If you served in the U.S.

Armed Forces, regardless of discharge status or length of service, this event is open to you.

Veterans are encouraged to bring military identification or service related documents if available, though no identification is required to attend or receive support.

The Veterans Stand Down is hosted by Wake County Veterans Services in partnership with Veterans Bridge Home and Local Service Providers.

Way County EMS isn't the only department celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.

We show park staff who's also celebrating 50 years.

Photos from the past.

Let's take a look.

These pictures and the articles are about like Crabtree is the county's first county park opened uh in 1988.

Um has changed a lot over the years.

Uh but some of the some of the things have not.

The tower still in existence, though, but doesn't have its white eyebrows anymore.

This is where it all started for us as far as regional parks.

Um and now we have uh several, uh including our nature preserves, so really great.

But this is where it started.

This was my first job when I I left state parks and came back to Wade County and uh was working LA Crabtree as the assistant manager.

So yeah, lots of memories there.

This was one of my first burns at Harris Lake, and so had to get a picture.

This is when I was younger.

By like 2002, well, I think it's 2003.

Um, so it was just really neat to be able to drop lines and to have the fire behind you and be all in the gear.

So this is just a special treat to be able to do on a still.

Um, I burned the longleaf area for years now.

Um, and so continue to do that in different places in the parks, but built a lot of good friendships, worked with a lot of great people along the way to do these burns, and so that area is just very precious to me.

All right, we're looking at all of our pest goats here at Oakview.

It's definitely our most popular thing for people to do is to come visit our goats.

We've had goats here since 2001 is when we first started it having livestock, and the time it was two goats.

This first picture is of Felix.

Oscar and Henry.

Yeah, and Oscar and Henry look like they're brand new.

They're yeah, they must have just been introduced uh in with the rest of them, so it's very funny to see them now as little tiny guys sitting there next to big old Felix.

So this is the original pros logo.

Um it predates me.

Um it was just parks and recreation.

Open space wasn't even in our name back then.

Um believe it or not, this logo you can still find it out in the uh out in the county.

There's a greenway and garner that we partnered with them on, and this logo is still on the the trailhead gate.

So it's crazy that it's still out there, but this was uh 70s, um, 1970s logo.

So I'm looking at an old picture of our original playground at Blue Jay.

So, fun fact uh this is my childhood park.

But this original park um playground was in my opinion the best one.

It was the old school metal and wood.

It had amazing um, you can sort of see the front, it's like tunnel system in the wood.

You could go um around and underneath.

And then our newest one, um, getting another little bit of a redesign.

Um, some new colors, new features.

Uh, we all agreed we wanted a really big slide again, like our original one.

Um, so we all tested the slides at different points to make sure they were tall enough and fast enough, but people were super excited when this uh new structure opened and we got it all finished up, and I think it really looks great, and uh people are out every day using it.

And so we're always happy that the playground has stayed a very popular area throughout the years and continues to welcome people to the park.

So the long leaf area is my crown jewel.

Um I am a burn boss, and so the 60-acre long leaf pioneer at Harris Lake is one of my favorite places.

And this is a young longleaf pine, a young one that I've watched over the years, and anytime we had a burn, I was like protecting it.

I was like, this cannot burn.

We would make sure that it did well.

Um, and so I've just watched it over the years grow, so it's very it's very unique to see that.

And they can stay in grass stage for like seven years.

So to see it as it goes into its bottle brush stage, it's really a treat to see.

So each time I go back, I look for the specific tree that's along the maintenance road back there.

Um, and that's my specific one we plan I keep back here, take of.

This is Felix and Lera on their first day here.

Oh my gosh, they are so cute.

Yeah, these are the baby goat arrival days is the most exciting day around here for uh park staff for sure.

And and any lucky visitors who happen to be here.

And then there's a whole period of time when the babies first arrive where they they aren't really ready to be with the other goats yet.

So you kind of have to graze them on their own.

So I think it was that entire summer.

You would just walk them through the pecan grove every day and just play with the baby ghosts.

They would chase them around.

Two weeks of quarantine, they were very uh very attached to.

So, like you'd walk over the hill, and they'd all of a sudden realize they didn't see you, and then come running and you see those big ears that just be flat.

So cute.

So this is our first all parks brochure to cover all the parks in our district.

So this was uh the first one.

Um my family's in it.

Um, my wife and both my daughters.

I worked at Blue Jay, and we lived at Blue J when this picture was taken at Songbird celebration.

So my gosh.

So this is my claim to fame here.

I was driving down our longleaf road, and I almost threw myself through the windshield because I saw I thought it was first a skunk, but as I looked and jumped out, um, it was a fox squirrel.

They used to be historically in the area, but you just don't see them um very often, and they're they live in long leaf forests, so Harris Lake has 60 acres of longleaf pines.

So the second time I found it, basically grabbed my phone, I was just hitting it.

I was looking at the squirrel, and I just kept hitting, and I got a really clear picture, and then I could tell everybody they believe me, you know, that there really was a fox squirrel at in our longleaf area at Harris Lake, so that was really cool.

Way County Public Library introduced the first bookmobile in 1942.

They're celebrating with a new member to the bookmobile family.

Let's take a look at the celebration.

Good morning, how are you?

Welcome!

We're gonna go ahead and get started.

Um, I'm so pleased to see you all here today.

My name is Aaron Foley, and I'm the manager of our bookmobile and outreach programs here with Wake County Public Libraries, and I'm thrilled to welcome you as we celebrate this next chapter for our outreach services.

Today is National Out Library Outreach Day, which celebrates library outreach and how library staff are working to meet our patrons where they are.

It's very fitting that today we shine a spotlight on our library go initiative and our brand new bookmobile and book hauler.

Um being able to see the impact of library on the go has on the community.

How a single stop at a park or a partner site can create connection, inspire curiosity, and remind people that the library truly belongs to them.

It's an honor to share that work with you today.

Following today's remarks, you'll have the opportunity to explore the vehicles for yourself and visit a special exhibition on the bookmobile's history inside Olivia Rainey Library here.

Um I'd like to introduce now Wake County Commissioner Tara Waters.

Good morning, everyone.

What a beautiful day.

I'm Tara Waters, the Wake County Commissioner for District 5, which is where we are this morning, and it's such an honor to celebrate the new and improved bookmobile.

I want to acknowledge my fellow commissioners who are here in spirit and are huge supporters of literacy.

Our board shares a passion for literacy and education, which is why we have an entire section of our strategic plan dedicated to lifelong learning.

By 2029, we want three out of every four residents.

We asked to say Wake County has high quality educational facilities.

Even though it's on wheels, I think this counts.

Long before I was a mother, a commissioner or professional, I was a precious little girl who loved to read.

I read Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry until the pages were out.

And now I'm fortunate enough to share that same level of reading with my own children.

My youngest son and I are working our way through Nate the Great series right now.

Recently he got to dress up as one of the crayons from the day the crayons quit.

He chose the color green.

We love going to the library to discover new books together.

But I know that isn't realistic for everyone.

I used to teach adult learners getting their GED, and so many of my students didn't have early access to books, which impacted their education long term.

We hope to change that with our new bookmobile.

You might have already seen it around the county, and if you haven't, you will soon.

The bookmobile will be stopped by municipal and county parks and even making appearances at some of our libraries during our sneak peek tour.

Our library team uses a vulnerability map to help pick bookmobile routes that will have the biggest impact on our community.

They partner with Marble's Kids Museum, Smart Start, and Project Enlightenment to bring books to some of our youngest and most vulnerable readers.

We're meeting Wake County children and their families where they are because we know that access to books can change lives.

When families get on the bookmobile, they can check out books, sign up for a library card, and learn about all the amazing programs our libraries offer.

And kids aren't the only ones who get to have fun on the bus on the bookmobile.

The library on the go program also carries titles and makes stops cater toward older adults who deserve to dive into a great book too.

So in closing, I'm so excited to see the bookmobile on the roads bringing joy and knowledge to all our community.

Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Waters, for those reflections and for your longstanding support of our libraries.

Today really is a celebration of access, community, and possibility, and the Wake County Library on the Go initiative embodies all of that.

We're excited about the future of this new bookmobile and book hauler.

But before we look ahead, it's important to remember how we got here.

The bookmobile has a long and meaningful history in Wake County, and each chapter has brought us to this moment.

Wake County started mobile service way back in 1942 after the state aid for public libraries helped the county purchase our very first bookmobile.

This vehicle was shared by the Olivia Rainey Local History Library and their Richard B.

Harrison Community Library, and run by a county librarian and works progress administration library clerk.

Stops included county schools, gas stations, post offices, drug stores, residences, and the prison.

In 1946, head librarian Clyde Smith requested an increase in funds to purchase an additional bookmobile, which we added in 1947.

Service continued in the 1950s and the 60s and was funded on a county level.

The Bookmobile also provided books to community libraries such as Wendell, Fuquave Arena, and Apex.

After funding cuts ended service in 1973, the county was able to use grant money to purchase a new vehicle, which we launched in 1996.

The county added a second bookmobile in 1999.

Since then, we've been working towards a new vision for outreach.

And today we're celebrating the result of that effort, our brand new bookmobile and book hauler.

The Bookmobile and Bookhauler are more than just vehicles.

They represent Wake County's commitment to meeting people where they are.

They are designed to increase library awareness, access, and use for all residents.

The bookmobile is designed to nurture and cultivate early literacy skills in young children.

The book hauler supports seniors by providing opportunities for connection, lifelong learning, and access to library resources in places where they live and gather.

And thanks to the support of our staff, our community, and our leadership.

This initiative will help us build a more connected, equitable Wake County.

I want to thank the Wake County Board of Commissioners for their steadfast support and continued investment in the library system.

Thank you to the Wake County Library Commission, Library Administration, and Community Services Administration for your guidance and leadership.

Special thanks to our communications office for the creative vision behind the Bookmobile Design and to General Services Administration for bringing that vision to life through production and purchasing.

And of course, thank you to the library staff who lead our outreach efforts and will be bringing the library on the go initiative to life.

In closing, I want to emphasize that the bookmobile is more than just a vehicle.

It has touched lives in personal and powerful ways.

No one understands that better than library director Tammy Baggett, who brings her own firsthand experience with bookmobiles to our mission today.

Please join me in welcoming Tammy.

Thank you, Ashley.

Thank you, Commissioner Waters and Deputy County Manager Jacobs for your remarks and for your continued support of Wake County Public Libraries.

And thank all of you for being here today to celebrate National Outreach Day and the launch of our new bookmobile and book hauler.

I'd like to begin with a quick personal story that is one that really shaped how I feel about libraries and about access.

I grew up in a small town, Clinton, North Carolina, outside of the city limits, and my parents formed, and they didn't have the opportunity to take me to the library doing during the summer.

So I'd read at home all the time, but in the summer, I didn't get to experience that going to the brick and mortar location.

They arranged for the bookmobile to come to me.

So I was always so excited to bring out my huge basket and go on the bookmobile and just fill it with all of these books so I could travel all over the world.

One funny thing about the bookmobile coming to my house is I thought, this is the naive part of me at that time, I was young, that the bookmobile only came to my house, that it did not go to visit anyone else, and that I had the coolest parents in the world.

So I still think I have the coolest parents, but I did learn that the bookmobile did exactly what it needed to do.

It provided access to so many in a rural community that would not have been able to get the libraries otherwise.

So that experience has really stayed with me, and it's a big part of why I'm so proud of the work we do here at Wake County Public Libraries.

When speaking about the library system, I always go back to our vision.

And our vision is that we will be a vibrant, innovative public library system that serves as a destination to spark curiosity, foster learning, and strengthen community connections.

We aim to create dynamic spaces to empower individuals to grow and thrive, providing opportunity and access for all.

Those spaces don't always have to be physical libraries.

As we can see today, that's where our library on the go initiatives really comes in.

At its heart, it's about removing barriers and building those connections, strong connections within the community.

It's a bridge between communities and the resources that help them learn, grow, and thrive.

For some residents, the bookmobile is their library.

How powerful and meaningful is that.

Stepping on board and discovering a space that's welcoming and full of possibility.

As we've traveled around our sneak peek tour over the last few weeks, we've heard how meaningful this service is.

People tell us that they feel seen.

They feel welcomed, they feel that sense of community that we're working hard to strengthen.

They appreciate the curated collections convenience, but more importantly, they appreciate the human connection with our staff.

Our team works hard.

They work hard to make the library on the go experience so special for everyone.

The collection is dynamic and it is shaped by what people want most.

We update it constantly based on community feedback, so every visit feels fresh and relevant.

It's a blend of tradition and innovation, rooted in Wake County's long history of bookmobile service, as Ashley explained earlier.

But it is modern in its approach to access and community engagement.

This kind of outreach is essential to our mission to instill the love of reading and foster the pursuit of knowledge for all residents of Wake County.

It ensures that everyone, regardless of transportation, schedule, age, or circumstances, that they have access to the joy and opportunity that a library provides.

Wake County's library go on the service expands what's possible.

And there's so many possibilities with this.

It allows us to serve more people with more resources.

And it helps us keep that promise libraries make to the communities.

We will meet you exactly where you are.

Thank you for celebrating with us today, and thank you for supporting a service that continues to inspire curiosity, connections, and lifelong learning across Wake County libraries.

And with that, I will hand it back over to Aaron.

Thank you.

Thank you so much to all of our speakers.

And thank you all for being here for supporting the service that means so much to so many people.

Our team is very excited to continue bringing books, programs, and personal connection directly to the communities we serve.

We'd like to bring all of our speakers and officials up for a group photo, but before we do that, I'd like to invite Commissioner Waters aboard the Bookmobile for a ceremonial crank of the engine to officially get things rolling.

That's all for this episode of Wake TV.

Keep up with all the latest Wake County news by visiting us online at Wake.gov slash news.

And be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, so you can always stay in the loop.

We'll see you next time.

Are we Sadia Satar?

Is she yes?

Somebody.

You get you get me today.

Okay.

Nick Sadler budget management services.

We are happy that we are at the first budget work session for the FY 2027 budget.

We've got a couple of or three budget notes that we want to share with you.

These budget notes were requested over the past year.

The first one is from Councilmember Melton.

Um wanting us to bring information back on a permanent band stage and public art at City Plaza.

The second one came from Councilmember Harrison asking about the urban tree projects in parks, recreation, and cultural resources.

And then finally, um, three of you at the April 6th budget work session asked three separate questions that you wanted us to do some follow-up on from SolidWay Services.

So we're going to go through those budget notes.

We also have staff here from those various departments that can answer deeper questions if there are any.

If we are going with the permanent uncovered stage of the 1.85 with the low-level art to 3.6 million for a more permanent covered stage at 2.85 million with the highest level of public art.

So there is some mixing and matching there that if you decide to move forward with this that you can you can do.

At this time, um obviously this was not included in the FY 2027 capital improvement plan.

So if um council wishes, we can re-prioritize, you can reprioritize the capital projects that are proposed.

Um adjust revenue to pay for this depending on what you would like, or we can include this in consideration for funding in the FY 2028 capital budget.

Happy to answer any questions that I can.

Counselor Lambert Melton.

Sure.

I just wanted to provide thank you very much.

I want to provide a little additional context.

This was not a specific request from me.

I personally do not have a heightened interest or disinterest in a bandstand.

This did come from the economic development innovation committee.

It was part of the public realm study and recommendations and an ongoing discussion we were having with the downtown Raleigh Alliance and just general discussion around what improvements should we make to the Fateville Street Corridor.

And one of the discussions we had that kept sort of rising to the top was a bandstand in City Plaza area to sort of activate that space.

And we had referred it out of committee with a recommendation that we seek a budget note.

So that's where we landed here.

And so this is where we landed.

So I guess it's just we've got to figure out if we're going to prioritize it and how we're going to pay for it.

Counselor Pott.

Yeah.

Hi, thanks.

I'll say for my colleagues, I think my instinct, and we we can discuss more, is to ask us to be programmed into the 28 fiscal year budget rather than asking for a reprogramming of of this budget that's almost faked.

So that's kind of where I'm at now.

Council Branch?

Yeah, I would agree about fiscal year 2A, but I have a couple of questions that can hopefully help direct that.

My first question is who would program this?

Like who would maintain how would it operate?

So Councilmember Limbert Meldon may talk a little bit about what was discussed in the committee.

However, I think from ours from a programming perspective, it would be a shared responsibility and a joint partnership between us and DRA to kind of make sure that number one, we're not competing and conflicting with anything that any events that we have programmed as part of our lineup each year, and then two that we're not competing with anything that Beale King has set aside for DRA.

So I would think it would be a partnership.

Jonathan, did you all get that far into conversation in the committee?

Yeah.

I mean, we talked about in an ongoing effort to provide more flexibility in that area.

First, it would serve as a day-to-day function.

People can just use it.

They can eat lunch there, they can work from there.

And then the second part is these things like the live after fives or the sort of pop-up.

I think that they want to be able to do more programming there once we have the option.

And so I think it would really function like we're seeing right now with these events, some of that are happening in Moore Square and then some that do happen on Fateville Street, but they have to bring in obviously a stage and everything.

Okay.

So with that and how to fill in this where it was going to go, I would say definitely let's move this to fiscal year 28 budget, but also look at partnerships and possibly sponsorships.

Yeah.

That can help offset some of the costs into this as well.

So that would be my um direction that I would give.

Can I add one thing?

Yep.

We we didn't talk about the second option, the public art.

We have those two pedestals that are on Fayetteville Street right now at City Plaza.

It's called City Plaza.

Am I saying that right?

And they're empty, but we use them for like pop-up installations.

And I think that maybe if we're going to push the bandstand to fiscal year 28, I would like to see the public art move forward and in this budget.

That op those options range from 150 to 500.

I'm assuming we could find some capacity for that, even if maybe comes out of when we close don't we have uh reserves when the budget is.

And make a contribution out of fund balance or capital reserve.

Yeah, so could we get the are we good with getting the art piece back in the fall and seeing if we can fund my preference on the artist, I feel like we could do the lower option where we purchase two pre-made structures that fit on the existing well Sarah Powers has just walked in to the uh I will so that I will just say yeah, I'd be curious, Sarah's input on the private funding capacity and any additional work that's been done about the four sculptures.

And while you're answering that, Sarah, it was my understanding, this is years ago, that the intent was to have rotating art on those pedestals on a regular basis.

So I don't know whether that budget was baked in at some point that ceased to be the practice.

So hi, I'm Sarah Power.

Welcome, Mark.

Thanks for inviting me to the podium.

Glad I stopped by.

The um intention probably wasn't to have that rotating.

The plaza opened with three empty pedestals and no percent for art funding yet.

So the solution was to br have artwork loaned for a small sort of artist stipend to cover a kind of a rental agreement.

What we found is less and less artwork is made like that right now.

Sort of there was very few artists who would apply.

We wouldn't, we were getting kind of the same old stuff over and over again.

So when the plaza was renovated a couple of times, we sort of thought the plot they were going to go away.

Pedestals are going away, so we cut that program.

We did put the acorn there, which is really great because that's where they drop it for New Year's.

You don't have to take an acorn on a field trip.

Um that worked out pretty well.

But the um other two pedestals we have not come up with a the loan isn't ideal.

There's fairly small pedestals to find something with that small footprint with the impact, I think folks want to see.

But if that's where we end up, we probably could relook at that program and maybe more with a temporary versus you know, there's not a lot of like metal and stone monoliths that are loanable in that scale.

Yeah, I was just gonna add the conversation we had in the committee was a permanent installation, something that can be a signature for the city when people come from out of town.

It's like a kind of go-to, get your photo taken here type of art slash economic development/slash branding opportunity.

Conversation we were having before you walked in is the three options in front of us.

Um I don't know if you have the specifics, but level one is sort of purchasing a pre-made structure that will fit 10 to 12 feet tall, um quicker delivery, but obviously there would be less customization.

Option two would be mid-level, which would be a 10 to 12 foot fall tall, two twelve to 10 to 12 foot fall structures that we would commission.

So obviously it would be customizable.

And then the high level would be custom design, 20 feet tall, interactive.

And I think the mayor was asking if you had thoughts on that or what conversations have happened.

I mean, that's a lot of art.

That's where you're gonna have some interaction.

That's when you're gonna have you know some light interact, you know, some maybe kinetic, light, something very striking 24 hours a day.

Um, you know, just artwork is more expensive right now.

The more customization, the more the artist is involved in designing with community engagement, you know, sort of to get to the scale.

Purchasing artwork, you know, you it's going to be abstract, it's going to maybe be colorful, but there's just not going to be a lot of inventory.

I think it's going to be sort of what is out there.

Um transportation is going to be a good chunk of any of these, getting the artwork made and put in place and the durability is key.

Probably the high level, you're going to have to sort of put in infrastructure too to support it, especially if it has some sort of kinetic or light aspect to it.

Well, I mean, hearing that I I do I would like to see if we my personal preference would be to get this art piece back in the fall and see what reserve funding we have.

And that may help us decide which one of these levels we'd want we want to do.

Yeah.

And I'll say I'm fine with that as well.

I I think this probably needs some more baking, if I can use the art term to really figure out what works.

Yeah, we can come back with more detail of what's in this budget range.

Yeah, maybe the city manager you could work together and bring us options in the fall with a little more specificity and then the funding mechanism for them.

Okay.

Thank you for being quick on your feet.

All right.

On to the next budget note.

Um this budget note came from Mayor Pur Tim Harrison.

Um, and uh the program was the leaf out program was developed.

A leaf leaf out program was developed by Parks Recreation and Cultural Resources.

The initiative was put forth in the budget process, but ultimately was not in your recommended budget that the city manager presented um back in earlier May.

Um the first year cost of the program um right now are six hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which would include operating needs, equipment, supplies, and staffing necessary for this.

And because this wasn't included, council could identify offsetting reductions in the general fund budget, the operating budget, utilize additional revenues, or consider um other funding if they wish to include the program in the 2027 adopted budget.

I know that there is also a grant that is in the works that um is is going through the state, and I think Stephen Bentley is here to speak to that if there's any questions on that.

Okay, we'll start with Mayor Partem Harrison.

Yeah, I just want to ensure that the Leaf Out Plan has funding this year.

You know, we put the plan you know, approved it.

We have a goal set now for 2032 to have 24,000 trees planted.

And I'm concerned if we don't have clear funding to start the process.

I don't know how we're gonna get there.

Um I know this grant might be underway, so I would like to hear details about that.

Um I just wanted to uh you know mention in the budget we do hear, you know, there it does talk about the leaf out plan.

So I want to understand again what parts will be funded, um, particularly how many trees can be planted with funding that you have in mind uh with the grant, staffing, partner contracts, who are specific partners we might be working with, education activities as well as maintenance costs, because as we all know, if we plant a tree, it's not enough.

We better water it too.

Um so yes, very curious to hear what is planned with that grant, Stephen, and the timeline of it.

Yeah, um Stephen Bentley with Raleigh Parks.

The $1 million grant has multiple components, and we haven't uh finalized our agreement with the state.

A good portion is maintenance.

So we have a tree canopy now that needs to be maintained, and part of those funds would go towards that.

The other would go towards, believe it or not, tree removal, because we do have some hazard trees.

And then the other bucket would be this community focused on tree planting.

Um we can bring back a detailed summary of how that grant would move the needle on the leaf out program.

Um it will, but not to the expectation of what the 650 would.

Um grant doesn't supply for staff to do that, but we would hopefully have some really great partners who have been enthusiastic along the way.

So we could follow up with uh a very detailed memo on what we believe the grant can do in year one, and then those things that it cannot do that we were hoping to do.

What is the total cost of the grant or how much money is?

It's one million dollars.

And that all is to go to leaf out?

Um the grant was intended kind of in the three buckets.

One is tree care, so that is safety, and all of our street trees need to be regularly pruned and maintained for safety purposes.

The other is to support some tree removal for dying or disease trees, and then that third bucket would be more of the leaf out, which is planting and community issue initiatives.

Since we haven't finalized the contract with the grantor, we have it locked into those thresholds, or we don't know how much they'll allow us to pull up one and reduce the other.

So that would be kind of a two-way conversation with the grantor.

So is the grant approved or it is.

Yeah, yes.

Yes.

But there is still some conversation about how it can, the monies can be used.

Yes, we just don't know how much flexibility we'll have within the grantor.

So we want to now do more of this and less than this.

This is the agency.

Uh it's the state of North Carolina.

Um I don't recall the specific agency.

The other is this can only be used in certain census blocks.

It can't be used anywhere in the city.

Okay.

But it would be using census blocks of which we desire, which are historically underinvested and areas that need tree canopy.

So it aligns with our values.

Yeah, I would like to see the details on that grant so I can just better understand it.

Um I do again have some concerns here if we're not putting any of our own funds to this project, particularly for personnel, because I know you all you know have jobs already, every one of your staff members.

We only have one urban forester.

You know, he has a huge job.

And so if we don't have someone that is propelling this effort forward, I just fear that it will not have the outcomes intended.

Um, and so that's something I would definitely like to make sure is in our budget is a person who is going to really bring this project home, and not just partners, because partner contracts at the end of the day, they're not our folks, and we don't have the same level of accountability.

And so wanted to kind of clarify a little bit of staff's intentions around this is to kind of develop a strategy, right?

We're talking about how do we invest these funds in planting trees, but we need to develop a strategy of where the trees are going to go, what kinds of trees, how many in certain specific areas.

So we will have dedicated staff working to try to figure that out as we get through the first year of the program.

Because right now it's just a blank template and we're talking about planting trees, but we really need to be strategic about how we do it so that we best use the funds that we're able to get from the state and then leverage those for our own internal funds as well as meet the needs and the concerns of the community around the program.

Yeah, I agree the strategy is important, but my question again is who is gonna have the time and the focus on it.

So that's why I wouldn't put back to council is ensuring we have at least one person who is implementing this program, and then also again the details on the grant to ensure that we're making headway on our goals.

So how many trees can we plant with the grant?

What are the numbers so that we can see that we can get you know to the 24,000 goal?

Okay.

Counselor Patton and then Counselor Silver.

Hi.

Building on some of those questions.

So we've we've received the grant, but we don't have the money in the bank.

We have not drawn it down.

The grant has been approved.

So uh sequencing is you apply for a grant, they will say you are approved.

Then it is a contractual negotiation between the fundor and the recipient.

And that is the stage we are in right now.

So that sounds slow.

Um how long before we have money in the bank?

I I couldn't give you that.

Um we have had grants that sit for a year or two.

Our grant for Smoky Hollow, we still have net receive funds, and that was announced two years ago.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

I was nervous you would say something like that.

Yep.

Um then so and then so looking at this 650,000 is um a bit higher than I remember like talking about in the select committee, and I realize more work has probably been done.

So what is broadly speaking uh but a little more specific now on this bullet point what's included in the 650,000?

It would be a combination of things.

One thing the manager talked about is um we wanted to develop a strategy with partners when we looked at some small granting program similar to the Office of Raleigh Arts.

If it were working with a nonprofit, there needs to be certain criteria and thresholds.

So that takes time and energy to do.

So there was a person uh baked into that.

Then there was some materials and supplies that we could use with our partners.

We have three or four that have been open to say we can help you plant trees and then actual funds to buy trees uh to not only put on our property, but the partners would help leverage on private property.

Okay.

So one so one staff position and then I believe it was at least one staff position.

Yes.

Okay.

Yep.

Got it.

That will be part of the breakdown we will share.

What has those those eager partners that we have that have been part of this process, like how have conversations developed?

How do you envision this program?

They have been waiting patiently.

That's the way I would I would share.

They have this been open to say we can fill a niche that historically you do not, which is right now we regulate trees and maintain trees.

We do not have, besides our street tree program, a really assertive on private property, tree planting program, and they will help us fill that niche.

Okay.

Got it.

All right.

I'm not sure how much.

I have a comment and then a question.

I I certainly would support the 650,000 uh for this year, not knowing how long the grant will take.

Uh but I think because of the need, uh and this is where my question is coming in.

Uh, you just mentioned private property, so I assume in terms of planting street trees, because I too, like the Mayor Pro Tem, thought this was already baked into the Leaf Out program, that there are street trees, there are trees on city-owned property, parks, and other, and then there are trees on private property.

I think we all know that street trees are the most expensive of the three, and so it's my hope, because I think that is where we have uh significant need, particularly in some of the areas you mentioned.

So that's why I would push for front loading it, because since we want to do this by 2032, it makes more prudent sense to have the money to start and then the grant would be value added since you said it has limitations in terms of what census tracks uh it could be implemented.

So in terms of the program itself, I know you are saying you develop a strategy or a city manager said that.

Is the plan for street trees, trees on city-owned property, and then private property, which are gonna work with partners.

Is that what the strategy was?

Council Member Simple, it would be all the above.

And I don't want to think we are starting from zero.

We have incredible data on heat islands from our sustainability office.

We have mapped every street tree in the city, and we have GIS data on our own property.

So we have strategies in place.

We just don't have a strategic and intentional program to deliver the plantings, the maintenance in limbing.

We have foresters that do that.

Okay.

And the last point is maybe getting into weeds, but I have heard you have heard me say this before and and others.

I I am concerned about some of the type of street trees, like in my opinion, a crepe myrtle should not qualify as a street tree, and the opportunity to kind of write the ship of providing the shade for people to walk on our very hot climate, uh, so that there is a tree that provides shade and not a tree that just fills a tree well.

And so to me, I am hoping this strategy starts to provide some of those benefits to those walkers, but also those benefits just to the city in general about air quality, water quality, and cooling our city.

So that's just a little point I wanted to make.

Follow-up comment, positive nose.

We have updated our manual for trees and recently the manager executed our native uh plants policy.

So moving forward, not only park projects, but all my peers that are building anything in Raleigh through the City of Raleigh government now have to adhere to a native uh species policy.

That's great.

Councilor Jones.

Thank you so much.

Um I was just wondering um a few things.

So the 650 would be for the city, the city would then make that would be who would be the in charge of it.

And then we would partner with others.

It's correct.

Have we done a similar tree planting program in the past?

Yes.

We had a program I would have to go back and look that was called neighborwoods.

And we would supply trees to landowners, teach them how to plant that, how to maintain it.

Um don't have much more information about that because that does predate my leadership role.

Right.

I guess I'm just saying if there was any iteration of it before, I guess in the planning phases, this is where we would incorporate what lessons learned from that to then create something new.

Yes.

And then reach out to our partner organizations to help us accomplish that.

Yes.

As well as we have had some national speakers come in during Reflect Raleigh, the planning department brought in trees across Atlanta, which is a incredible model for not really the city of Atlanta, but City Atlanta supported getting it off the ground.

It is a very robust uh philanthropic-led tree planting system in Atlanta.

And that's our hope and aspirations down the line.

Awesome.

And what is that communication look like if this is approved and you have that 650?

How would we as council find out about it?

Would it be an update that you would give to us during a work session or how would we hear about the I think we could not only do work session council updates, we could also do managers updates.

And also we have a sustainability wildlife and urban trees which you appoint those members, they would certainly get which the community members really move this policy through, they would get routine updates.

And we have growth in, or I don't know what you are called now, but growth and natural resources that might be.

Environmental resiliency.

Thank you.

Um environmental resilience.

Um if there is some place that we can know where that lives so that we know where to go back and forth, maybe that's just an idea to put it on your table.

So thank you so much.

Councilor Branch?

So of course we're implementing a leaf out program in the new year, correct?

Correct.

So what does the additional because it sounds I'm seeing I'm I'm understanding it seems to be some overlap between the urban tree budget note we have here and our leaf out program.

So I'm trying to figure out the delta.

Yeah, I would not see um an overlap.

Our current role as a city is to maintain and regulate trees, and a portion of that is tree planting.

But it is not community-based tree planting.

It is replacing street trees.

When we build something in a park or working with transportation, we plant trees there.

We do not have a community forester.

And essentially that is what this does.

It liaisons with nonprofits or corporations to say we'd love for you to work with our nonprofit partners in the city to grow our urban tree canopy.

That is the core of what this request would be.

Okay.

So it is all about just working in the private sector and improving the project.

And community partners.

And community partners.

Okay.

And you need 50 is needed to do that.

Yes.

Okay.

One of the things we always when we do with budget notes, um, I know in the past, on a budget note, there was usually a recommendation of where the money could possibly come from.

This one doesn't, I don't see that.

So what are the options of the options are to raise to raise taxes five tenths of a cent to raise your tax rate from 1.70 to 1.75, cut expenses elsewhere, or raise another revenue source from fees or something like that.

That that third one being probably the least favorable option in this particular instance.

So cut expenses somewhere else, raise revenue.

Okay.

So, Mayor, for time, and then I'll come back to Councilor Pott.

Yeah, I think after hearing about the nature of um you know the grant and we're not sure about the timeline.

I am prepared to make a motion to move forward to fund this program for that first year cost of 650K, I think to Councilmember Silver's point.

Hopefully the grant can then help us down the road to reduce expenses on this effort.

But at this point, with the community, I think in great support and many of us I think had a sense that we were moving forward on this with the plan.

I think it's really important that we start the work.

So I'm I'm gonna put that motion forward.

Okay.

So we have a second to the motion.

And um let me go to Councilor Patton and then Jones.

Yeah.

Um yeah, I'm I think a bunch of people seconded it, but I'm happy I'm happy to second that.

I you know, trees are planted in the fall, as you've taught taught us, and if we don't find a way to fund it this year, we we lose an entire year.

And so then suddenly the amount of trees we're committing to plant each year becomes higher, right?

Every day that passes is more trees that need to be planted in that time.

And um, yeah, I was sort of thought we had I had hoped that we would see this baked into the budget already.

So I would um like to pursue this funding.

I'd like to do it without raising revenues.

Um so I know that means we have to go dig in the couch cushions, and I know that will be hard, and it's been a hard year, and I understand that oh gosh.

Um I understand the challenges of that.

I can suggest that I could work with the manager on what the grant allows for, and then we do get some small fees through the development process and look at that and then bring back the delta on a recommendation to the manager.

Is that on how we get year one going, but not exactly at this.

We want to make sure we look at all aspects of revenues and the grant to see if we can pull down the six fifty.

Okay, I'm gonna stack I have Jones and then Lambert Melton and then Ford.

High interest in this topic.

I have noticed yes.

Yes, no, I'm very very excited about it.

Love the work that went into it.

But uh Counselor Patton touched on you know where which which choice did we want, because I know raising taxes even further is not something that I don't I I'm not really interested in either.

Um so thank you for sharing your thoughts on that and would love to hear you know other places that other that people might think we would find money.

Um but before I can support it, I just like to have an idea of where we are funding it from.

Lambert Melton.

Yeah, two things.

Councilmember Jones, I agree.

Um I I won't support an additional tax increase.

And so I don't feel comfortable voting on it right now.

If a vote was called, I would vote no for that reason.

Um I also think we typically do budget notes when we pass the budget.

Um and then Mr.

Bentley's point, I would be very interested for this to come back at our next budget work session or one before we pass the budget, figure out where you can find some money to close the gap, what the delta is and what the funding mechanism could actually be.

Council Ford.

Uh ditto to my learn it council to the left.

But yeah, I don't I don't know that I think we can do a motion and approve anything today if we don't know how we're going to fund it.

Okay.

Go ahead.

Yeah, I would agree.

But also on page 298 in our budget um under capital hikes for parks, recreation and cultural resources.

It says urban tree canopy improvements at locations throughout the city, $500,000.

That is why I suggested we will come back to you with another.

A couple of years ago, the manager supported both invasive species and um trees to be part of our capital budget as green infrastructure.

So if we come back and work these numbers, we this 650 would go down.

Okay.

So that is this 500 that I'm reading here, part of that 650.

It is not.

That is part of the cap the capital budget.

CIP budget.

Yes, the CIP.

That's right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So we can do some trading off to kind of get there again.

I think short of having a designed program, committing to 650 in year one when we don't really know where and what we're planning, is unrealistic.

So I don't want us to sit expectation that we're gonna plant $650,000 worth of trees because by the time we get to the point of planting season and get the partners on board and staff after July 1, that that's a short runway.

But we will go back and look and see what we have in CIP.

What um Mr.

Bentley mentioned a few minutes ago is about the grant agreement.

We have the opportunity in a lot of our state grants to go and massage the grant language to kind of designate how the funding will be stipulated throughout the functions that are approved on the state level.

So by putting it in buckets, much like we've done the the bonds that will allow us to then ultimately say, you know, one third for maintenance, one third for plantings, and that kind of gets us to an amount as well, and then whatever we're able to get out of CIP and out of his um regular annual departmental budget.

So we can bring all that back next Monday at your next um work session.

So I want to go back because we do have a motion and a second on the table.

Unless you withdraws the motion.

Yeah.

Is the motion to direct staff to bring back a funding source?

No.

No, it's the approved doing this.

Do you want to amend your motion?

I mean, I'm I still support this.

Um I do have concerns again that we're not planning at the speed that I thought we were, and the personnel piece is what I think is really important.

Um I can hold off, I guess I'll withdraw my motion until next Monday.

Um but my uh my intent here doesn't change.

Yeah.

Oh, we understand direction of staff.

Yeah.

I think we got the direction we need if you're okay.

Thank you very much.

Absolutely.

Thanks, Stephen.

All right.

The next topic is an information request that is coming back to you regarding Solid Waste services.

Um the first question was to provide a list of comparable services provided by other cities and jurisdictions.

Um that list is in the memo that has been provided in the packet.

Just some summary about the list.

Most of the most of the cities surveyed here in North Carolina provide similar core services to Raleigh with several supplementing services like bulky pickup, white goods collection, seasonal leaf collection.

Um services are provided by municipalities while some are contracted out by the municipality.

And then the cost recovery, which we'll get to in the third slide here, really depends on the particular municipality.

The other question that we got was um a 10-year history of solid waste services and the monthly rate structure.

And as you can see from the chart here, we've had these gradual intentional increases that um help soften um the cost and the shock um to our customers.

So what we don't want to see obviously is a spike and then fall back down.

These have been intentional increases um over the last seven years.

Obviously, in FY26, um Solid Waste Services became a full enterprise, um, which we were able to do still with um with softening that uh ultimate fee increase to our customers.

And then finally, we got the question about other municipalities and the split of general fund versus user fees for the Solid Waste Services Enterprises, and it really runs the gamut.

We just looked in North Carolina because we wanted to compare apples to apples in cur in terms of finances and how those things work.

So it runs a gamut from Wilmington, who is 99.7% funded by user user fees to Winston-Salem, who is 17% funded by user fees right now, um, and these are all proposed budgets for FY27.

We were able to get that information directly from our partners throughout the state.

Raleigh is at one percent um provided by the general fund, and those are for activities that are public good in nature, picking up dead animals, um working with the special events crews, things that are that are more again more public good with 99 percent paid by um user fee.

So happy to take any questions, and our colleagues from Solid Waste Services are here as well.

Okay, thank you for this information, which is intriguing.

Uh any questions on this?

Yes.

Yeah, just a couple questions, and I don't know if I missed it, apologies.

But um compared to these other communities, are our fees very different, you know, percentage-wise.

Uh and I don't know if you have that data here.

So that was in the April 6th budget work session, and I believe that we were very favorably compared with our our neighbors.

I don't know if Solid Waste Services staff has that, but we can we can get that sent back out to you.

That was a question that came to me in some of the budget uh questioning.

So I just wanted to check on that in particular question about they thought the town of Kerry had much less lower fees than we do.

So I I'll check that one um to make sure.

Yeah.

Um and can you tell me who has a compost program here?

Do you know?

You all know who has a compost program?

I don't have a I didn't I didn't see a compost program in any of the municipalities that we surveyed.

I thought the town of Carey might have one.

I wasn't sure what the status of any of those because all the services are mentioned here, but I didn't see compost.

We can we can review that and get back to you on that, but to my knowledge, I don't I don't think that they do have a municipal wide um service.

But um Carrie has food collection.

Um sorry.

Uh Sylvia Bayer, uh assistant director of Solid Way Services uh here on behalf of Chicago.

Um the uh Carrie Municipality has a food um collection service through Compost Now.

And that's that's all that's and they are paying for that service through their fees.

It's not a separate fee structure, like it's just uh all wrapped into one.

Uh I will have to double check on that.

I think the customers are paying for that circus.

I'll have to get back on that.

Okay, yeah, I think maybe a city manager's just update on how their compost program works or for uh food waste that would be helpful.

All right.

Any other questions on SOLIDWASE?

Well, that is all that we have.

Um, just want to go through next steps.

Obviously, tomorrow night we'll welcome the public in for a public hearing on the FY27 proposed budget at 7 p.m.

Next um Monday, in addition to the information on the Urban Tree program.

We'll also bring a packet of ordinances for you all to consider.

Um after tomorrow night, you you are now you are legally eligible to adopt the budget at any time after tomorrow night.

And then we'll have budget work sessions each Monday in April, and or each Monday in April, each Monday in June until the budget is adopted.

It's been a long spring.

Um then the council must adopt the budget by June 30th.

So anything else?

Any other questions?

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And uh we do not have further business, so we are adjourned.

I'm Melanie Rouge, and this is what I do.

I'm the transit planning manager for Raleigh's Bus Rapid Transit program, also known as BRT.

We are overseeing a large suite of capital infrastructure projects that will improve the rider experience through some of Raleigh's ice ridership routes.

What does that really mean?

That means higher frequency bus service, elevated amenities, and safe pedestrian infrastructure to improve on that first last mile experience.

One area I'm excited for is safe pedestrian improvements at every bus stop.

We're gonna be able to deliver that as a part of the VRT program.

I love working for the city of Raleigh because I get to work on some large transformational projects that are going to have a huge impact on the city's future.

I'm a resident of Raleigh, so it's really exciting to know that I'm going to improve on this experience for my neighbors, my friends, and all of the residents here in the city.

Oh I'm Savannah Hubbard, and this is what I do.

Savannah is the events and programs manager at Pullin Park, which opened in 1887 as North Carolina's first public park.

She oversees lots of events here, including the summer concert series, story times, and Holiday Express.

It is a 17-day holiday festival where the whole park is decked out in lights, and we have all kinds of things that people around the area can come experience, including crafts, games, and even an experience with Santa Claus.

Whether you're looking to warm up by a cozy fire, write a letter to Santa.

Play fun holiday games or toss snowballs with your besties.

Savannah always has something planned for everyone.

It's very satisfying to see families come in, their eyes lit up, they're very excited to be here, and we have Santa's cabooth set up as his workshop, and we also have the carousel decked out in holiday lights, and we also have holiday music playing in the background.

So it's just a very nice place to work around the holidays.

And seeing the excitement and the joy in people's eyes when they come here at Pullin is probably one of the things I look forward to the most.

I've had a hand in Rally Union Station.

Chavis Community Center, Pulling Arts Center, Fire Station 22, Fire Station 14.

But the project that brings me the most joy and it's going to be the highlight of my career is the one that I'm standing in right now.

Our new city hall.

17 stories, 360,000 gross square feet.

Our customer service experience is going to improve.

And the reason why is because we're not going to be located in five different spaces downtown.

We're going to be located in one space right here.

Pay a bill, sign a kid up for camp, meet with a reviewer, all in the same spot.

I love what I do.

I love helping to plan, build and construct buildings that everybody uses and enjoys in the city.

I'm glad to be a part of it.

I'm Robert Hansen and this is what I do.

Whether you're a Raleigh native or new to the area, you've probably been to Poland Park.

It's a magical place for kids and adults.

And then coming back to the park setting with this, being able to bring my grandkids out here, and they call it Pops Park.

There's nothing better than that.

And then of course getting bringing my wife for 43 years is not a bad deal either.

Robert's favorite part of the job is the kids.

He loves talking to generations of families that have been visiting this park for decades.

And of course, like everyone, he always looks forward to Holiday Express.

Merry Christmas.

And there's more.

He says it's a lot of work, but it's also a lot of fun.

What I love about my job is I get to be a rock star to a four-year-old.

It doesn't get any better than that.

Hola, my name is Luis Fernando Olivery Robert.

What is my analyst of relationship?

One of the programs with the involucrated and participants is the Rally Neville College, the College of Vecinal de Raleigh.

What are some of the rettings of my travel?

Recently I recognized and honored with the Neighborhood Services Legacy Award.

It was a surprise.

Hi, welcome to Wake TV.

I'm your host, Taylor Shaw.

Summer's here, and there's a lot in store.

So stay tuned.

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Wake County EMS, we show staff members photos from the past.

Let's see what they have to say.

Because you couldn't stand up in the truck.

You had to be crouched over in this truck.

But you know what?

They never got rid of the truck.

No matter no matter whenever they got phones to replace a truck, they always kept this truck.

We instituted through the cable network a closed circuit television education program to the Raleigh Fire Department to add what is now simplistic on every wall, an automated external defibrillator, an AED.

Well, at the time this occurred, we were hosting downtown at the public safety center.

The cable system had a separate private feat, and we were feeding it with uh education programming where crews could go sit at their station, there was a number to call uh to ask questions, and we did all our education remotely.

That was a fun day.

Um so uh uh there was a recruit within one of the academies that kind of challenged, if I remember correctly, they challenged uh the director at the time, Chris Calangelo, to a volleyball match.

So admin against uh the recruits, which was we were just all for.

Um and so that was a really memorable day, and you know, not often do you get to kind of step outside of um just the regular stressors of the day and and do something really fun and cool with uh new employees, but um yeah, we should do more of that.

Old Zebulin truck.

That was a uh probably an old swab unit because that's what we used back then, old box trucks.

Uh they rode like old box trucks, so they don't people think what we ride in today are rough.

They had to ride in trucks like this.

I like this one because this proves that I really did do work.

Uh that may not be evident in all the pictures that I'm in now.

So doing news interviews and doing community outreach, yeah, that's stuff, but I I did the lifting work too.

And also I'd like to say back in my day we didn't have machines that did lifting for us like they do now.

We didn't just press a button with our pinky and then the patient gets loaded.

We actually had to lift people and load them in and make faces like we're doing hard work.

Before this is before I joined Wendy, but that they had a hers.

That's what they used to respond on.

Because it was pick them up, throwing the back, go to the hospital.

They did nothing yes.

So I do remember uh pictures uh of this before I joined.

Gerald Brown, who was not the first EMS director, but followed uh Russell Capps, who was wore a bunch of hats, was the emergency management director, the fire marshal, as well as the newly created EMS director in 76.

Yep, so advanced practice paramedics is the first thing that comes to mind there.

Oh, those cars were fast.

Um yeah, so I actually was an APP fill-in for a little bit.

Um ultimately ended up uh I became a uh district chief later on, but um I was an APP fill-in.

I was able to go through the class, um, which was a really cool curriculum learning about a lot of different resources that we could offer um patients within Wake County.

This would have been Easter in 1995 because my baby girl Shelby uh would have just been a few months old and then my son Neil here and then my wife Letisha taking the picture uh so it was wonderful when they would come visit there there was more occasion to have a visitor at a station then than there would be now my son Neil here is now a detective with the Garner Police Department.

This is uh this is a lot of memories here with my group of people um this supposed to been a dedication to probably window station possibly when it was open uh with Dr.

Cabanis and Chris there just looking at some of my Easter Wake folks kind of bring back memories of being able to look at them and uh all the memories we had because we were a big family as well.

This kind of hits me to my heart because as I started off you had to have a sponsor to go to get inducted into Wendell.

Well by chance the guy that sponsored me made this patch he designed the patch so it it hits right here and he's uh unfortunately passed away two years ago free support one location one day dedicated to those who served the Wake County Veterans Stand Down is a no cost event designed to connect veterans with services that can make a real difference.

Join us Saturday June 6th from 830 a.m to 330 p.m at William Peace University.

Free breakfast and lunch will be available along with showers, hygiene kits, clothing, and additional support services.

Veterans will also have access to healthcare screenings, VA benefits assistance, legal aid, employment resources, and more all in one convenient location.

You can stop by any time during the event.

No appointment is needed to receive services or speak with providers.

If you served in the U.S.

Armed Forces regardless of discharge status or length of service this event is open to you.

Veterans are encouraged to bring military identification or service related documents if available though no identification is required to attend or receive support.

The Veterans Stand Down is hosted by Wake County Veteran Services in partnership with Veterans Bridge Home and local service providers Wake County EMS isn't the only department celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.

We show park staff who's also celebrating 50 years photos from the past let's take a look these pictures and the articles are about like crab trees the county's first county park opened uh in 1988 um and uh has changed a lot over the years uh but some of the some of the things have not the tower still in existence that doesn't have its white eyebrows anymore this is where it all started for us as far as regional parks um and now we have uh several I included our nature preserve so really great but this is where it started this was my first job when I I left state parks and came back to Wake County uh was working at Lake Crabtree as the assistant manager so yeah lots of memories there.

This was one of my first burns at Harris Lake and so had to get a picture this is when I was younger by like 2002 I think it's 2003 um so it was just really neat to be able to drop lines and have the fire behind you and be on the gear so this is just a special treat to be able to do and I still um you know I burned the Longleaf area for years now and so continue to do that in different places in the parks but built a lot of good friendships worked with a lot of great people along the way to do these burns and so that area is just very precious to me.

Alright we're looking at all of our Casco's here at Oakview.

It's definitely our most popular thing for people to do is to come visit our goats.

We've had goats here since 2001 is when we first started having livestock and the time it was to go this first picture is of Felix.

Oscar and Henry Yeah and Oscar and Henry look like they're brand new.

Yeah they must have just been introduced uh in with the rest of them so it's very funny to see them now as little tiny guys sitting there next to big old Felix.

So this is the original prose logo.

Um it predates me.

Um it was just parks and recreation.

Open space wasn't even in our name back then.

Um believe it or not, this logo, you can still find it out in the uh out in the county.

There's a greenway and garner that we partnered with them on, and this logo is still on the trailhead gate.

So it's crazy that it's still out there, but this was uh 70s, um, 1970s logo.

So I'm looking at an old picture of our original playground at Blue Jay.

So, fun fact uh this is my childhood park.

But this original park um playground was in my opinion the best one.

It was the old school metal and wood.

It had amazing, um, you can sort of see the front, it's like tunnel system in the wood you could go um around and underneath.

And then our newest one, um, again, another little bit of a redesign.

Um, some new colors, new features.

Uh, we all agreed we wanted a really big slide again, like our original one.

Um, so we all tested the slides at different points to make sure they were tall enough and fast enough, but people were super excited when this uh new structure opened and we got it all finished up, and I think it really looks great.

And uh people are out every day using it, and so we're always happy that the playground has stayed a very popular area throughout the years and continues to welcome people to the park.

So the longleaf area is my crown jewel.

Um I am a burn boss, and so the 60-acre longleaf pioneer at Harris Lake is one of my favorite places, and this is a young longleaf pine, a young one that I've watched over the years, and anytime we had a burn, I was like protecting it.

I was like, this cannot burn.

We would make sure that it did well.

Um, and so I've just watched it over the years grow, so it's very it's very unique to see that.

And they can stay in grass stage for like seven years.

So to see it as it goes into its bottle brush stage, it's really a treat to see.

So each time I go back, I look for the specific tree that's along the maintenance road back there.

Um that's my specific one we kind of keep back here take of.

This is Felix and Leroy on their first day here.

Oh my gosh, they are so cute.

Yeah, these are the baby goat arrival day is the most exciting day around here for uh park staff for sure, and and any lucky visitors who happen to be here.

And then there's a whole period of time when the babies first arrive where they they aren't really ready to be with the other goats yet.

So you kind of have to graze them on their own.

So I think it was that entire summer.

You would just walk them through the Pecan Grove every day and just play with the baby ghosts.

They would chase them around.

Two-week quarantine.

They were very uh very attached to, so like you'd walk over the hill, and they'd all of a sudden realize they didn't see you, and they'd come running, you see those big ears that just be flat.

So cute.

Like they're so cute.

This is our first all parks brochure to cover all the parks in our district.

So this was uh the first one.

Um my family's in it.

Um, my wife and both my daughters.

I worked in Blue Jay, and we lived at Blue Jay when this picture was taken at Songbird celebration.

So my gosh.

So this is my claim to fame here.

I was driving down our longleaf road, and I almost threw myself through the windshield because I saw I thought it was first a skunk, but as I looked and jumped out, um, it was a fox squirrel.

They used to be historically in the area, but you just don't see them um very often, and they're they live in longleaf forest, so Harris Lake has 60 acres of Longleaf Pines.

So the second time I found it basically grabbed my phone, I was just hitting it.

I was looking at the squirrel, and I just kept hitting, and I got a really clear picture, and then I could tell everybody they'd believe me, you know, that there really was a fox squirrel at in our long leaf area at Harris Lake, so that was really cool.

Way County Public Library introduced the first bookmobile in 1942.

They're celebrating with a new member to the bookmobile family.

Let's take a look at the celebration.

Good morning.

How are you?

Welcome!

We're gonna go ahead and get started.

Um, I'm so pleased to see you all here today.

My name is Aaron Foley, and I'm the manager of our bookmobile and outreach programs here with Wake County Public Libraries, and I'm thrilled to welcome you as we celebrate this next chapter for our outreach services.

Today is National Library Outreach Day, which celebratory outreach and how library staff are working to meet our patrons where they are.

It's very fitting that today we shine a spotlight on our library go initiative and our brand new bookmobile and book hauler.

One of the greatest privileges of my work is being able to see the impact of library on the go has on the community.

How a single stop at a park or a partner site can create connection, inspire curiosity, and remind people that the library truly belongs to them.

It's an honor to share that work with you today.

Following today's remarks, you'll have the opportunity to explore the vehicles for yourself and visit a special exhibition on the bookmobile's history inside Olivia Rainey Library here.

Good morning, everyone.

What a beautiful day.

I'm Tara Waters, the Wake County Commissioner for District 5, which is where we are this morning, and it's such an honor to celebrate the new and improved bookmobile.

I want to acknowledge my fellow commissioners who are here in spirit and are huge supporters of literacy.

Our board shares a passion for literacy and education, which is why we have an entire section of our strategic plan dedicated to lifelong learning.

By 2029, we want three out of every four residents.

We asked to say Wake County has high quality educational facilities.

Even though it's on wheels, I think this counts.

And now I'm fortunate enough to share that same level of reading with my own children.

My youngest son and I are working our way through Nate the Great series right now.

Recently he got to dress up as one of the crayons from the day the crayons quit.

He chose the color green.

We love going to the library to discover new books together.

But I know that isn't realistic for everyone.

I used to teach adult learners getting their GED, and so many of my students didn't have early access to books, which impacted their education long term.

We hope to change that with our new bookmobile.

You might have already seen it around the county, and if you haven't, you will soon.

When families get on the bookmobile, they can check out books, sign up for a library card, and learn about all the amazing programs our libraries offer.

And kids aren't the only ones who get to have fun on the bus on the bookmobile.

The library on the go program also carries titles and makes stops cater toward older adults who deserve to dive into a great book too.

So in closing, I'm so excited to see the bookmobile on the roads bringing joy and knowledge to all our community.

Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Waters, for those reflections and for your longstanding support of our libraries.

Today really is a celebration of access, community, and possibility, and the Wake County Library on the Go initiative embodies all of that.

We're excited about the future of this new bookmobile and book hauler.

But before we look ahead, it's important to remember how we got here.

The Bookmobile has a long and meaningful history in Wake County, and each chapter has brought us to this moment.

Wake County started mobile service way back in 1942 after the state aid for public libraries helped the county purchase our very first bookmobile.

This vehicle was shared by the Olivia Rainey Local History Library and their Richard B.

Harrison Community Library, and run by a county librarian and works progress administration library clerk.

Stops included county schools, gas stations, post offices, drugstores, residences, and the prison.

In 1946, head librarian Clyde Smith requested an increase in funds to purchase an additional bookmobile, which we added in 1947.

Service continued in the 1950s and the 60s and was funded on a county level.

The bookmobile also provided books to community libraries such as Wendell, Fuquave Arena, and Apex.

After funding cuts ended service in 1973, the county was able to use grant money to purchase a new vehicle, which we launched in 1996.

The county added a second bookmobile in 1999.

Since then, we've been working towards a new vision for outreach.

And today we're celebrating the result of that effort, our brand new bookmobile and book hauler.

The bookmobile and bookhauler are more than just vehicles.

They represent Wake County's commitment to meeting people where they are.

They are designed to increase library awareness, access, and use for our residents.

The bookmobile is designed to nurture and cultivate early literacy skills in young children.

The book hauler supports seniors by providing opportunities for connection, lifelong learning, and access to library resources in places where they live and gather.

And thanks to the support of our staff, our community, and our leadership, this initiative will help us build a more connected, equitable Wake County.

I want to thank the Wake County Board of Commissioners for their steadfast support and continued investment in the library system.

Thank you to the Wake County Library Commission, Library Administration, and Community Services Administration for your guidance and leadership.

Special thanks to our communications office for the creative vision behind the Bookmobile Design and to General Services Administration for bringing that vision to life through production and purchasing.

And of course, thank you to the library staff who lead our outreach efforts and will be bringing the library on the go initiative to life.

In closing, I want to emphasize that the bookmobile is more than just a vehicle.

It has touched lives in personal and powerful ways.

No one understands that better than library director Tammy Baggett, who brings her own firsthand experience with bookmobiles to our mission today.

Please join me in welcoming Tammy.

Thank you, Ashley.

Thank you, Commissioner Waters and Deputy County Manager Jacobs for your remarks and for your continued support of Wake County Public Libraries.

And thank all of you for being here today to celebrate National Outreach Day and the launch of our new bookmobile and book hauler.

I'd like to begin with a quick personal story that is one that really shaped how I feel about libraries and about access.

I grew up in a small town, Clinton, North Carolina, outside of the city limits, and my parents formed, and they didn't have the opportunity to take me to the library doing during the summer.

So I'd read at home all the time, but in the summer, I didn't get to experience that going to the brick and mortar location.

They arranged for the bookmobile to come to me.

So I was always so excited to bring out my huge basket and go on the bookmobile and just fill it with all of these books so I could travel all over the world.

One funny thing about the bookmobile coming to my house is I thought, this is the naive part of me at that time, I was young, that the bookmobile only came to my house, that it did not go to visit anyone else, and that I had the coolest parents in the world.

So I still think I have the coolest parents, but I did learn that the bookmobile did exactly what it needed to do.

It provided access to so many in a rural community that would not have been able to get the libraries otherwise.

So that experience has really stayed with me, and it's a big part of why I'm so proud of the work we do here at Wake County Public Libraries.

When speaking about the library system, I always go back to our vision.

And our vision is that we will be a vibrant, innovative public library system that serves as a destination to spark curiosity, foster learning, and strengthen community connections.

We aim to create dynamic spaces to empower individuals to grow and thrive, providing opportunity and access for all.

Those spaces don't always have to be physical libraries.

As we can see today, that's where our library on the go initiatives really comes in.

At its heart, it's about removing barriers and building those connections, strong connections within the community.

It's a bridge between communities and the resources that help them learn, grow, and thrive.

For some residents, the bookmobile is their library.

How powerful and meaningful is that.

We meet families who can't get to a branch easily.

We meet adults who light up because seeing a bookmobile brings warm memories from their childhood.

And we meet people for whom this is their very first library experience.

Stepping on board and discovering a space that's welcoming and full of possibility.

As we've traveled around our sneak peek tour over the last few weeks, we've heard how meaningful this service is.

We update it constantly based on community feedback, so every visit feels fresh and relevant.

It's a blend of tradition and innovation, rooted in Wake County's long history of bookmobile service.

That's as Ashley explained earlier.

But it is modern in its approach to access and community engagement.

This kind of outreach is essential to our mission to instill the love of reading and foster the pursuit of knowledge for all residents of Wake County.

It ensures that everyone, regardless of transportation, schedule, age, or circumstances, that they have access to the joy and opportunity that a library provides.

We will meet you exactly where you are.

Thank you for celebrating with us today, and thank you for supporting a service that continues to inspire curiosity, connections, and lifelong learning across Wake County libraries.

And with that, I will hand it back over to Aaron.

Thank you.

Thank you so much to all of our speakers, and thank you all for being here for supporting the service that means so much to so many people.

Um our team is very excited to continue bringing books, programs, and personal connection directly to the communities we serve.

We'd like to bring all of our speakers and officials up for a group photo, but before we do that, I'd like to invite Commissioner Waters aboard the Bookmobile for a ceremonial crank of the engine to officially get things rolling.

That's all for this episode of Wake TV.

Keep up with all the latest Wake County news by visiting us online at Wake.gov slash news.

And be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, so you can always stay in the loop.

We'll see you next time.

If you've ever attended an event in downtown Raleigh or spent time at one of our parks or beautiful Greenway Trails, there's an excellent chance that you've encountered one of our mounted police officers.

So my job as a mounted officer with Raleigh is important because we protect and serve the citizens of Raleigh.

We patrol the parks, the greenways, and the downtown areas.

The qualities I possess is being able to work with horses, having the knowledge and skills to be able to train as well as look at horses and diagnose problems and issues to keep them healthy, to keep them doing the job that they do, as well as communicating with them well and working with them to do the job as a police officer.

Having officers on horseback provides unique opportunities for citizens of all ages to engage and interact with officers and their horses.

Be on a maleta, I'm still a police officer.

I still have the powers of arrest and everything else.

We just do it from the back of a horse.

So I had just have a different means of transportation.

We definitely attract a lot of people.

We definitely track the crowd.

The horses get a lot of attention.

People will come around us.

They want to ask us questions about our horses, about the breeds, the ages.

So we definitely track a big crowd where we go.

Even working downtown, some of the block parties and festivities.

Kids come up to us, they want to pet the horses.

Some of them never pet a horse before.

So we get a chance to interact with the public that way as well as kids.

What you may not know is that officers on the mounted unit are not only responsible for law enforcement, but for the daily care and well-being of the horses.

Make sure she's got exercise.

I'll put her in a round ring and lunch her a little bit.

I'll make sure she gets her food if she hasn't had it already, as well as checking her over for any kind of scrapes or bruises or cuts.

And then tend to those.

Trailer her downtown at that point where I'll wash and clean her up.

I'll also clean up behind her.

She might have some waste or things like that.

And then I also put her in the wash pit, sofa down, cleaner up.

Again, tend to any wounds.

The end of the day, we do everything in reverse.

So it's work.

I clean up behind her, I unsaddle her, brush her down, put fly spray on her, and then we uh put her out the pasture.

So it's a lot goes into being amounted police officer other than just patrol and talking to people and dealing with the public or dealing with crime or anything like that.

Senior Officer Hood has been with Luna for over eight months now.

He describes her as interesting and says that their moods can really affect one another.

There's still a lot to learn about each other, but their trust grows daily.

So what I enjoy most about my job is working with the horses as well as interact with people out in the public.

I enjoy talking to people as well as helping people.

Uh working with my co-workers as well as training the horses and getting that bond and relationship with them to do the things I asked them to do and then seeing that result.

Mounted officers help keep our city safe and make it easy for citizens to engage.

Be sure to stop by and say hello when you see them out and about the work.

That's one of my favorite places.

We'll go ahead and bring this meeting to order, please.

Good morning.

It's May 12th.

Welcome to the regular meeting of the planning commission.

My name is Dwight Otwell.

I'll be chair today, and this is uh Jessica Cochrane.

First order of business today is we will allow time for members of the public to make public comments for items that are not on the agenda.

So if you're meeting, if you're here to speak about something that's going to be presented and discussed, you'll speak at that time.

But if there's anybody here that would like to speak about an item not on the agenda, please approach the podium.

All right.

Uh seeing no public comment, we will move on to our first order of business.

The first order of business is our consent agenda, and the only thing on the consent agenda is the approval of the minutes.

Have the commissioners had a chance to review the minutes and are there any requested changes or additions to the minutes?

Having no edits or corrections, I'll call for a motion to approve the minutes.

We have a motion from Vice Chair Cochrane.

Seconded by Commissioner Fox.

All those in favor.

Opposed.

Excellent.

Thank you.

The meeting minutes from last meeting have been approved, and we'll move on to our second order of business right into it.

From the report of the committees.

Normally the vice chair would be presenting this uh report of the committee, but Commissioner Fox was chair of this body when this actually came through and was discussed.

So I will ask her to give the report for the committee of the whole, please.

Absolutely.

This is in regards to rezoning case Z 4825 on Lake Boone Trail and Blue Ridge Road.

This is for the campus master plan for Rex Hospital.

The committee met on April 23rd.

We approved this amendment, recommended approval of this amendment unanimously with some recommendations for further consideration of pedestrian and bicycle connections within the campus.

I believe we have an update from staff.

Barring objections, I would like to provide staff time and the applicant to present the updates.

So please the public hearing is now open and we will hear updates from staff.

Thank you, Chair and Commission.

As you said this was heard by the committee of the whole, and we'll quickly quickly run through those updates for Z 4825.

Just so everyone is aware, uh the deadline for Planning Commission action is June 22nd.

Just an overview of the site.

No changes to the subdistricts or dimensions today, to the development summary, green spaces remain unchanged.

The tree conservation plan is the same as heard by Committee of the Whole.

There has been some updates to the bike and pedestrian circulation plan.

Most notably there are is an intent statement that speaks to Rex Hospital's plans for the future and what they will intend to do with pedestrian and bike circulation.

I want to be clear this is not a condition, it is just their intention.

And that is to where feasible support pedestrian safety, bike safety, and roadway improvements that would serve those needs.

But this would be a bike rack, bike share station on the site that would allow for the parking and safety of those means.

Again, the existing proposed zoning remains the same from Committee of the Whole.

Bus service is still well served on this site.

It is still consistent with the feature land use map.

And there are no outstanding issues.

Your upcoming meetings are May 26th and June 9th.

And with that, I'll turn it over to the applicant team.

Thank you.

Do we have a we don't have a time limit yet because this is not old business.

So yeah.

We would like to hear from the applicant, please.

Good morning, Chairwell and members of the commission.

I'm Jamie Schwadler with Parker Poe here on behalf of the applicant Rex Hospital.

We presented to the committee the whole, and we'll try to keep our comments kind of high level, but want to make sure we're explaining it for the public and any members that might be here to speak.

We also have uh members of the hospital here with us.

Emily Zigler is here, as well as members of our um Kimley Horn traffic and site planning team.

Um as the committee heard, this is a uh campus master plan to update the existing Rex hospital and accommodate for plans 20 to 25 years in the future so that we can accommodate the needs of Raleigh's growing population.

At this time, I would like Emily to step in uh step up and talk a little bit about the vision, and I'll go through the plans.

Thank you all for having us here today.

Um Rex Hospital is very proud to be in this community as you see here.

We've been here since 1894, and we want to be here for another uh many, many decades.

And so we just need the ability to grow within the footprint of our existing campus.

You all know how rapidly our community is growing and all of our hospitals um are above capacity every day.

We actually have waivers that we get from DHHS every month to operate above our capacity.

So we are just looking to be able to expand what we can do within our current footprint with a main project being a new bed tower on our campus to add capacity, add beds, and add some ORs.

Uh we had some really positive conversations with our neighbors, and they all recognize that the hospital needs to grow as well.

Um we just appreciate your support, your willingness to listen to us, and we look forward to continuing to serve this community for decades to come.

Thank you.

So the site is roughly 60 acres across three parcels shown on the screen.

Uh the current zoning today is OX12 Urban Limited that was placed on the site in the 2016 mapping.

Um of course, this is along the active Blue Ridge Corridor, uh, in very close proximity to other major employee employers, including the DHHS headquarters, uh, Lenovo Center, and bandwidth.

The future land use map in designates this as institutional, is really kind of perfect for the use and recognizes uh Rex's long history and presence in the area.

It defines it as facilities such as colleges or universities, medical complexes.

We really fit into all of those types of categories and recognizes that the appropriate zoning for this particular parcel would be CMP, the campus master plan that we're seeking.

We have a lot of urban growth instruction here as well.

We're in a city growth center, a frequent transit area.

We have a transit emphasis corridor, and we're also on an urban thoroughfare.

So lots of policies that are appropriately citing your staff report related to transit facilities where you want to be placing people on these edge areas and it within close proximity to existing facilities.

We do note that there are some mentions about urban thoroughfare, and there was a discussion at the committee of the whole about uh the lack of frontage.

And I'll show you a little bit uh later in the slides of how that's really geared by uh several factors, not the least of which is the the tree conservation area on the edge, as well as the existing bike and pedestrian facilities that are on the edge of our campus and where we plan to expand and needing that flexibility to not only accommodate the growth that Emily mentioned, but make sure we do it in a way that makes sense for our hospital operations.

And this is all consistent with the arena blue ridge plan that was adopted in 2012.

Of course, the hospital was in existence at that time, and so the appropriate uh measures were taken to make sure that could accommodate the growth, both the expansion geographically of the hospital, but also recognizing the facilities would need to increase over time.

And so what we've done is is exactly that, kind of lined up with adding those additional facilities, but we've done it within our footprint at the heart of the health and wellness district to try to make sure we maintain a kind of a neighborly attitude toward our surrounding areas and only impact our site and try to absorb the growth within our boundaries.

So that brings us to the rezoning request, which is the CMP master plan.

We've chosen the OX district as the base district as that's consistent uh with the existing zoning and what the future guidance is uh for the site.

The height ranges from seven to twenty stories, and the um staff report does a good job of explaining that's really to take our 12 across the board and push the height closer towards the core operations so that we can step down in height as we get closer to our residential neighbors to our east and to our north.

Our uses are curtailed to what we might expect in a in a hospital facility and how it may change over time.

I want to note that the residential uses are not intended to be independent multifamily, they can't.

We have to keep this as a hospital-owned and controlled facility.

Um, but because the definitions of residential use may change over the next 20 to 25 years and how the city chooses to recognize a kind of creative living on-site situation.

We wanted to make sure we accommodated that too, so we wouldn't have to be back before you again.

Um this brings us to the master plan, which really divides the area up into four different subdistricts.

Subdistrict A is that 20 stories blue in the center.

Uh, subdistrict B would be 12 stories.

Again, what we could do today by right in the purple.

We did drop that uh little arm of the subdistrict B down to 12 stories instead of 20 in response to some concerns we heard from neighbors in that area.

And then that allowed us to push the subdistrict C down to seven stories and subdistrict D down to 10 stories because we're close to uh those are our closest residential neighbors.

We've um like the Lenovo Center, we've adopted uh district kind of characteristics and limitations on the square footage and the height.

You'll see those on the screen.

And that brings us to how we kind of came up with these caps.

What we've done is capped ourselves at a uh a maximum that we believe is enough for our growth in the future, but also make sure that we give some protections for traffic.

And I'll skip to the envision slide.

What the envision analysis uh um revealed for the city's uh staff report was that under the existing zoning at 12 stories a day, we could go up to about 24 million square feet.

We don't have any intention of doing that.

And with the caps and the height that we've placed on ourselves and looking at the hospital use of what narrowing that hospital um use down to, not just all of OX, but specifically what we would need to do for our uses.

We felt comfortable with a 9.7 million uh square foot cap.

And so when you go back to what that looks like in the districts and add up the existing square footage plus the new subdistrict maximums, we only get to about 6.5 million.

Um and we've we've agreed to uh a voluntary TIA once we exceed that kind of threshold, so that not only are we living with the city's protections of TIAs that are required at site plan, but that we would voluntarily do an additional TIA as needed, and that's in response to some traffic concerns uh that we heard and and folks kind of concerned with how this area will continue to absorb the growth.

These conceptual massings are also part of the application and start kind of from Lake Boone Trail looking kind of toward the heart of the site there in blue in subdistrict A, and then wrapping around as you kind of move clockwise to show that even though it's 20 stories, of course, that doesn't mean the entire district will be built out at 20 in subdistrict A.

We'll focus those needs on where they're needed most in terms of absorbing beds and the capacity that Emily mentioned earlier.

This shows the development area in campus screen space.

There's a lot of built area as it as it already is, and you see that TCA area in the top left uh portion of the screen.

That's existing mature trees.

There are sidewalk facilities there, but there are some some geographic and and site constraints that prohibit us from uh committing to that frontage without having some um serious impact on that area.

The bike and pedestrian circulation plan.

We noted since that committee of the whole discussion, we've added those existing uh transit stops that's shown there in the blue emblems, and then existing bike facilities within the campus.

There was some discussion about where those already were occurring, where those could be absorbed in the future, and we wanted to make sure we highlighted that for for both the commission and the public.

Which brings us to the update since the committee of the whole, and so Jacob uh focused on this uh just a little bit and I'll expand on it and then be happy to answer questions.

We've added a micromobility hub in subdistrict A for those who served on the Commission at the time Lenovo came through.

This is very similar to what you saw at the time, trying to absorb different modes of transportation to and from the hospital, so we're not just focusing on cars or transit.

Um that was in uh response to to recommendations that we heard uh throughout the case, and then adding in the existing bike racks as I just showed and highlighted on that sheet MP5, noting where those already exist and that those um could be absorbed as we go forward, and then highlighting that intense statement.

There was a discussion at the Committee of the Whole about how we would work towards um incorporating bike and pedestrian facilities as we go forward.

That's absolutely the hospital's intent.

It's difficult to either accommodate that in a frontage or exact pattern without interfering with emergency operations or hospital uh operations that will certainly change over time as new beds and new um new facilities are added in.

And so um they uh of course want to work with the neighborhood and with the city to be a good neighbor, uh, but need that flexibility to absorb whatever changes may come in the next uh several decades.

So with that, um I'm happy to answer any questions, and Emily and our team is here as well.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh we will reserve 30 seconds for rebuttal, and uh at this time we'll provide an opportunity for those opposed to the application to speak.

Seeing nobody's standing up to oppose, we will close the public hearing and bring this discussion.

Excuse me, I'm sorry.

Yes, close the discussion, close the open hearing, and we'll bring this back to the table for questions from staff.

I guess that means the hearing has to be open.

Sorry, still getting used to the order of operations.

The hearing is open.

And we're back at the table for questions.

Please uh limit yourself to questions and we'll provide time for discussion later.

Any questions from the commission for either the staff or the applicant or anyone else?

All right.

That was short.

We will close the public hearing now and uh bring it back here for discussion.

Any discussion at the table.

I'm just gonna say um as we discussed at the committee of the whole meeting, I believe the campus master plan is the appropriate district to be used here.

Um the committee didn't have any issue with the height, it was merely um connections throughout and within the campus with those changes that were proposed.

Um I'm comfortable supporting it at the appropriate time.

Thank you very much, Commissioner Fox.

Any further comments, discussion?

In that case, I'll open the table for a motion.

Commissioner Fox I move to recommend adoption of the proposed consistency statement dated May 12th, 2026, contained in the agenda materials, and recommend approval of the zoning amendment.

We have a motion from Commissioner Fox and a second from Commissioner Sanchez.

All in favor.

All opposed.

Motion passes 6 to 1.

For my statement, my major concern the whole time was to keep the frontage rules that prevented uh parking decks from being up on the major street, and the plan does not address that.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

That concludes our committee business.

And we'll move on to old business at this point.

And I'd like to just make a quick note.

I'm holding off on doing the attendance, so I still expect to see Commissioner Neptune today.

He's recovering from the flu and stumbling down the street to get here.

And uh Commissioner Omakaye is absent and excuse today.

So our first order of old business is rezoning Z 5725, 8020 Lichford Road.

We will hear from Metra Sheshbara Daran.

Did I get that right?

No, but it's okay.

I need my accent notes on your name so I can practice Sheshbudaran.

It's all right.

I'll keep practicing.

Thank you.

Thank you for your patience.

And we'll just turn it over to you.

We'll hear from staff at this time.

Good morning, Commissioner Members.

Mitra Shesh Brodron providing an update on Z5725.

This is a request story zone, just over 20 acres of land located at 8020 Lichford Road to R6 with conditions.

Since it last appeared before you the April 28th meeting, the applicant has submitted revised design conditions.

The agenda materials include the unsigned version, but they are the same as the signed version.

And your deadline for action is June 27.

Zoning in the area is predominantly residential with some nearby commercial.

A look at the site and where it sits, uh, just south of 540, bisected by Lichford Road, predominantly surrounded by low-scale residential neighborhoods.

Um the other two conditions remain um the density cap of six units per acre and also the prohibition of the listed uses.

Um no change to entitlement because the density cap has stayed.

Um in terms of the affordability analysis, the request would still subtract from the housing supply, but would now permit a variety of housing types, smaller units on smaller lots.

Um it does not include any subsidized units, and it's not within walking distance of transit.

Um the request is still consistent with the future land use map designation of low-scale residential, and there is no urban form map guidance.

Overall, the request is now consistent with the comprehensive plan.

A variety of consistent policies here that speak to flume consistency as well as conditional use district consistency, um, and then reinforcing the housing or the urban pattern.

Um and then new consistent policies are related to housing variety, zoning um for housing opportunity and choice, and then also that EP1.1, which speaks to um more energy efficient buildings.

Um inconsistent policies that remain are um specific to fire service response time standards.

Uh there are no outstanding issues in your deadline for action is June 27th.

Uh happy to answer questions.

The applicant is also here.

Thank you very much.

As an old business item, this has had a full presentation and discussion from both the applicant and those opposed.

And I believe that the updates that have been made are direct direct responses to the concerns from staff and the members of this commission.

And they do not seem to be very wide-ranging.

Um without objection, I'm going to skip any more uh presentation by the applicant or the public and just bring it back here, keep the public hearing closed and for discussion at the table.

Any comments or discussion regarding this case.

In that case, I would like to open the floor for a motion.

Commissioner Bobson.

Uh in regards to case uh Z 5725.

I move to recommend adoption of the proposed consistency statement dated May 12th, 2026, contained in the agenda materials, and to recommend approval of the zoning amendment.

Second.

We have a motion from Commissioner Fox and a second from Commissioner O'Haver.

All those in favor.

Any opposed.

Uh passes unanimously.

Thank you very much.

Moving on to new business.

Our first order of new business will be rezoning Z 4625 at 523 South West Street in downtown Raleigh.

And we will hear from Matthew Burns from the planning department, and we will now open the public hearing.

Thank you.

Good morning, Chair Otwell, members of the planning commission.

Matthew Burns with Planning and Development.

This is a request to rezone a parcel at 523 South West Street in downtown Raleigh, which is approximately three quarters of an acre.

From downtown mixed use, five stories with urban limited frontage to downtown mixed use seven stories with urban limited frontage.

The request would allow the Fairweather HOA to finish a community room on the property.

The Fairweather condos on the site date to 2019-2020.

And your deadline for action is July 11th, 2026.

Zoning in the area is predominantly mixed use.

There is a DX zoning on the site and to the east to the west and northwest, predominantly industrial mixed use zoning with many commercial uses as well as residential and commercial uses to the southwest.

Here is an aerial of the site, and you can see some of those commercial and some industrial uses to the west.

The site is the Red Hat Amphitheater and Convention Center and the heart of downtown is to the east of the site.

There are commercial uh warehouses and retail to the south, as well as Heritage Park over on West South Street.

To the west, if you uh there are some industrial and commercial uses, including Sam Jones Barbecue, and if you go a little bit farther, there is also Boylan Heights neighborhood.

And the northwest is uh bolted bread and a spa with a sauna uh in a little commercial node.

Kind of in the northeast area of Boiling Heights.

Here is another zoomed-in view of the site.

You can see the existing fairweather condominiums on the property.

Here are some views of the property, uh, and you can see the uh the site has a five-story height limit.

Per the applicant, the uh developer walled over a room on the mezzanine level during construction because zoning did not allow for it to be finished.

And due to financial constraints, the developer ultimately abandoned the idea of building a community room just to get the uh project completed.

This request is for a general use district, so there are no zoning conditions.

And the request represents a modest increase in entitlement due to the increase of two stories on the site.

The site has an above average walk score, transit score, uh bike score, and low transportation costs and high access to jobs, as it is in downtown Raleigh.

The site is served by Go Raleigh Route 11, Avant Ferry, as well as Route 21, uh Caroley.

The request would add to the housing supply, does not include subsidized units, would permit a variety of housing types, and is within walking distance of transit.

And area residents are less likely to be minorities than the city average, more likely to be low income than the city average, and the cost of rent increase 66 percent since 2016 and 25 percent since 2019.

The request is consistent with the feature land use map designation of central business district, which corresponds to downtown.

And it's also consistent with urban form guidance for downtown and frequent transit areas.

Overall, the request is consistent with a comprehensive plan, feature land use map, and the urban form map.

And consistent policies are related to compact development, transit access, reinforcing the urban pattern, and complementary land uses, as well as zoning for housing, frontage, and many policies that are specific to downtown, as well as one policy in the downtown west gateway area plan, which speaks to mixed use development.

And I'll note that staff identified two inconsistent policies with the request, and this is due to the fact that the downtown West Gateway Plan, which dates to 2004, um, recommends a maximum height of four stories for this area.

I'll note that that policy guidance precedes the comprehensive plan, which was adopted in 2009, and the UDO, which was adopted in 2014.

Your deadline for action is July 11th, and let me know if I can answer any questions.

Thank you, Mr.

Barnes.

At this time, we will provide 10 minutes for the applicant to present their case.

Um good morning, um, planning board members.

Um appreciate the opportunity um to meet with you today.

Um my name is Suzanne Parents, and I'm a resident and consultant for the Fairweather HOA.

Excuse me.

So the request, as um Mr.

Burns said this morning, is for us to be able to put a community room in the fair weather HOA.

There's no change at all to the height of the building.

And it is to put a room in a voided area of the mezzanine area.

The surrounding zoning, this area has changed a lot since we uh originally moved into the building.

Obviously, we've got DX12 to the north.

We've got DX5 storage building to our um to our south, um, as well as the new MAVE Apartment Buildings, which is a DX20.

We've got a um we've still got the um Duke Power Station um to our east, and then we've got um the apartments that have all been built around us uh to the west.

So everything is building around us.

The DX7 um is I think within uh reason.

Um it's still gonna be in keeping with everything around us.

Uh the fair weather will remain exactly as you see it here.

We are not making any changes.

It's just to be able to do the room.

This is the as built drawing.

The voided area was walled over by the developer.

He had intended to put the room in and found out that he was not able to do that because of the height restrictions.

Um we do not have the zoning to be able to finish um the area.

We anticipate that the room is about 16 by 30.

Uh, it's just a guess, um, but we anticipate that that's about what we have uh available.

And I'm gonna show you some pictures here so you can kind of get an idea.

Um this is the area on the outside that goes um from our roof area into the stairwell, and this is how you would access it from the outside of the building.

This is the inside of the building, and the room is there to the right.

Um, and you can go through the doorway onto our roof area.

And this is the hallway looking down, and the room would be over to your left in this picture, and then you could access our stairwell around to the right.

So you have two ways to be able to access the room.

You can come up through uh a stairwell, and then you can also come off the elevator uh on our roof area to be able to access this area.

Um this is looking at the outside area of the um of the uh room.

So you can see how far back that room would go.

Um again, uh it's a good sized room and it would make a big difference um for us.

Um this is looking um at the outside north side, and you can see where um to the far right hand where that's um kind of that blank wall is, that would be the the room.

You can see the condo building or the condos kind of right there with all the window space.

Um the resident roof area you can kind of see where we kind of sit can sit outside, and we could be able to access um the community room as well.

Um I'll kind of sum up the kind of the reason we'd like to be able to have the room is because um a lot of the condo buildings and apartment buildings have a community room.

Um and it's an amenity that we don't have.

Um we'd be able to have you know potluck dinners, um we'd be able to have other um board meetings, we're having to have those off-site now.

Um we'd be able to have um mahjong, different things that we're just not able to have in our in our current facility.

So um, you know, it's just uh a nice amenity that I think that the developer intended us to have, and because of cost restraints and because of our height restrictions, we were not able to do.

And um I'll be glad to answer any questions that you have, and I would appreciate um your uh approval of this.

It's really kind of a minor thing, but it would mean a lot to us.

Thank you.

Thank you for your presentation.

We will reserve four minutes and fifty seconds.

If necessary.

All right.

At this time, I would like to hear from anybody in opposition to this proposal.

Seeing no opposition, we will bring it back to the table and keep the public hearing open for questions from commissioners.

Does anybody have any questions for staff or the applicant?

Commissioner Fox.

Um this is a very small request for a building that already exists.

But my my question is actually to staff.

If someone could clarify for me the mechanism of how height is measured, and just clarify if that includes habitable space or if it is literally a measurement of the side of a building, because I'm confused how we got here.

Yeah, so height is measured uh the the question is is both, or the answer is both.

Uh so the height itself is measured based on uh the average grade.

There are specific measurements in the UDO which determine what the maximum height is.

However, uh in this particular request, adding an extra habitable room, occupiable room on the floor that they're looking at would exceed that five-story limit that they have, because they already have five stories built on that side of the property.

So to clarify, this was a uh function of the days of your when we measured both height and stories and in feet.

My understanding is that this is uh a function of what determines how many stories a site has.

So currently their rooftop level uh is considered just a rooftop, but adding that extra finished space would make it a sixth story.

Thank you.

That that clarifies anything.

I'd like to follow up because if I understood the picture that the applicant showed, there's a condo right next to the space they are trying to occupy.

So I'm still confused about how adding two floors to the zoning is going to allow them to build out that space.

I believe that's because the site has uh a sloping grade.

So on one side of the building it is five stories, but then the other side is five stories offset by one.

So it looks like it's higher.

One side of the building is higher than the other, and so if they finished off that space, it would be considered a sixth.

I can pull up an image of the building.

Would it be fair to say that the height is the same across, but it goes down farther on one side?

I'm not sure off the top of my head.

There are um I might be able to clarify that.

So the um on the pinhouse units, some of those units are one story and some of them are two-story.

So because that they are two-story, the my understanding was the two-story units, because they are finished on the inside, they were allowed to have that sixth story.

But because this community room would be facing on a mezzanine level on the outside, it was excluded and would have to have the zoning change.

Now that was what my understanding was now.

Mr.

Barnes on the United States.

I think the picture in the bottom right-hand corner illustrates this really nicely because you can see that the left side of the building in that bottom right-hand corner picture, the number of stories on the left hand side is the same as the number of stories on the right hand side, but because the sites is sloped, the number of stories it looks shorter, right?

So these are this right here on the on the left-hand side.

Um that those are your one-story pinhouse units.

The ones on your right hand side are your two-story pinhouse units.

They have like almost a loft area that is two stories.

Does that make sense to you?

I know it sounds strange, but that's that's kind of how that works.

And it does kind of look like a height difference.

Commissioner Haver?

Yeah, I mean, it seems pretty straightforward to me, but can um staff just and I know it's in the um staff report, but just give a broader overview of the inconsistencies and what any concerns on this would be.

Sure.

So let me pull that up.

So the inconsistent policies come from the downtown West Gateway small area plan.

That area plan dates to 2004 and recommended a maximum height of four stories uh for this site.

Now the existing structure is already five stories tall.

Nearby properties uh definitely exceed the height guidance in that plan.

It's just a relic of uh an earlier plan for downtown Raleigh.

It's contained within the comprehensive plan.

But so and because they're asking for an increase in height, it conflicts with that specific guidance.

That's that's the reason it was sure.

Yep.

All right.

Commissioner Balters.

Based on the information that we have in front of us, I'd like to make a motion.

Just give me one second to close the public hearing.

If there's no more questions for staff or for the applicant.

We will close the public hearing and we will bring it back to the table and uh open the floor for a motion.

Commissioner Walters.

I move to recommend adoption of the proposed consistency statement dated May 12, 2026, contained in the agenda materials, and to recommend approval of the zoning amendment.

Second.

Second by Commissioner Burnett.

Is there any further discussion or debate at this time?

All right.

We have a motion and a second.

All of those in favor.

Any opposed?

Motion passes unanimously.

Thank you very much.

Moving on, our next order of business will be rezoning Z926 at 5925 Glenwood Avenue.

And we will hear from Hiram Marziano.

Oh, no, we won't.

Ugh.

Apologies.

Yep, I'm covering for Hiram today.

So thank you.

Covering Z 926.

This is a request to rezone just over two acres located at 5925 Glenwood Avenue from CX3 with the parking limited frontage and R4 to a unified CX3 um PL.

This is a general use case, so there are no proposed conditions, and your deadline for action is July 11th.

Zoning in the area is predominantly mixed use with some surrounding uh residential neighborhoods.

Here's a look at the site and where it sits.

Uh again, it fronts Glenwood Avenue.

Um so there are some existing commercial mixed-use um developments, both like east and west of the site along Glenwood, and then some pockets of low-scale residential neighborhoods.

And then immediately abutting the site on its eastern property line is the Glen Forest NCOD, which you can see there.

Here if you look at this at the site and its frontage currently on the site today is an existing commercial multi-tenant building.

I believe there are two tenants in it currently, a jewelry store, and um a blood the blood connection.

Um that's on the like front half of the site, which is currently zone CX3PL.

And then the rear of the site is that more forested area and also has a small parking lot.

Um then there are some existing pedestrian facilities on either side of Glenwood on this stretch and no existing bicycle facilities.

Um here's a look at the difference in entitlement um and setback requirements.

Um we're seeing a slight decrease uh in entitlement here, but this is um I think overall like a neutral impact on entitlement uh because of the site increase.

This comes from um kind of bumping up to two acres uh unlocks TCA requirements, so that's why that is going down a bit.

Um then also set back requirements that come from the parking limited frontage, and then also the base seeks district, which is what exists on most of the site today, and then the R4 setback requirements for the rear of the site.

And then again, a look at the change in commercial entitlement, again slight decrease.

Um overall the site is in an area that is more walkable than other cities or other areas in the city with an average transit score, and there are no existing bicycle facilities on this stretch of Glenwood.

Um residents in this area have lower transportation costs and have better access to jobs.

Uh the site is most directly served by Route 6, uh, which is service along Glenwood and Route 70L, uh Briar Creek.

Overall, the request would subtract from the housing supply.

It does not include any subsidized units.

Overall, the request is consistent with the future land use map designation of community mixed use for the site.

Two urban form map guidance uh areas here.

One uh it fronts a transit emphasis corridor, which is Glenwood, and then also is within a frequent transit area.

These would recommend a hybrid or urban frontage be applied.

Maintaining the parking limited frontage is consistent with both of these urban form map guidance areas and also matches surrounding um mixed use development that's west of the site along Glenwood.

Uh overall the request is also consistent with the comprehensive plan.

Uh consistent policies here speak to flume consistency as well as reducing vehicle miles traveled through mixed use development and capitalizing on transit access.

Um and then some consistent policies related to density transitions and buffering requirements come from the required neighborhood transitions that would be required on the portion of the site that abuts uh residential uses, and then some urban design uh policies that relate to frontage and then also parking lot placement.

Uh no inconsistent policies were identified.

There are no outstanding issues.

Um deadline for action is July 11th.

I'm happy to answer questions.

The applicant is also here, and I believe also members of the public.

All right.

Thank you.

At this time, we will allow time for both the applicant and those in favor and those in opposition, 10 minutes to speak, and we will begin with those in favor and the applicant.

Please state your name for the record when you reach the podium.

Uh Will Quick with the Brooks Pierce Law Firm uh here in Raleigh uh representing JDV Commercial, which is the property owner.

Um thank you, Mitra, for doing such a great job in outlining things.

I'm gonna go through this relatively quick because she hit most of the points um that I wanted to hit uh and appreciate the work that Marzi um has done with us as well up to this point.

Um so Mitra showed sort of where the site is.

If you're familiar with the area, uh I go to Fresh uh Ice Cream, which is in the Highly Ridge Shopping Center, uh just to the um sort of northwest of this on uh on Glenwood.

Um and then uh across the street is the large rooms to go.

Um the building that this is in was the original uh rooms to go uh facility built, I believe, in 2005 time period before that it was a restaurant.

Um my client, JDV Commercial purchased it in um I believe 2015, and uh JDV Commercial is also uh well the the principal is James Vincent.

He's the founder of Raleigh Diamond, um, and that is the building on the right side of actually I'll go back one just to show you.

Um so Raleigh Diamond Fine Jewelry is sort of on the right in unit 100.

Um they have been there since 2015, and then uh the blood connection, as Mitra mentioned, is uh in unit uh uh 10102, I believe it is.

Um and they have been there since 2018.

Um there were a couple other tenants prior to that, a Taekwondo facility and some other things in that space.

Um again, as Mitra mentioned, this is a split zone site um with the uh a very small sort of triangle almost in the back that is zoned uh as R4, and the request is to move the entire um zoning to the to the CX uh three with parking limited.

Uh again, uh it is consistent with the future land use plan.

You can see there it's uh highlighted in red um and and um the CX zoning is appropriate for that area.

Um this would eliminate the split zoning.

Um and I'll get to sort of why we we are doing why we're asking this because as Mitra mentioned, this does um actually reduce some entitlements that we would have, um but there's a specific reason as to how we got here, and I'll hit on that here at the very end.

Um consistent with the urban form map, um it's in a uh transit emphasis corridor and a frequent transit area.

Um and again, CX is an appropriate zoning district for uh for this for this area for the for those reasons.

So here's here's kind of the where I think um you will hear the most from uh the neighbors and and what ultimately got us to this point.

Um as I mentioned, the blood connection has been uh on the property since 2018, and um my client put in a building permit, I want to say about a year and a half ago um before engaging us uh and realized that uh a building permit to extend the parking lot.

And so if you see there on the image on the right, um you can kind of see a bus sort of parked up to a little green dotted line that I put in to show where that boundary is.

Um they wanted to extend the parking lot slightly um because those buses, and that's not on the property there, the one on the left, but that's uh uh one of the blood connection buses parked at level a high school in that particular instance.

Um those buses are typically parked in the rear of the building.

Um and they go out, you know, to community centers, to high schools, to other areas to do blood drives, um, and obviously help our local hospitals.

I know Rex was here, I'm uh one of the one of the hospitals that they they send blood to.

Um when that building permit was put in, they realized they could not extend that parking lot um at all because of the R4 zoning.

Um and so the problem they keep having is those buses as they get into the back of the building and they're trying to maneuver around.

I believe they've glanced the corner of the building a couple times.

Um and uh James, who's the principal of JDB commercial and owner of Raleigh uh Raleigh Diamond, he has a particular um love for this tenant because he is a former uh I uh former emergency room nurse before he went into the jewelry business.

Um and so he really would like to keep the tenant there, um, but they really need a little more space.

And so the idea was simply to expand the parking, not make any additional changes um to to the to the property, but in order to do that, um the entire property would need to be uh consistently zoned in that commercial uh commercial way.

So I believe we'll hear some from neighbors who have concerns about the existing um use of the property and the blood connection that is there.

There is no plan for the blood connection to leave um regardless of what happens here today.

So I want to make that make that clear to everybody.

They're a great tenant.

Um and um and this was simply something to accommodate uh you know, a little bit of uh inconvenience that the property owner is having, um, but he thinks they're a great tenant, would like for them to stay.

Um there's no real uh plans to expand the building.

Um building's been the way it has been for uh uh gosh, almost 15 years now.

Um and it's situated well for my client who's Riley Diamond for his side of the building.

Uh so um I will turn this over to uh folks I know you will hear from, but happy to answer any questions you may have at any point.

Thank you.

We will reserve five minutes and four seconds for response time for the applicant.

At this time, we will hear from those opposed to the application.

I believe the neighbors have designated a spokesperson, is that correct?

Sir please y'all will have 10 minutes to speak.

Um you don't have to fill it all up, but it's all yours.

Again, good morning.

Um my name's Tim Barton, and I appreciate the opportunity to speak here today.

Um so I'm representing the Glen Forest um neighborhood, Oak Park, and our um the Crabtree Swim Club.

Um I would say we're not opposed to development as a neighborhood.

I think what we are and we're not anti-business.

Um what we are opposed to is the permanent removal of residential buffer um for the city of Raleigh intentionally put in place to protect our neighborhood.

Uh and doing so through a general rezoning with no congestions and no analysis of real world impacts.

Um we have submitted a more in-depth analysis.

I have it up.

Um I believe I sent it in.

I really just have it up to show some pictures.

I'm sorry, it's not fancy PowerPoint at this time.

Um why this parcel matters, again, uh the rear portion is zoned R4 for a reason.

It wasn't an accidental by the city.

Uh the zone exists as a transition buffer between Glen Own Avenue and our neighborhood, uh, which has been formally protected under a neighborhood conservatory overlay district since the 1995.

Uh NCOD's stated purpose is to preserve and enhance the general quality and appearance of established neighborhoods by regulating built environmental characteristics.

That buffer is a scene that keeps intense commercial activity from spilling directly into our backyards.

Uh once that is gone, it's gone forever, not just here, but as precedent for other neighborhoods.

Um the problem for us.

Um this request is not conditional.

There's no concept plan, there's no enforceable limits.

Well, the applicant has talked about parking for the blood connection.

The CX3 rezoning would allow any commercial use by any future uh owner at any time for up to three stories directly behind single family homes.

Uh once that zoning is approved, the cities has uh a loss of control, residents lose certainty.

Uh what we're asking, or what we're being asked is to trust that the future development will do the right thing without any legal mechanism to require it.

It's just not responsible planning, in my opinion.

This is a permanent solution for a temporary problem.

Strum rubber is not a theoretical concern for us.

I think what they uh lack to share is the steep grade in the rear of the property.

Um our neighborhood is a stormwater.

There's a uh a stormwater creek that runs uh parallel to the residents.

Um water from the site flows downhill into some constrained water culverts that are already filled during moderate rain events.

Um homeowners downstream have been um already flooded or have flooding concerns, lawns become streams, a yard select debris, and have it up because I just want to share a picture.

So this is as it is today.

Um this is a nice fancy bridge.

But as we go down, you see just a normal rainfall and what happens.

And then as a serious rainfall, this is here.

And I would say if I go to a site map of where this locates, um, as you can see here, this is the rear of the building, the residential community all encompassing it, and there is a stream that comes through the back end of the property.

And what they're asking us is to create a 30-foot retaining wall and then a water basin that abuts all the properties.

Um talking about the commercial buses, it is a concern for us.

Um we live at the every day.

Um there is currently six to eight buses that reside in the back of the building.

Um they come at all hours of the day, but mostly between six to nine in the morning, six to nine at night.

Uh backup alarm sound, engines continuously idle as they work to clean, get blood out.

Headlights shine directly in homes.

There's pressure washing and diesel exhaust as they keep it.

So yesterday morning I woke up, came out, the wind was blowing the right way, and I can smell diesel exhaust.

As you can imagine, the timing of their coming and going isn't optimal for us, nor would it be for anybody.

The applicant has done indicated plans to grow the bus fleet.

Again, the um they share that they would love to expand the property, so six to eight um could double.

So, what does that mean for us?

It's not a minor inconvenience, it's a quality of life issue.

And in some cases, a health concern.

No neighborhood with a conservative uh conservation overlay should be expected to observe a commercial bus depot in their backyard.

For reference, Moore Square has 16 bus stalls.

What they're asking us to do is to have 12 in our backyard.

Um environment and physical reality.

The rear portion of this parcel is heavily wooded with mature trees that look took decades to grow.

They provide meaningful screening, wildlife habitat, and stormwater absorption, none of which can be replicated once removed.

The land also drops 30 feet in elevation towards the creek.

Any meaningful expansion require a massive retaining walls, grading disturbance, and directly against visible homes nearby.

This is not a low impact site.

Going back to the neighborhood overlay district, this is uh right from the city's website.

The NCOD is a re a zoning district intended to preserve and enhance the general quality and appearance of established neighborhoods by regulating built environmental characteristics such as lot size and frontage, building setbacks, and building height.

This district, this district reduces conflict between new construction and existing development and encourages compatible infill development.

This rezoning will uh request will create conflict and it is not compatible with established um neighborhoods.

What are we asking for?

Our primary request is simple, just to deny.

The city determines some um if the city determines some change is appropriate, then it must be conditional.

With enforceable protection, stormwater studies completed first, limits on bus operations, preservations of buffers, and real transition so that they respect the neighborhood.

Development can be reasonable, unrestricted rezoning and dislocation is not.

The formal statement, um, this formal statement goes into detail, kind of rezoning what it means for us.

I'd also just elevate, you know, we've attended every neighborhood meeting.

Um we're here today.

The the timing was quite rapid.

Uh we had our last meeting on um the 16th or on the 28th, and they've asked us to come here today on the on the 12th.

So great turnaround.

Um we're just asking the city to honor the protection that that already exists.

Um before uh decisions are made.

Um again, thank you and happy to take questions or share anything on uh what was provided.

Thank you very much for your comments, and we'll reserve three minutes, 30 seconds.

Would the applicant like to use their remaining time to respond?

Actually.

First, on that last point, I'll just note that our first neighborhood meeting was I believe on January 22nd, and so January 22nd, then April 28th, and then we're here today.

Um this is uh the drawing that was submitted to the city of Raleigh um in I guess 2024 when my client went to um to expand the parking uh with a uh a line added in there, the red dashed line is something I added at one of the neighborhood meetings to show residents um you know what the parking expansion would potentially look like.

Again, I want to mention this as potential because um anything that's gonna happen at this point is gonna go you know, go back through the process and and um have to be thought through with engineers, and so I've used the the example of monopoly, right?

My client you know was going around the board and got sent back to go uh when they realized that in order to do anything they needed to come here to you all first.

Um that does show you know what the conceptual plan would look like.

Um it's been labeled that way previously.

Um but the expansion is not large.

Um the line currently is where the parking lot ends, and then you can see um I believe you know what we're looking to do there.

Um certainly uh whether it can happen or not is going to require uh review by other parts of the city and staff, and we'll have to go through all those processes to ensure that runoff and um retaining walls and all the things that would have to be done or done appropriately.

Um a lot of the concerns that we have heard throughout the process or concerns with the existing operations of the blood connection and uh and then with the stormwater runoff, some of those may be addressed through this process, particularly on on any construction that would have to be done, um we may be required to do things.

Uh my client may be required to do things that would lessen the current conditions on the property.

Um then, of course, with uh as was mentioned, with the entire property being zoned commercial um uh CX3PL, uh we're gonna have to meet all the standards for transitions, buffer yards, all the things that would exist um that don't currently you know exist.

And then I'll final point I'll make is that to the extent possible um my client would love to do as little clearing in the back of that area as possible, um, because otherwise they will have to go back in and and and meet the requirements of the city.

So the least bit of work that needs to be done would be ideal here.

Um those were the three points I wanted to address.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you very much.

And I will also provide the opportunity for the those in opposition if there is anything else you would like to bring to the table.

All right.

Seeing no more comment, we will keep the public hearing open and we will bring this back to the Commissioner's table for questions for staff, the applicant, and from those in opposition to Commissioner Walters.

I just had a point of clarification for Mitra.

Mitra, you talked about how uh this would be subject to tree conservation now that it's over to uh two acres.

Uh if this went in for a site plan uh the tree conservation ordinance would apply here, is that correct?

And so ostensibly the trees in the back of the lot would be the location for the 10 percent tree TCA requirement?

I think that that is correct.

Um it's upon like redevelopment of the site that it was.

That would have to be a full redevelopment.

Yeah, and it's assuming that the entire site would be developed together.

Yes.

So in in the case where they were expanding the parking lot, I think it's clear that that tree conservation would not be required at that point.

Um I don't believe that extending a parking lot would count as a high enough tier to require um that uh last other clarification the R4 section uh parcel in the back of the site is not part of the NCOD, is that correct?

Correct.

Um, yeah.

So this map shows it's abutting the NCOD, but it is not technically within the NCOD on the map.

Okay.

Thank you.

Any further questions from the Commission?

Commissioner Box.

Um just for my own education, um, Metrick, can you remind me what the uh width of a transitional yard would be?

Yeah.

So um in this case, I believe all three zones would apply, but for that protective yard, it could be up to 50 feet of a protective yard for that zone A.

Okay.

All right.

You have a question, Commissioner O'Haber?

I do have a question.

Please.

Both of those?

Um It would apply there.

Um upon redevelopment of the site, then I believe it would extend.

That would be the rear yard up towards Glenwood.

Um, I see what you're saying.

Yeah.

So it would just be along this property line.

Okay.

Thank you.

Commissioner Cochran.

Vice Chair Cochrane.

Um in the report under stormwater, you know, it notes that this is not subject to impervious limits because it's commercial property.

So my question is if when they go for a site permit to expand that parking, what will be um I guess the conditions they're gonna have to meet to deal with water on site.

Sally, Riley Stormwater.

So because of the size of the slot and the use, it would be subject to the full stormwater requirement.

So any increase in impervious area, so even if they added 200 square feet, they would have to meet the nutrient requirements and the peak discharge requirements.

So typically that involves installing some sort of detention.

Commissioner O'Haber?

Yeah, Sally.

So I know the applicant had mentioned that that previous um exhibit was old.

Part of what I'm trying to get to is seeing if it's worthwhile to ask the applicant to mean that 30-foot buffer in the rear since that's what exists.

But it looked like the stormwater is going to have to occur on the back side of that wall, which takes out the opportunity to preserve the 30-foot buffer.

Is that correct?

So there's I'm going to address two things there.

So the there is a uh drainage channel in the back of the yard, in the back of the lot that um shows up on the soil maps.

So that is we consider that to be jurisdictional unless proven otherwise.

My understanding is that when they looked at this previously, um not all of it was determined to be jurisdictional.

So the stream buffer may stream buffer rules may not apply.

Um that's part of it.

But then you were also asking about like the zoning buffers.

Um there's many uh we stormwater does not dictate where the stormwater controls have to occur.

Um they can be above ground.

They are allowed in some of some uh landscape areas on the site, but not all landscape areas on the site.

Um I will say that just uh anecdotally, we most commonly see commercial sites do underground um detention, uh especially when they are constrained.

But I I have no idea what this design would be.

I'm with you.

Thank you.

Commissioner Shelburn, I saw you keep moving towards the microphone.

Did you have a question?

A comment.

Okay.

Thank you.

Uh we'll get to those in just one second.

Are there any more questions from the Commission?

All right.

I'm just trying to stay within the rules before I'd hear a little bit more discussion before I ask the applicant if they would consider a 30-foot rear yard buffer.

I guess that can be a rhetorical comment question at this point before you close the hearing, because I don't know that any of us know that right now.

So thank you.

Um seeing no more questions at this time, we will close the public hearing and open it up for discussion, Commissioner Shelburn.

Yes.

So I see three topics here, at least as I understand it.

The first um pretty extensively on record, not seeing a need to keep the to for this body to continue acknowledging conservation overlays, transitions.

That's yes, it's just my take.

I get others see it differently, but to me we're a growing city and things change.

I also don't think we regulate stormwater, which is itself amply extensively regulated in many different ways.

I don't think we administer that by turning down proposals.

But the third topic as I see it is an actual legit negative externality of them describing of the trucks backing up, moving around, turning their lights on, spreading exhaust.

Those are to me legitimate concerns that cross the parcel boundaries that cause actual harms to neighbors.

And so I would be although the challenge though is already happening as amply described.

And so it's not like this proposal is going to necessarily stop that or make it I guess it sounds like it could make it worse, which would be troubling.

So I would be inclined to be curious to know if there were some way to mitigate those somehow.

I don't know what that might be, but I know we've got big old walls along 440, which probably wouldn't be possible to do here, but it seems like there ought to be something to protect the neighbors from those unpleasant circumstances.

Thank you, Commissioner Shelburne.

I I believe we will have questions for the applicant to come back.

So but at this time we will keep the hearing closed and continue with discussion, but we will bring them back at the end of this.

Are there any further discussion?

All right.

I think we have some questions for the applicant.

So I will reopen the public hearing.

And if the Commissioner would like to address those questions directly, uh provide the opportunity now to do so.

I think Commissioner O'Haver, you probably were on the record first.

So there's definitely going to need to be some grading, some retaining walls, et cetera.

There's going to be a cost.

I agree with Commissioner Selburn.

Is there a consideration from the applicant for some type of wall or protection along there?

I think underground detention while expensive.

I think Sally's right.

That's typical nowadays for the cost of expanding.

I think that should be considered to minimize the amount of disturbance to that grade change.

I think it could help.

I'm not saying it will.

I think it could help alleviate some of the concerns considering those three things of the applicant and would and would make me feel a little bit better about supporting this application at this time.

I'm not sure I can support it, but possibly if there are some additional conditions applied.

The applicant like to respond.

Yeah, I'm not in a position to be able to agree to that today.

And if if ultimately it's, you know, there's a consensus here that um you want us to go back and consider that.

Um I will say candidly, um, as I mentioned, it's it's the monopoly analogy here.

My client um had uh I believe an engineering firm engaged, um, thought this was going to be a pretty straightforward process to go, you know, five or six feet back and and add a little bit of additional parking.

Um there really is no intent to be to be clear.

There's no intent to expand um the number of buses, it's just to give us a little more room.

There's really not room, honestly, to expand the number of buses.

But um we don't currently have an engineer involved.

Um so as an attorney, I don't feel comfortable saying, yeah, that makes sense unless we've had a chance to have that evaluated.

So we're probably going to need some additional time ultimately if we're going to agree to anything like that.

Thank you.

So to be clear, I was just asking for consideration, not commitment at this point.

And I don't know, Bynum.

Um is it possible to consider some type of position that limits the amount of expansion?

I mean, if if we're talking about we're not expanding buses, we're looking at adding five feet.

I I don't know that we could craft a condition that would cover that.

But we say constantly that we're trying to make sure that if we pass a zoning now and the property is sold, it still protects some of our concerns.

And so if that's the intent, I I know you're an attorney, but I'm talking to Bayern, I'm sorry.

I'm at that in a good way.

Yeah, I would say I feel like you and the neighbors have successfully communicated your concerns, and it is really in the applicant's court to determine what they are willing to offer.

You know their conditions have to be offered voluntarily.

And so, you know, I think they are asking for some time to evaluate that to consider how they might approach that.

And as you know, zoning conditions travel with the land, irrespective of owner.

And this is a general use case right now.

So I think coupled with your request for consideration would be a consideration to actually convert it to a conditional use.

Thank you for that clarification.

Yeah, I think that should be considered.

Thank you, Commissioner O'Haver.

Commissioner Shelburne, did you wish to follow up?

Said it all.

So would the applicant like to defer this case uh to have time to consider these uh these requests from the neighbor and the commissioners?

We can certainly do that.

And to clarify, um it is retention um as I understand it, um underground uh retention and generally the the setbacks.

Is that correct?

And some type of wall or screening or something again for headlights, noise, et cetera.

So I think I know you don't come before us often, but just to be clear, I think this is my penultimate meeting, so I'll just continue to beat the same drum.

Um would love to support it.

It's a great cause, but I've been pretty consistent about trying to take into account when you have existing single family homes and sort of what that expectation is when you make that investment.

So I'm trying to find a way to support it, but I'm trying to balance that between what I think fair expectations for existing single family homeowners are.

And I've I've been kind of on that path for a couple of years now.

So thank you.

Would staff please help me out?

I don't have my dates in front of me.

Next meetings and what the deadlines would be for updated conditions.

Yeah, so the next meeting is May 26th.

Conditions to be considered at that meeting would need to be submitted by this Friday, the 15th.

And then the first meeting in June would be June 9, and conditions would need to be provided by the 29th of May.

Thanks, Matt.

Thank you for that.

And then there's one more meeting before the break in June.

Okay.

Which would be the same.

So question to the applicant.

Would you prefer to be on an accelerated timeline and get decided?

Realistically, June 9 is probably.

Yeah, I know we'll miss the we'll miss the city council with the break with that, but I think that's probably more realistic for us.

Excellent.

To staff is the agenda look like it could take it at that point.

So all right.

Without deferral, we will defer this case.

Without objection, I'm going to defer this case to the June 9th meeting.

This would require commit uh conditions to be submitted by May 29th.

And the conditions are concerning uh bus disturbances with noise and fumes and traffic and storm water, I think were the major concerns of this commission.

Did I miss anything?

Looking at seeing if we can maintain that rear buffer.

If that's what exists and they can maintain that, I think it's fair to get behind it and support it, in my opinion.

Good news is I won't I won't be here, so it might not matter.

Thank you for bringing it up, Commissioner.

Uh I'm sure you'll get to hear about it.

You will continue to serve until your replacement is appointed, sir.

Oh.

Thank you.

I don't know that part.

You gotta wait for the beach.

Okay.

Without objection, we will defer this case to June 9th.

And thank the applicant for their willingness to consider these conditions.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Mitra, you're earning your pay today.

I really am.

Moving on to our next case.

Rezoning Z 1126, 3901 Stratford Court.

And we will turn it back over to Mitra.

Shesh Peradoran.

That was perfect.

All right.

Third time's the charm.

All right.

Good morning.

For your last case, Z1126.

This is a request to rezone 0.81 acres located at 3901 Stratford Court from R2 to R4.

This is another general use case, so there are no conditions to consider.

And your deadline for action is still July 11th.

Zoning in the area is predominantly low-scale residential.

Here's a look at the site and where it sits.

It's just off of Lasseter Mill Road, south of 440, and then just south of North Hills, which is that commercial block in the top right corner of the screen, and predominantly low-scale residential neighborhoods surrounding this area.

Closer look at the site today.

It sits at the end of the Stratford Court Cul-de-sac.

Currently the site is vacant.

There is formerly a single family detached home on the site.

Surrounded by existing single-family detached homes.

Generally, this area is more walkable than other areas in the city and has the same transit score.

There are no existing bicycle facilities.

Within walking distance relatively of the site.

And resents in this area have risen slightly slower than the citywide average.

Overall, the request is consistent with the future land use map.

Designation of low-scale residential.

It is within a frequent transit area, but no urban form map guidance as those are not supported by residential based districts.

The request is overall consistent with the comprehensive plan.

A couple of consistent policies here speak to phloom consistency, compact development, neighborhood scale housing, and then some zoning housing opportunity and choice policies as well.

Inconsistent policies are related to fire service response time standards.

No outstanding issues, deadline for actions July 11th.

Happy to answer questions.

The applicant is also here.

Thank you for that presentation.

At this time, we will provide 10 minutes for the applicant and those in favor to present.

I'll note that the public hearing is open.

Please state your name for the record when you get to the podium.

Morning, Commission Kara Jennings.

So yeah, just goal here is to be consistent with the adjacent neighbors.

The lot is surrounded by R4 on all sides except for one lot adjacent.

There was a zoning case in the same call-de-sac that went from R2 to R4 in the last couple of years, kind of just for the same reason to be able to accommodate a footprint on there of a single family home that can support a family that can grow there.

So happy to answer any other questions.

Well we will reserve some of your time.

I think you took about a minute, so we'll leave nine minutes on there just in case.

But uh we will now provide time for those in opposition to speak.

The opposition will also have 10 minutes.

Hi, my name is Josie Reeves.

Um I hesitate to uh express my position as opposed.

I'm here to clarify.

Um I live in the little house on the long side of the triangle, 3731 Lasseter Mill.

It's been um my family's home for 17 years.

And uh we are absolutely in support of responsible development, and we appreciated our new neighbors uh reach out to uh with the mailing and we attended the community meeting and were delighted to hear about their plans.

Um they named uh best in class partners, expressed a beautiful vision for their home, um, and really said that they intend to have one single family residence, no athletic courts, um, no accessory dwelling units.

Um, you know, my property line has a unique relationship to theirs, as is the case in a lot of old neighborhoods in our in our city.

Um and so whatever happens in their backyard really affects our families' ability to enjoy and have privacy and also hold on to home value.

Um so I'm here simply because the awesome comments made and vision shared in the community meeting, I know are not binding.

And so I would very much like to ask the commission to consider conditional um approval to this matter.

Um the the written statement or the written letter that I have uh filed uh would just ask that we put into writing what has been shared by the applicant.

Um limit what to one single family residence.

Um I would like to respectfully request a landscape buffer installed permanently maintained along the property line, adjoining 3730 31 Lasseter Mill Road.

The buffer would include evergreen plantings of sufficient density and height to provide year-round visual screening and privacy.

Again, that was something that we spoke about in the meeting and sounded reasonable and appealing.

Um at least that was the impression I got from our conversation.

Um, but again, just kind of making it formal.

Um I would ask that we consider a minimum 20-foot side setback along the property line of 3731 Lasseter Mill Road to provide separation and reduce visual and structural impact.

Um I would ask that the impervious surface be capped at an appropriate level for one single family residence to mitigate stormwater runoff and prevent overdevelopment, such as athletic courts that would be inconsistent with surrounding properties.

Again, we support reasonable development and we are delighted to have a new neighbor that has such a great vision and is bringing such great partners together.

It certainly will be uh wonderful for our neighborhood to have um you know even more uh lively uh children's voices coming from the backyard.

And we look forward to being good neighbors.

Just again, um, in our opinion, this request would be aligned with what was shared at the community meeting and would move to make this conditionally approved as part of the zoning to ensure that our discussion is what we see in future years.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your comments.

If the applicant would like to respond, there's still nine minutes on the in-favor clock.

Sure.

Yes, thank you.

I think yeah, we the intent here is to be good neighbors.

Um that's that's the goal.

And um, you know, have talked with all the other neighbors on the cul de sac.

Um I think the request for conditions was made on the same rezoning on the other lot at Stratford, and they were not required to move forward with specific conditions on it.

Um I think you know, putting a condition on this lot would be inequitable against what was approved on other lots.

Um the rezoning is is actually for the same zoning as uh 3731 Lasseter Mill Road.

Um it does align with the future land use of low-scale residential there and the 2030 comprehensive plan.

Um, you know, just in looking at a condition, it there's not a cohesiveness.

You want a community to have a cohesiveness, and right now there's not any lots in there that have conditions on them.

So I think any time you're looking at investing in in building a home on site, then you have to look at future marketability of resale too.

And any time you have a condition on a deed which does run with it, it um it would just be seen, you know, on that.

So that that would be just the response of just, you know, the request is to kind of rezone in line with what the city wants to see here and you know, follow all the codes according to um those plans.

And so that would be the be the response.

Thank you for your comments.

All right.

Uh keeping the public hearing open, we will bring this back to the table for questions from for the applicant or for staff or from those in opposed.

Commissioner Fox.

I think it's a question for staff.

Um do we have examples of other projects where we put conditions on an R4?

It's kind of escaping me right now.

I can't I can't think of that actually ever happening.

Um I can look around.

I don't know off the top of my head.

This area doesn't really it's predominantly less cover essential, and there are any conditions.

Um I don't know if other staff at the table have examples to provide.

It's an it's an it's unusual to put it on an R2 or an R4 in my experience.

I would just add to that for a lot of this size, I don't recall.

Like if it's a large subdivision going R4 or R6 or something for a new larger development, yeah, I'd say that would be more common, but certainly less common in my individual lot.

Individual lot scale in my experience and what I can recall.

So second question, this is like planning quiz.

So it it maybe it's a question for the attorney as well.

Apologies.

I didn't submit my question previously because it just occurred to me.

Um with the inclusion of conditions on a parcel so small when the surrounding zoning is so similar in nature.

Would the existence of the conditions actually meet the threshold to be defined as spot zoning?

No, I wouldn't say so because the use generally is the same.

It's still residential and it's still at the same density allowed as the surrounding parcels.

I I would I would be hesitant to say that the conditions, which are just supposed to be addressing impacts to surrounding properties.

I don't think that would kick it over into a spot zoning.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Fox.

Further questions from the Commission.

All right.

If there's no further questions, we will close the public hearing and bring it back to the table for discussion and debate.

Are there any comments?

Commissioner Fox.

Yeah.

Although I can acknowledge and empathize with concerns about um change adjacent to a parcel.

Um it doesn't feel like those are conditions.

It feels like that's perhaps an agreement between neighbors, um, which can be documented in a number of different ways that aren't zoning.

Um just for it to be really clear.

I don't generally recommend like buffering houses from houses.

Um so in this case, I I wouldn't I wouldn't be supportive of that if it was offered as a voluntary condition.

Commissioner Shelburn.

So I'd be fine with a 20-story tower here, so no surprise.

I agree with Commissioner Fox that there is no need to buffer houses from houses.

I also agree with the applicant that got to think about fairness, what's being applied to her.

I'll add that I voted no on the property here on Stratford that wouldn't came in before.

And I'll admit that my my framework has shifted since this time.

I don't I find it a little bit distasteful that we're rezoning to allow for more stormwater and more impervious, well, not more impervious service for bigger houses.

This doesn't like the application is not gonna uh increase housing diversity or housing choice.

Uh but it does meet the zoning rules, and we're voting on the zoning and not the project.

And to Commissioner Shelburne's point, the fairness for the parcels and the owners surrounding it, that uh I will be in favor of this particular request.

Commissioner O'Haver.

Yeah, I just feel necessary since after my comments from the last case.

And um I think I agree with Commissioner Fox, like this just is very atypical.

I can't remember in six years that I have sat on the commission that we have done this, and so I think it's just a precedent that we haven't set you know all of the zoning around it is R4, and um I would be inclined to support the zoning.

Thank you, Commissioner Haber.

Any further comments?

If not, I would like to open the floor up for a motion.

Commissioner Baldur.

I move to recommend adoption of the proposed consistency statement dated May 12, 2026 contained in the agenda materials and to recommend approval of the zoning amendment as presented.

We have a motion to approve.

Is there a second?

Second.

Seconded by Commissioner Bennett.

Is there any further discussion or debate on the topic?

Seeing none, we'll call for a vote.

All of those in favor?

Any opposed?

The request passes unanimously.

All right.

Thank you to the applicant.

Thank you to the neighbors.

Thank you for staying involved and waiting through the whole meeting.

All right.

Thank you for making it through another one, fellow commissioners.

That brings us to the end of our cases, and we will move on to other business, starting with the report from the chair.

I'll start off with I'm sure everybody received the email uh asking for a planning commission representative to the Sir Walter Raleigh Awards judges board.

And I'll say this is a it's a really fascinating thing.

I got to do it one time and seeing the projects and the discussion and the people in the room that you get to interact with, it was a real pleasure.

We've had a couple volunteers speak up, and I just want to make sure that everybody on the Commission knew about the offer and what was involved and give everybody a chance to respond.

And I'll uh I'll respond to emails and in discussion with Bynum and Vice Chair Cochrane, we will designate a representative over the next week.

All right.

I'll also like to mention that I would encourage the Commission to, as they study the agenda packet, you can get out ahead of it by looking at the manager's report and seeing the cases that are upcoming because the agenda comes out Thursday.

It's hardly time to schedule any meetings and ask anybody any substantial questions before Tuesday.

So but the the cases are posted on the rezoning page in the city well ahead of time.

And uh Bynum does a very good job on the vice or the assistant director's report and lists the upcoming cases.

And so I encourage you to study those cases, and if you have any questions, especially for staff or the applicant to reach out ahead of time, and you can have a much more involved conversation than is possible here at this table.

And I think that's all I have for my report.

Um just one more quick clarification.

I would like to make sure everybody was marked present, except for Commissioner Omakaye, who is excused and absent.

And that will do it for me.

I'll pass it on to Vice Chair Cochrane.

We don't have any business for the committee of the whole next week, but we're still pending um topics for June.

So please keep that one available.

No report.

No report.

No report.

No report.

Just briefly, the text change committee will be meeting on May 20th at 4 o'clock in room 305 of RMB.

We'll be discussing the TC 126 School Lot Area Amendment.

Thank you.

No report.

No report.

All right.

That concludes the report of the members, and now we will turn to the report of the assistant director.

Thank you.

I did just want to mention that in coordination with the council's schedule.

Planning commission also takes a break in the summer.

We will not have regular or committee meetings in July because there was be no one there for you to report to.

So our meeting in June.

We'll have two meetings, our regular meetings in June, and then come back to that first meeting in August.

The second Tuesday in August would be our next meeting after that.

So enjoy your enjoy your Julys.

Thank you.

Thank you for that report.

One more item that I forgot to read off my list is uh we're approaching the end of the terms for Commissioner Fox and Commissioner O'Haver.

They still have at least one meeting left each.

I think the terms expire in early June and late June.

So we will have a more meaningful goodbye at that time.

But I just wanted to get that out there.

That's uh you you're through June 30, you're June 9.

Uh but I would note you both the per se code, all commissioners, not just the two of you, uh, serve until their appointment.

Uh their replacement is appointed.

Um there is um certainly action at the council table, but no resolution at this time.

And uh Commissioner Fox's replacement is appointed by the Wick County Commissioners, and again, I believe some discussion, but no resolution at this point.

Uh and then I wanted to I uh would be remiss if I did not add that uh per your bylaws, you are required to hold uh June elections for officers for chair and vice chair, and we will put that on the first June agenda.

Okay.

All right, thank you.

And Commissioners Fox and O'Haver, your experience and insight and knowledge is uh invaluable, and so we will wring as much knowledge out of you as we can over the next month and miss you when you're gone.

Long goodbye.

Yeah.

If there is no other business for the good of the order, without objection, we will adjourn this meeting.

Sweet.

Yeah, I'm just gonna go to the community.

I'm Priscilla Tyree Williams, and this is what I do.

I am the City Construction Project Administrator, which is a fancy word to say that.

I'm a project manager.

I work with planning, designing, and constructing some of the city's biggest building and most important projects.

I've had a hand in Raleigh Union Station.

Shavis Community Center, Poland Arts Center, Fire Station 22, Fire Station 14.

But the project that brings me the most joy, and it's gonna be the highlight of my career is the one that I'm standing in right now.

Our new city hall.

17 stories, 360,000 gross square feet.

Our customer service experience is going to improve.

And the reason why is because we're not going to be located in five different spaces downtown.

We're going to be located in one space right here.

Pay a bill, sign a kid up for camp, meet with a reviewer, all in the same spot.

I love what I do.

I love helping to plan, build, and construct buildings that everybody uses and enjoys in the city.

I'm glad to be a part of it.

I'm Melanie Roush.

And this is what I do.

I'm the transit planning manager for Raleigh's Bus Rapid Transit program, also known as BRT.

We are overseeing a large suite of capital infrastructure projects that will improve the rider experience through some of Raleigh's highest ridership routes.

What does that really mean?

That means higher frequency bus service, elevated amenities, and safe pedestrian infrastructure to improve on that first last mile experience.

One area I'm excited for is safe pedestrian improvements at every bus stop.

We're going to be able to deliver that as a part of the VRT program.

I love working for the city of Raleigh because I get to work on some large transformational projects that are going to have a huge impact on the city's future.

I'm a resident of Raleigh, so it's really exciting to know that I'm going to improve on this experience for my neighbors, my friends, and all of the residents here in the city.

Savannah is the events and programs manager at Pullin Park, which opened in 1887 as North Carolina's first public park.

She oversees lots of events here, including the summer concert series, story times, and Holiday Express.

It is a 17-day holiday festival where the whole park is decked out in lights, and we have all kinds of things that people around the area can come experience, including crafts, games, and even an experience with Santa Claus.

Whether you're looking to warm up by a cozy fire, write a letter to Santa.

Play fun holiday games or toss snowballs with your besties.

Savannah always has something planned for everyone.

So it's just a very nice place to work around the holidays.

I love my job here at Pulland because I get to do something different every single day in a beautiful setting, working alongside great co-workers.

And seeing the excitement and the joy in people's eyes when they come here at Pulland is probably one of the things I look forward to the most.

Dorothy Dix is about 308 acres of all park space that can be utilized in many different ways that we are responsible for from people using it as everyday running trails to large events such as Dream Guild that we host out here.

So when we say destination parks, we need a place that's for everybody and a place that is available for everyone.

I don't get the chance to see everyone when they come out to our parks, but I know that in some way I'm doing something to help people make memories.

One of those is working within the limits of available resources to meet the needs of all people.

Another is keeping the parks clean.

So if you happen to be at a park and see trash, you can help by picking it up.

And if you enjoy being outdoors, you can also volunteer to work in one of our many gardens.

I love working for the city of Raleigh because I love to come to work with my crews.

They're all skilled and they are experts in their respective fields and they do amazing work.

Okay.

These budget notes were requested over the past year.

The first one is from Councilmember Melton, um wanting us to bring information back on a permanent band stage in public art at City Plaza.

The second one came from Councilmember Harrison, um asking about the urban tree projects in parks, recreation and cultural resources.

So we're gonna go through those budget notes.

We also have staff here from those various departments that can answer deeper questions if there are any.

So if council wishes, we can re-prioritize, you can reprioritize the capital projects that are proposed.

Or we can include this in consideration for funding in the FY 2028 capital budget.

Happy to answer any questions that I can.

Counselor Lambert Melton.

Sure.

I just wanted to provide thank you very much.

I want to provide a little additional context.

This was not a specific request from me.

I personally do not have a heightened interest or disinterest in a bandstand.

This did come from the Economic Development Innovation Committee.

It was part of the public realm study and recommendations and an ongoing discussion we were having with the downtown Raleigh Alliance and just general discussion around what improvements should we make to the Fateville Street Corridor.

And one of the discussions we had that kept sort of rising to the top was a bandstand in City Plaza area to sort of activate that space.

And we had referred it out of committee with a recommendation that we seek a budget note.

So that's where we landed here.

It has been some months since we've had that conversation, and I really haven't heard much about the bandstand since then.

I'm I'm assuming it is still a priority for downtown Raleigh Alliance.

And so this is where we landed.

You know, I I don't know what it would seem we would want the covered stage, I would think, because I think the point was for it to also double as seating for folks that are out there eating lunch and visiting at the convention center and whatnot.

And so that's obviously bumping us into the more expensive option.

So I guess it's just we've got to figure out if we're going to prioritize it and how we're going to pay for it.

Counselor Potton.

Yeah.

Hi, thanks.

Um I'll say for my colleagues, I think my instinct, and we we can discuss more, is to ask us to be programmed into the 28 fiscal year budget rather than asking for a reprogramming of of this budget that's um almost baked.

So that's kind of where I'm at now.

Council Branch?

Yeah, I would agree about fiscal year 2A, but I have a couple of questions that can hopefully help direct that.

My first question is who would program this?

Like who would maintain how would it operate?

So Councilmember Limbert Meldon may talk a little bit about what was discussed in the committee.

However, I think from ours from a programming perspective, it would be a shared responsibility and a joint partnership between us and DRA to kind of make sure that number one, we're not competing and conflicting with anything that any events that we have programmed as part of our lineup each year, and then two that we're not competing with anything that Beale King has set aside for DRA.

So I would think it would be a partnership.

Jonathan, did you all get that far into conversation in the committee?

Yeah.

I mean, we talked about in an ongoing effort to provide more flexibility in that area.

First, it would serve as a day-to-day function.

People can just use it.

They can eat lunch there, they can work from there.

And then the second part is these things like the live after fives or the sort of pop-up.

I think that they want to be able to do more programming there once we have the option.

And so I think it would really function like we're seeing right now with these events, some of that are happening in Moore Square, and then some that do happen on Fayetteville Street, but they have to bring in obviously a stage and everything.

Okay.

So with that and how to fill in this where it was going to go, I would say definitely let's move this to fiscal year 28 budget, but also look at partnerships and possibly sponsorships.

Yeah.

That can help offset some of the costs into this as well.

Um so that would be my um direction that I would give.

Can I add one thing?

Yep.

We we didn't talk about the second option, the public art.

We have those two pedestals that are on Fadeville Street right now at City Plaza.

It's called City Play.

Am I saying that right?

And they're empty, but we use them for like pop-up installations.

And I think that maybe if we're going to push the bandstand to fiscal year 28, I would like to see the public art move forward and in this budget.

That op those options range from 150 to 500.

I'm assuming we could find some capacity for that, even if maybe comes out of when we close don't we have uh reserves when the budget is.

We would recommend that we hold off until the fall when we close out FY26 and make a contribution out of fund balance or capital reserves.

Yeah, so could we get the are we good with getting the art piece back in the fall and seeing if we can fund my preference on the artist, I feel like we could do the lower option where we purchase two pre-made structures that fit on the existing Well Sarah Powers has just walked in to the uh I will so that I will just say yeah, I'd be curious, Sarah's input on the private funding capacity and any additional work that's been done about the four sculptures.

I will so that I will just say yeah, I'd be curious, Sarah's input on the private funding capacity and any additional work that's been done about the four sculptures.

And while you're answering that, Sarah, it was my understanding, this is years ago, that the intent was to have rotating art on those pedestals on a regular basis.

So I don't know whether that budget was baked in at some point that ceased to be the practice.

So hi, I'm Sarah Power.

Welcome, Art.

Thanks for inviting me to the podium.

Glad I stopped by.

The um intention probably wasn't to have that rotating.

The plaza opened with three empty pedestals and no percent for art funding yet.

So the solution was to br have artwork loaned for a small sort of artist stipend to cover a kind of a rental agreement.

What we found is less and less artwork is made like that right now.

Sort of, so there was very few artists who would apply.

We wouldn't, we were getting kind of the same old stuff over and over again.

So when the plaza was renovated a couple of times, we sort of thought the plot they were going to go away.

Pedestals are going away, so we cut that program.

We did put the acorn there, which is really great because that's where they drop it for New Year's.

You don't have to take an acorn on a field trip.

Um that worked out pretty well.

But the um other two pedestals we have not come up with a the loan isn't ideal.

There's fairly small pedestals to find something with that small footprint with the impact, I think folks want to see.

But if that's where we end up, we probably could relook at that program and maybe more with a temporary versus you know, there's not a lot of like metal and stone monoliths that are loanable in that scale.

Yeah, I was just gonna add the conversation we had in the committee was a permanent installation, something that can be a signature for the city when people come from out of town.

It's like a kind of go-to, get your photo taken here type of art slash economic development slash branding opportunity.

Conversation we had before we walked in is the three options in front of us.

Um I don't know if you have the specifics, but level one is sort of purchasing a pre-made structure that will fit 10 to 12 feet tall, um quicker delivery, but obviously there would be less customization.

Option two would be mid-level, which would be a 10 to 12 foot fall tall, two twelve to ten to twelve foot fall structures that we would commission.

So obviously it would be customizable.

And then the high level would be custom design, 20 feet tall, interactive.

And I think the mayor was asking if you had thoughts on that or what conversations have happened.

I mean, that's a lot of art.

That's where you're gonna have some interaction.

That's when you're gonna have you know some light interact, you know, some maybe kinetic, light, something very striking 24 hours a day.

Um, just artwork is more expensive right now.

The more customization, the more the artist is involved in designing with community engagement, you know, sort of to get to the scale.

Purchasing artwork, you know, you it's going to be abstract, it's going to maybe be colorful, but there's just not going to be a lot of inventory.

I think it's going to be sort of what is out there.

Um is going to be a good chunk of any of these, getting the work made and put in place and the durability is key.

Probably the high level, you're going to have to sort of put in infrastructure too to support it, especially if it has some sort of kinetic or light aspect to it.

Well, I mean, hearing that I I do I would like to see if we my personal preference would be to get this art piece back in the fall and see what reserve funding we have, and that may help us decide which one of these levels we'd want we want to do.

Yeah.

And I would say I'm fine with that as well.

I I think this probably needs some more baking, if I can use the art term to really figure out what works.

Yeah, we can come back with more detail of what's in this budget range.

Yeah, maybe the city manager you could work together and bring us options in the fall with a little more specificity and then the funding mechanism for them.

Okay.

Thank you for being quick on your feet.

All right.

On to the next budget note.

Um this budget note came from Mayor Pro Tim Harrison.

Um the program was the leaf out program was developed, a leaf leaf out program was developed by Parks Recreation and Cultural Resources.

The initiative was put forth in the budget process, but ultimately was not in your recommended budget that the city manager presented back in earlier May.

The first year cost of the program right now are $650,000, which would include operating needs, equipment, supplies, and staffing necessary for this.

And because this wasn't included, council could identify offsetting reductions in the general fund budget, the operating budget, utilize additional revenues, or consider um other funding if they wish to include the program in the 2027 adopted budget.

I know that there is also a grant that is in the works that is going through the state.

And I think Stephen Bentley is here to speak to that if there's any questions on that.

Okay, we'll start with Mayor Potem Harrison.

Yeah, I just want to ensure that the Leafout Plan has funding this year.

You know, we put the plan, you know, approved it.

We have a goal set now for 2032 to have 24,000 trees planted.

And I'm concerned if we don't have clear funding to start the process.

I don't know how we're going to get there.

Um I know this grant might be underway, so I would like to hear details about that.

Um I just wanted to uh you know mention in the budget, we do hear, you know, there it does talk about the leaf out plan.

So I want to understand again what parts will be funded, um, particularly how many trees can be planted with funding that you have in mind with the grant, staffing, partner contracts, who are specific partners we might be working with, education activities as well as maintenance costs, because as we all know, if we plant a tree, it's not enough.

We better water it too.

Um, yes, very curious to hear what is planned with that grant, Stephen, and the timeline of it.

Yeah, um, Stephen Bentley with Raleigh Parks.

The $1 million grant has multiple components, and we haven't uh finalized our agreement with the State.

A good portion is maintenance.

So we have a tree canopy now that needs to be maintained, and part of those funds would go towards that.

The other would go towards, believe it or not, tree removal, because we do have some hazard trees.

And then the other bucket would be this community focused on tree planting.

Um we can bring back a detailed summary of how that grant would move the needle on the leaf out program.

Um it will, but not to the expectation of what the 650 would.

Um grant doesn't supply for staff to do that, but we would hopefully have some really great partners who have been enthusiastic along the way.

So we could follow up with uh a very detailed memo on what we believe the grant can do in year one, and then those things that it cannot do that we were hoping to do.

What is the total cost of the grant or how much money is that?

It's one million dollars.

And that all is to go to leaf out?

Um.

The grant was intended kind of in the three buckets.

One is tree care.

So that is safety and all of our street trees need to be regularly pruned and maintained for safety purposes.

The other is to support some tree removal for dying or disease trees, and then that third bucket would be more of the leaf out, which is planting and community issue initiatives.

Since we haven't finalized the contract with the grantor, we have it locked into those thresholds, or we don't know how much they'll allow us to pull up one and reduce the other.

So that would be kind of a two-way conversation with the grantor.

So is the grant approved or it is.

Yeah.

Yes.

Yes.

But there is still some conversation about how it can, the monies can be used.

Yes, we just don't know how much flexibility we'll have within the grant tour.

So we want to now do more of this and less than this.

This is the agency.

Uh it's the State of North Carolina.

Um I don't recall the specific agency.

The other is this can only be used in certain census blocks.

It can't be used anywhere in the city.

Okay.

But it would be using census blocks of which we desire, which are historically underinvested and areas that need tree canopy.

So it aligns with our values.

Yeah, I would like to see the details on that grant so I can just better understand it.

Um I do again have some concerns here if we're not putting any of our own funds to this project, particularly for personnel, because I know you all you know have jobs already, every one of your staff members.

We only have one urban forester.

You know, he has a huge job.

And so if we don't have someone that is propelling this effort forward, I just fear that it will not have the outcomes intended.

Um, and so that's something I would definitely like to make sure is in our budget is a person who is going to really bring this project home, and not just partners, because partner contracts at the end of the day, they're not our folks, and we don't have the same level of accountability.

And so wanted to kind of clarify a little bit of staff's intentions around this is to kind of develop a strategy, right?

We're talking about how do we invest these funds in planting trees, but we need to develop a strategy of where the trees are going to go, what kinds of trees, how many in certain specific areas.

So we will have dedicated staff working to try to figure that out as we get through the first year of the program.

Because right now it is just a blank template and we are talking about planting trees, but we really need to be strategic about how we do it so that we best use the funds that we are able to get from the State and then leverage those for our own internal funds as well as meet the needs and the concerns of the community around the program.

Yeah, I agree.

The strategy is important, but my question again is who?

Who is going to have the time and the focus on it?

So that's why I wouldn't put back the council is ensuring we have at least one person who is implementing this program, and then also again the details on the grant to ensure that we're making headway on our goals.

So how many trees can we plant with the grant?

What are the numbers so that we can see that we can get you know to the 24,000 goal?

Okay.

Councillor Patton and then Councillor Silver.

Hi.

Building on some of those questions.

So we've we've received the grant, but we don't have the money in the bank.

I have not drawn it down.

The grant has been approved.

So uh sequencing is you apply for a grant, they will say you are approved.

Then it is a contractual negotiation between the fundor and the recipient.

And that is the stage we are in right now.

So that sounds slow.

Um how long before we have money in the bank?

I I couldn't give you that.

Um we have had grants that sit for a year or two.

Our grant for Smoky Hollow, we still have net received funds, and that was announced two years ago.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

I was nervous you'd say something like that.

Yep.

Um then so looking at this 650,000 is um a bit higher than I remember like talking about in the SWET committee.

I realize more work has probably been done.

So what is broadly speaking uh but a little more specific than on this bullet point what is included in the 650,000?

It would be a combination of things.

One thing the manager talked about is um we wanted to develop a strategy with partners and we looked at some small granting program, similar to the Office of Raleigh Arts.

If we're working with a nonprofit, there needs to be certain criteria and thresholds.

So that takes time and energy to do.

So there was a person uh baked into that.

Then there was some materials and supplies that we could use with our partners.

We have three or four that have been open to say we can help you plant trees and then actual funds to buy trees uh to not only put on our property, but the partners would help leverage on private property.

Okay.

So one so one staff position and then I believe it was at least one staff position.

Yes.

Okay.

That will be part of the breakdown we will share.

What has those those eager partners that we have that have been part of this process, like how have conversations developed?

How do you envision this program?

They have been waiting patiently.

That's the way I would I would share.

They have this been open to say we can fill a niche that historically you do not, which is right now, we regulate trees and maintain trees.

We do not have, besides our street tree program, a really assertive on private property, tree planting program, and they will help us fill that niche.

Okay.

Got it.

All right.

I'm not sure I have more.

I have a comment and then a question.

I I certainly would support the $650,000 uh for this year, not knowing how long the grant will take.

Uh but I think because of the need, uh and this is where my question is coming in.

Uh you just mentioned private property, so I assume in terms of planting street trees, because I too, like Mayor Pro Tem.

Thought this was already baked into the leaf out program that there are street trees.

There are trees on city-owned property, parks, and other, and then there are trees on private property.

I think we all know that street trees are the most expensive of the three.

And so it's my hope, because I think that is where we have uh significant need, particularly in some of the areas you mentioned.

So that's why I would push for frontloading it, because since we want to do this by 2032, it makes more prudent sense to have the money to start and then the grant would be value added since you said it has limitations in terms of what census tracks uh it could be implemented.

So, in terms of the program itself, I know you are saying to develop a strategy or a city manager said that.

Is the plan for street trees, trees on city-owned property, and then private property, which are gonna work with partners.

Is that what the strategy was?

Council Member Simple, it would be all the above.

And I don't want to think we're starting from zero.

We have incredible data on heat islands from our sustainability office.

We have mapped every street tree in the city, and we have GIS data on our own property.

So we have strategies in place.

We just don't have a strategic and intentional program to deliver the plantings, the maintenance in Lemming, we have foresters that do that.

Okay.

And the last point is maybe getting into weeds, but I have heard you have heard me say this before and others.

I I am concerned about some of the type of street trees, like in my opinion, a crepe myrtle should not qualify as a street tree, and the opportunity to kind of write the ship of providing the shade for people to walk on our very hot climate, uh, so that there is a tree that provides shade and not a tree that just fills a tree well.

And so to me, I am hoping this strategy starts provide some of those benefits to those walkers, but also those benefits just to the city in general about air quality, water quality, and cooling our city.

So that's just a little point I wanted to make.

Follow-up comment, positive nose, we have updated our manual for trees, and recently the manager executed our native uh plants policy.

So moving forward, not only park projects, but all my peers that uh that are building anything in Raleigh through the City of Raleigh government now have to adhere to a native uh species policy.

It's great.

Councilor Jones.

Thank you so much.

Um I was just wondering um a few things.

So the 650 would be for the city, the city would then make that would be who would be the in charge of it.

And then we would partner with others.

That's correct.

Have we done a similar tree planting program in the past?

Yes.

We had a program I would have to go back and look that was called neighborwoods.

And we would supply trees to landowners, teach them how to plant that, how to maintain it.

Um don't have much more information about that because that does predate my leadership role.

Right.

I guess I'm just saying if there was any iteration of it before, I guess in the planning phases, this is where we would incorporate what lessons learned from that to then create something new.

Yes.

And then reach out to our partner organizations to help us accomplish that.

Yes.

As well as we have had some national speakers come in during Reflect Raleigh, the planning department brought in trees across Atlanta, which is a incredible model for not really the City of Atlanta, but City of Atlanta supported getting it off the ground.

It is a very robust uh philanthropic-led tree planting system in Atlanta.

And that is our hope and aspirations down the line.

Awesome.

And what is that communication look like if this is approved and you have that 650?

How would we as council find out about it?

Would it be an update that you would give to us during a work session or how would we hear about the project?

I think we could not only do work session council updates, we could also do managers' updates.

And also we have a sustainability wildlife and urban trees, which you appoint those members, they would certainly get which the community members really move this policy through, they would get routine updates.

And we have growth and or I don't know what you are called now, but growth and natural resources that might be a very important thing.

Environmental resiliency.

There you go.

Thank you.

Um environmental resilience.

Um if there is some place that we can know where that lives so that we know where to go back and forth, maybe that's just an idea to put on your table.

So thank you so much.

Council Branch?

So of we are implementing the leaf out program in the new year, correct?

Correct.

So what does the additional because it sounds I am seeing I am understanding that it seems to be some overlap between the urban tree budget note we have here and our leaf out program?

So I am trying to figure out the delta.

Yeah, I would not see um an overlap.

The current our current role as a city is to maintain and regulate trees, and a portion of that is tree planting.

But it is not community-based tree planting.

It is replacing street trees.

When we build something in a park or working with transportation, we plant trees there.

We do not have a community forester.

And essentially that is what this does.

That liaisons with nonprofits or corporations to say we would love for you to work with our nonprofit partners in the city to grow our urban tree canopy.

That is the core of what this request would be.

Okay.

So it is all about just working in the private sector and improving the process.

And community partners.

And community partners.

Okay.

And you need in 650 is needed to do that.

Yes.

Okay.

One of the things we always, when we are dealing with budget notes, um, I know in the past, on a budget note, there was usually a recommendation of where the money could possibly come from.

This one doesn't, I don't see that.

So what are the options of the options are to raise to raise taxes five tenths of a cent to raise your tax rate from 1.70 to 1.75, cut expenses elsewhere, or raise another revenue source from fees or something like that.

That that third one being probably the least favorable option in this particular instance.

So cut expenses somewhere else, raise revenue.

Okay.

So mayor for a time and then I'll come back to counselor Pott.

Yeah, I think after hearing about the nature of the grant and we're not sure about the timeline.

I am prepared to make a motion to move forward to fund this program for that first year cost of 650K, I think, to Councilmember Silver's point.

Hopefully the grant can then help us down the road to reduce expenses on this effort.

But at this point, with the community, I think in great support and many of us I think had a sense that we were moving forward on this with the plan.

I think it's really important that we start the work.

So I'm I'm going to put that motion forward.

Okay.

So we have a second to the motion.

And um let me go to Councilor Patton and then Jones.

Yeah.

Um I think a bunch of people seconded it, but I'm happy I'm happy to second that.

I, you know, trees are planted in the fall, as you've taught taught us.

And if we don't find a way to fund it this year, we we lose an entire year.

And so then suddenly the amount of trees we are committing to plant each year becomes higher, right?

Every day that passes is more trees that need to be planted in that time.

And yeah, I was sort of thought we had I had hoped that we would see this baked into the budget already.

So I would like to pursue this funding.

I'd like to do it without raising revenues.

Um I know that means we have to go dig in the couch cushions, and I know that will be hard, and it's been a hard year, and I understand that.

Oh gosh.

So I understand the challenges of that.

I can suggest that I could work with the manager on what the grant allows for, and then we do get some small fees through the development process and look at that and then bring back the delta on a recommendation to the manager.

Is that on how we get year one going, but not exactly at this.

We want to make sure we look at all aspects of revenues and the grant to see if we can pull down the six fifty.

Okay.

I'm gonna stack.

I have Jones and then Lambert Melton and then Ford.

High interest in this topic.

I have noticed that.

Yes, no, I'm very very excited about it.

Love the work that went into it.

But uh Counselor Patton touched on you know where which which choice did we want, because I know raising taxes even further is not something that I don't I I'm not really interested in either.

Um so thank you for sharing your thoughts on that, and we would love to hear, you know, other places that other that people might think we would find money.

Um but before I can support it, I just like to have an idea of where we are funding it from.

Lambert Melton.

Yeah, two things.

Councilmember Jones, I agree.

Um I I won't support an additional tax increase.

And so I don't feel comfortable voting on it right now.

If a vote was called, I would vote no for that reason.

Um I also think we typically do budget notes when we pass the budget.

Um and then Mr.

Bentley's point, I would be very interested for this to come back at our next budget work session or one before we pass the budget, figure out where you can find some money to close the gap, what the delta is, and what the funding mechanism could actually be.

Council Ford.

Uh ditto to my learn it council to the left.

But yeah, I don't I don't know that I think we can do a motion and approve anything today if we don't know how we're going to fund it.

Okay.

Go ahead.

Yeah, I would agree.

But also on page 298 in our budget under capital hikes for parks, recreation and cultural resources, it says urban tree canopy improvements at locations throughout the city, $500,000.

That is why I suggested we would come back to you with another.

A couple of years ago, the manager supported both invasive species and um trees to be part of our capital budget as green infrastructure.

So if we come back and work these numbers with this $650 would go down.

Okay.

So that is this $500 that I'm reading here part of that $650.

It is not.

That is part of the cap the capital budget.

CIP budget.

Just the CIP.

That's right.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So we can do some trading off to kind of get there.

Again, I think short of having a designed program committing to $650 in year one when we don't really know where and what we're planning is unrealistic.

So I don't want us to sit expectation that we're going to plant $650,000 worth of trees because by the time we get to the point of planting season and get the partners on board and staff after July 1, that that's a short runway.

But we will go back and look and see what we have in CIP.

What um Mr.

Bentley mentioned a few minutes ago is about the grant agreement.

We have the opportunity in a lot of our state grants to go and massage the grant language to kind of designate how the funding will be stipulated throughout the functions that are approved on the state level.

So by putting it in buckets, much like we've done the bonds that will allow us to then ultimately say, you know, one third for maintenance, one third for plantings, and that kind of gets us to an amount as well, and then whatever we're able to get out of CIP and out of his um regular annual departmental budget.

So we can bring all that back next Monday at your next um work session.

So I want to go back because we do have a motion and a second on the table.

Unless you withdraws the motion.

Does the motion to direct staff to bring back a funding source?

No.

No, is the approved doing this.

I mean, I'm I still support this.

Um I do have concerns again that we're not planning at the speed that I thought we were, and the personnel piece is what I think is really important.

Um I can hold off, I guess I'll withdraw my motion until next Monday.

Um, but my uh my intent here doesn't change.

Yeah.

Hopefully, I stayed in the direction of staff.

Yeah.

I think we got the direction we need if you're okay, man.

Thank you very much.

Absolutely.

Thanks, Stephen.

All right.

The next topic is an information request that is coming back to you regarding SOLIDWASte services.

Um the first question was to provide a list of comparable services provided by other cities and jurisdictions.

Um that list is in the memo that has been provided in the packet.

Just some summary um about the list.

Most of the most of the cities surveyed here in North Carolina provide similar core services to Raleigh with several supplementing services like bulky pickup, white goods collection, seasonal leaf collection.

Um services are provided by municipalities while some are contracted out by the municipality.

And then the cost recovery, which we'll get to in the third slide here, really depends on the particular municipality.

The other question that we got was um a 10-year history of solid waste services and the monthly rate structure.

And as you can see from the chart here, we've had these gradual intentional increases that um help soften um the cost and the shock to our customers.

So what we don't want to see obviously is a spike and then fall back down.

These have been intentional increases um over the last seven years.

Obviously, in FY26, um Solid Waste Services became a full enterprise, um, which we were able to do still with um with softening that uh ultimate fee increase to to our customers.

And then finally, we got the question about other municipalities and the split of general fund versus user fees for the Solid Waste Services Enterprises, and it really runs the gamut.

We just looked in North Carolina because we wanted to compare apples to apples and cur in terms of finances and how those things work.

So it it runs a gamut from Wilmington, who is 99.7 percent funded by user user fees to Winston-Salem, who is 17 percent funded by user fees right now, um, and these are all proposed budgets for FY27.

We were able to get that information directly from our partners throughout the state.

Raleigh is at one percent um provided by the general fund, and those are for activities that are public good in nature, picking up dead animals, um, working with the special events crews, things that are that are more again more public good with 99 percent paid by um user fees.

So happy to take any questions, and our colleagues from Solid Waste Services are here as well.

Okay, thank you for this information, which is intriguing.

Uh any questions on this?

Yes.

Yeah, just a couple questions, and I don't know if I missed it, apologies.

But um compared to these other communities, are our fees very different, you know, percentage-wise.

Uh and I don't know if you have that data here.

So that was in the April 6th budget work session, and I believe that we were very favorably compared with our our neighbors.

I don't know if Solid Waste Services staff has that, but we can we can get that sent back out to you.

That was a question that came to me in some of the budget uh questioning.

So I just wanted to check on that in particular question about they thought the town of Carey had much less lower fees than we do.

So I I'll check that one to make sure.

Yep.

Um and can you tell me who has a compost program here?

Do you know?

You all know who has a compost program.

I don't have but I didn't I didn't see a compost program in any of the municipalities that we surveyed.

I thought the town of Carey might have one.

I wasn't sure what status of any of those because all the services are mentioned here, but I didn't see compost.

We can we can review that and get back to you on that, but to my knowledge, I don't I don't think that they do have a municipal-wide um service, but maybe they do.

No, but um Carrie has from collection.

Um sorry.

Uh Sylvia Bayer, uh assistant director of Solidwee Services uh here on behalf of Chicago.

Um the uh Kerry municipality has a food um collection service through Compost Now.

And that's that's all that's and they are paying for that service through their fees.

It's not a separate fee structure, like it's just uh all wrapped into one.

Uh I will have to double check on that.

I think the the customers are paying for that.

So you could say I'll have to get back on that.

Okay, yeah, I think maybe a city manager just update on how their compost program works or for uh food waste that would be helpful.

All right.