CITY PLANNING

2030 Comprehensive Plan UPDATE

Raleigh

(blank page)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements .......................................................................................... iv Version History ............................................................................................... vi Section 1 Introduction.................................................................................1-1 Section 2 Framework..................................................................................2-1 Section 3 Land Use ....................................................................................3-1 Section 4 Transportation..............................................................................4-1 Section 5 Environmental Protection ...........................................................5-1 Section 6 Economic Development..............................................................6-1 Section 7 Housing ......................................................................................7-1 Section 8 Parks Recreation Open Space....................................................8-1 Section 9 Public Utilities .............................................................................9-1 Section 10 Community Facilities and Services.........................................10-1 Section 11 Urban Design..........................................................................11-1 Section 12 Historic Preservation ..............................................................12-1 Section 13 Arts and Culture......................................................................13-1 Section 14 Regional and InterJurisdictional Coordination.....14-1 Section 15 Downtown Raleigh..................................................................15-1 Section 16 Area Plans ..............................................................................16-1 Section 17 Implementation.......................................................................17-1 Glossary ...................................................................................................18-1

Acknowledgements

⬚ figure

Acknowledgements: 2019 Plan Update

City Council

Honorable Nancy McFarlane, Mayor Corey Branch, Mayor Pro Tem David Cox Kay Crowder Stef Mendell Russ Stephenson Nicole Stewart Richard “Dickie” Thompson Bonner Gaylord (2014-2017) Mary-Ann Baldwin (2014-2017)

City Manager

Ruffin Hall

Planning Commission

Rodney Swink, Chair Tika Hicks, Vice Chir Bob Geary Edie Jeffreys Joe Lyle CJ Mann Michele McIntosh David Novak Matt Tomasulo Shelley Winters

Lead Agency

Department of City Planning

Kenneth Bowers, AICP, Director Travis Crane, AICP, Assistant Director Roberta M K Fox, AIA ASLA, Assistant Director

Comprehensive Plan Update Team

Bynum Walter, AICP John Anagnost Ray Aull, GISP Don Belk, AICP Sara Ellis Christopher Golden Jason Hardin, AICP Matthew Klem, CZO Kyle Little Ira Mabel, AICP Hannah Reckhow

Communication Team

David Langley Aaron Sheppard

Other Contributing Members

Dhanya Purushothaman-Sandeep, AICP Carter Pettibone, AICP Joe Michael, AIA

Participating Departments

City Manager’s Office Department of Budget and Management Services Department of Communications Department of Development Services Department of Engineering Services Department of Finance Department of Housing and Neighborhoods Department of Information Technology Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources Department of Public Utilities Department of Transportation Department of Solid Waste Services Raleigh Fire Department Raleigh Police Department

Acknowledgements

⬚ figure

Acknowledgements: 2009 Comprehensive Plan

City Council

Honorable Charles Meeker, Mayor Dr. James West, Mayor Pro Tem Mary-Ann Baldwin Thomas Crowder Philip Isley Rodger Koopman Nancy McFarlane Russ Stephenson

City Manager

J. Russell Allen

Planning Commission

Maha Chambliss, Chair Tom Bartholomew, Vice Chair Paul Anderson Marvin Butler Quince Fleming Bonner Gaylord Linda Harris Edmisten Waheed Haq Clyde Holt Brad Mullins Stephen Smith Heather Vance

Lead Agency

Department of City Planning

Mitchell Silver, AICP, Director Kenneth Bowers, AICP, Deputy Director

Comprehensive Plan Team

Alysia Bailey Taylor, AICP James Brantley, AICP Alfreda Bryant Travis Crane Trisha Hasch Kris Larson Martin Stankus, AICP

Supporting Mapping and Graphics Staff

Allison Decker Frank Holyfield JD Long Scott Masteller Carter Pettibone, AICP Aaron Sheppard DeShele Sumpter Stan Wingo

Additional Contributing Members

Elizabeth Alley Jacque Baker Stacy Barbour, AICP Dan Becker Meade Bradshaw Christine Darges Dan Douglas, AICP Karen Duke Doug Hill, AICP Eric Hodge, AICP James Marapoti Dhanya Sandeep

Consulting Team

HNTB Corporation

With assistance from

Barry J. Miller, AICP Greenways Inc. Justice & Sustainability Associates McKim & Creed Partners for Economic Solutions White & Smith LLC

Acknowledgements

Version History

Adopted October 7, 2009 (Resolution 2009-997) with an effective date of November 1, 2009

Amended

December 7, 2010 (Res. 2010-286) January 18, 2011 (Res. 2011-307) February 1, 2011 (Res. 2011-315) March 1, 2011 (Res. 2011-320) April 5, 2011 (Res. 2011-339) September 20, 2011 (Res. 2011-453) March 6, 2012 (Res. 2012-544) March 20, 2012 (Res. 2012-550) November 6, 2012 (Res. 2012-680) March 19, 2013 (Res. 2013-736) April 2, 2013 (Res. 2013-739) April 2, 2013 (Res. 2013-740) June 4, 2013 (Res. 2013-767) September 3, 2013 (Res. 2013-802) September 3, 2013 (Res. 2013-803) November 19, 2013 (Res. 2013-848) April 1, 2014 (Res. 2014-893) September 2, 2014 (Res. 2014-980) September 2, 2014 (Res. 2014-981) September 2, 2014 (Res. 2014-982) September 16, 2014 (Res. 2014-996) April 21, 2015 (Res. 2015-95) June 2, 2015 (Res. 2015-120) August 4, 2015 (Res. 2015-167) August 4, 2015 (Res. 2015-168) August 4, 2015 (Res. 2015-169) August 4, 2015 (Res. 2015-170) June 21, 2016 (Res. 2016-325) July 5, 2016 (Res. 2016-332) February 7, 2017 (Res. 2017-449) September 5, 2017 (Res. 2017-501) October 3, 2017 (Res. 2017-515) November 8, 2017 (Res. 2017-529) February 2, 2018 (Res. 2018-543) June 5, 2018 (Res. 2018-594) June 5, 2018 (Res. 2018-595) December 4, 2018 (Res. 2018-652) August 21, 2018 (Res. 2018-620) August 21, 2018 (Res. 2018-621) February 5, 2019 (Res. 2019-667) May 7, 2019 (Res. 2018-814) May 21, 2019 (Res. 2019-833) May 21, 2019 (Res. 2019-846) May 21, 2019 (Res. 2019-847) June 2, 2020 (Res. 2020-60) June 4, 2019 (Res. 2019-853) July 2, 2019 (Res. 2019-883) September 3, 2019 (Res. 2019-937) September 17, 2019 (Res. 2019-943) October 1, 2019 (Res. 2019-947) October 1, 2019 (Res. 2019-948) October 1, 2019 (Res. 2019-949) October 1, 2019 (Res. 2019-950) November 6, 2019 (Res. 2019-959) November 6, 2019 (Res. 2019-960) November 6, 2019 (Res. 2019-961) November 12, 2019 (Res. 2019-962) November 12, 2019 (Res. 2019-963) December 3, 2019 (Res. 2019-1) May 5, 2020 (Res. 2020-36) July 7, 2020 (Res. 2020-91) October 6, 2020 (Res. 2020-139) December 1, 2020 (Res. 2020-208) December 15, 2020 (Res. 2020-206) December 15, 2020 (Res. 2020-207) March 2, 2021 (Res. 2021-230) May 4, 2021 (Res. 2021-251) June 15, 2021 (Res. 2021-269) October 19, 2021 (Res. 2021-310) November 2, 2021 (Res. 2021-313) November 16, 2021 (Res. 2021-318) January 4, 2022 (Res. 2022-325) May 10, 2022 (Res. 2022-358) May 17, 2022 (Res. 2022-363) June 7, 2022 (Res. 2022-373) June 21, 2022 (Res. 2022-383) June 21, 2022 (Res. 2022-384) July 5, 2022 (Res. 2022-389) September 6, 2022 (Res. 2022-412) October 4, 2022 (Res. 2022-421) November 15, 2022 (Res. 2022-436) November 15, 2022 (Res. 2022-437) March 7, 2023 (Res. 2023-474) April 4, 2023 (Res. 2023-484) April 4, 2023 (Res. 2023-485) May 2, 2023 (Res. 2023-489) October 17, 2023 (Res. 2023-530) November 7, 2032 (Res. 2023-535) January 30, 2024 (Res. 2024-555) March 20, 2024 (Res. 2024-557) June 18, 2024 (Res. 2024-591) October 15, 2024 (Res. 2024-616) November 6, 2024 (Res. 2024-621) November 6, 2024 (Res. 2024-622)

section 1

Introduction

1.1 Purpose of the Comprehensive Plan........................................... 1-4 1.2 How the Comprehensive Plan is to be Used ............................. 1-8 1.3 Organization of the Plan ........................................................... 1-10 1.4 Civic Engagement Process ...................................................... 1-12

Introduction

Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, is a fast-growing city located in the fastest-growing region of the state, the Research Triangle. Home to more than 450,000 people as of 2015, the city is expected to grow to over 600,000 by the year 2035. Since the last Comprehensive Plan was written in 1989, Raleigh’s population has increased by 103 percent. Growth of this magnitude is not incidental. Raleigh’s strong and diversified economy, highly-educated populace, great education system, plentiful parks, and resurgent downtown are major factors in attracting new residents and businesses from around the country and the world. The transformation has made Raleigh one of the 50 largest cities in the United States.

Raleigh’s growth and relative prosperity make planning for the city’s future critically important. In fact, the need for good city planning has never been greater as Raleigh addresses its growth and development challenges. How do we grow while maintaining Raleigh’s outstanding quality of life and retaining the assets that make Raleigh special? How do we add to the community while preserving its past? How do we manage growth and make our land use more supportive of transit and walkable neighborhoods? How do we sustain our environment for the present and renew it for the future? How do we provide decent and affordable housing options? How do we position Raleigh to remain nationally competitive with a strong economy?

The Comprehensive Plan is the key policy document that helps make Raleigh workable, livable, and prosperous. This 2030 Comprehensive Plan provides the Vision and strategies for Raleigh to prosper and grow as a modern, 21^st century city. The Plan provides an integrated approach to all aspects of Raleigh’s physical development and related economic and social issues, with an emphasis on environmental, economic, and social sustainability; enhancing land use and transportation coordination; and developing attractive and prosperous neighborhoods for all. The Comprehensive Plan seeks to:

• Inspire with bold ideas to help shape development today and tomorrow.
• Provide the basis for orderly, consistent, and predictable land use decision-making.
• Facilitate quality development throughout Raleigh.
• Provide a “greenprint” for more sustainable growth patterns.
• Build on the ideas and guidance from the many participants in the Planning Raleigh 2030 process.

Raleigh’s Commitment to Sustainability

Raleigh’s commitment to sustainability is a cornerstone of its vision for the future. That vision is broad and comprehensive and focuses on the interdependent relationships of environmental stewardship, economic strength, and social integrity. These three elements, referred to as the “triple bottom line” of sustainability, define the vision and will serve to guide the choices and decisions Raleigh will need to make as a 21^st century City of Innovation.

Consistent with this vision, the city has created a citizens Environmental Advisory Board, established full time Sustainability Initiatives Manager and Energy Manager positions, adopted a fossil fuel reduction goal, enacted an energy efficient buildings standard of LEED Silver for city buildings, and has endorsed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement to develop a greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategy for the city.

There are many other sustainability initiatives on-going in the city including LED lighting, greening the city’s vehicle fleet, supporting the creation of green jobs, a teleworking program, renewable energy projects, rainwater harvesting, water reuse, tiered water rates, sustainable purchasing policies, employee health and wellness programs, innovative financing strategies, and public-private collaboration, among others. Many of these are described in greater detail in the Plan sections.

⬚ figure

1.1 Purpose of the Comprehensive Plan

Legal Basis, Role, and Content

Although the state’s zoning enabling statute establishes that “zoning regulations shall be made in accordance with a comprehensive plan,” North Carolina’s cities are not required by state law to prepare a comprehensive land use plan, and the nature of such a plan is not defined by statute. However, Raleigh has a long history of using a comprehensive planning document to establish policies that respond to the requirements and aspirations of the city’s residents, and accordingly influence social, economic, and physical development. Past comprehensive plans have been used to promote economic growth and jobs and guide private and public investment. To achieve its vision for the future, Raleigh needs a Plan that promotes sustainability while maintaining and enhancing the natural and architectural assets of the city and furthering the social and economic welfare of its residents.

Raleigh’s Approach to Planning

Raleigh has a tradition of developing comprehensive plans dating back to 1913. In that year, there was one registered automobile for every 82 Americans. Residents of Raleigh walked to work or to go shopping. The street was a space shared equally by pedestrians, horses, and vehicles. An invention called the bicycle was becoming a more common sight. By 1960, there were over 60 million registered vehicles in America, or one for every three Americans. Raleigh’s urban environment grew to accommodate the popularity of the automobile starting mid-century and continuing to the present day, although the city has begun refocusing on walkers, cyclists, and transit riders as essential parts of the transportation system.

Subsequent comprehensive plans, adopted in 1979 and 1989, responded to the new auto-centric landscape with a set of policy tools that emphasized the preservation of landscaped and tree-lined view sheds along major transportation corridors and that sought to control excessive strip-style retail development along high-volume streets. Retail would be concentrated into nodes at major intersections, with office and multifamily filling the areas in between. An Urban Form map provided a detailed hierarchy of commercial focus areas, ranging from neighborhood to regional. Raleigh’s development code pioneered new tools such as highway overlay districts, street protective yards, and a sign ordinance that significantly mitigated visual clutter and enhanced the trees and landscaping that would be in the field of vision of motorists traversing the city’s arterial road network. These policy innovations deserve significant credit for creating the attractive and green landscape of suburban Raleigh. However, this framework did less to promote the growing emphasis on making the city more friendly and accessible to walkers, cyclists, and transit riders.

The 2030 Comprehensive Plan was drafted to respond to the significant market, economic, social, and environmental changes facing Raleigh at the start of the 21ˢᵗ century. It is much more specific in its policy guidance, includes an Implementation Section, and provides a land use plan that was absent from the 1989 Plan. The old Thoroughfare Plan has been replaced by the Raleigh Street Plan which implements a much more context-sensitive, “complete streets” approach to the street. The clarity of intent produced by these changes has enabled the city to design and adopt a new, more flexible zoning ordinance that is better adapted to the goals of this Plan. This Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) applies some of the most up-to-date practices of land use regulation in a way that is tailored to the unique history and urban fabric of Raleigh. The UDO and the 2030 Plan give citizens and stakeholders greater confidence in pursuing their private goals by communicating a unified and unambiguous message as to the values that will guide development in the future.

Area Specific Guidance supplements the 2030 Plan by focusing in more detail on specific parts of Raleigh. Formerly known as Small Area Plans, each Area Specific Guidance section is a set of goals, policies, and actions for the design and development of a neighborhood, mixed-use center, or corridor within Raleigh. Residents of these communities help craft these documents through participation in extensive and inclusive public planning sessions. Area Specific Guidance empowers communities to decide how they wish to implement more detailed planning goals in their area.

The combination of the 2030 Plan, Area Specific Guidance, and the UDO results in a development outlook that can be effectively implemented and monitored with greater accessibility and functionality for Raleigh residents.

Relationship to the Strategic Plan

In 2015, the Raleigh City Council adopted the Strategic Plan to guide the government of the city. The Strategic Plan and the Comprehensive Plan serve many of the same ideals but from different perspectives. The Comprehensive Plan translates a long term vision into targeted objectives for overall growth and development. The Strategic Plan provides a short term framework for the city to pursue objectives that support high-quality operational outcomes. Both outlooks are based on unifying values. The Comprehensive Plan serves a set of six Vision Themes while the Strategic Plan’s foundation is its six Key Focus Areas.

The Comprehensive Plan creates a policy road map for the city to pursue development goals identified by citizens. The values expressed by citizens have been organized into the following Vision Themes:

• Economic Prosperity and Equity.
• Expanding Housing Choices.
• Managing Our Growth.
• Coordinating Land Use and Transportation.
• Greenprint Raleigh – Sustainable Development.
• Growing Successful Neighborhoods and Communities.

The objectives of the Comprehensive Plan address a wide range of internal and external activities of the city that affect outcomes for residents, businesses, and cultural and natural resources.

The Strategic Plan assists the city in assigning its internal resources in the way that maintains and improves the qualities that make Raleigh an outstanding city. The Strategic Plan calls for the city to focus its operational efforts on six key areas of identity and character:

• Arts & Cultural Resources.
• Economic Development & Innovation.
• Growth & Natural Resources.
• Organizational Excellence.
• Safe, Vibrant & Healthy Community.
• Transportation & Transit.

Objectives and initiatives in the Strategic Plan provide clear action steps that will support the six key areas. Table T-1 shows how Strategic Plan Key Focus Areas generally align with the Vision Themes of the Comprehensive Plan. The Vision Themes are explained in greater detail in the Framework Section.

Table T-1 Alignment of the Strategic Plan and the Comprehensive Plan

The Capital Improvement Program

The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is a ten year, two phase plan adopted by City Council that serves as a statement of city policy regarding the timing, location, and funding of major public facilities in the City of Raleigh. The CIP is developed by analyzing public facility needs, projecting fiscal resources, establishing priorities, and developing schedules for their implementation. Six programmatic categories are included: Transportation, Public Utilities, Parks, Stormwater Utility and Neuse Basin Environmental, Housing, and General Public Improvements. The Phase I program, encompassing the first five years of the CIP, includes schedules and budget estimates for projects approved by Council in previous editions of the CIP, as well as additional projects recommended as the result of planning processes. The first two years of the CIP serve as the basis for the capital portion of the annual operating budget and biannual budget projection. The Phase II program, spanning the second five year period, provides a more general review of projects and capital maintenance needs necessary for the continuation of services to the citizens of the city.

Relationship to the Capital Improvement Program

The Comprehensive Plan provides guidance on the need to manage growth and development and to continue investment in the city’s physical infrastructure and buildings. The Plan recommends enhancing the capital improvement planning and budgeting process by implementing more explicit ties between the Comprehensive Plan and the development of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) as well as the establishment of priorities among various potential capital investments. In addition, for each recommended action in this 2030 Raleigh Comprehensive Plan, the Implementation Section identifies whether capital dollars are required to implement that action. There are about 109 such actions in the Plan where the need for capital funds is indicated.

1.2 How the Comprehensive Plan is to be Used

This document has been designed for use by elected and appointed officials, city government administration and staff, residents, businesses and developers, and others with an interest in the future of Raleigh.

This Comprehensive Plan will be used to:

• Establish the vision for what Raleigh can achieve and aspires to achieve by 2030.
• Consolidate and coordinate in one comprehensive document the policies that relate to the city’s physical and economic growth and development for all city departments.
• Guide decision-making and evaluation of zoning map and text amendments and discretionary development approvals.
• Coordinate capital investment by linking the Capital Improvement Program to the Comprehensive Plan.
• Identify short to long-term strategic actions for the city to undertake. These actions will be monitored annually to ensure implementation and accountability.

The intent of this Plan is to make it easy to read and accessible to all. Key issues are described with data to make the purpose of policies more apparent. Graphics, maps, photos, and charts have been used to illustrate major points and improve the legibility of the text. Text boxes are used to present background information or highlight issues.

As the city’s primary policy and planning document addressing the physical development of Raleigh, the Comprehensive Plan is of particular interest to elected officials who must adopt it and fund its implementation, appointed officials who will use it as a guide to discretionary decisions, as well as city agency heads who are charged with its implementation and the update of other plans to conform with it.

The Comprehensive Plan is also an important source of information and guidance to private sector actors involved in development. The Land Use Section and Future Land Use Map provide clear guidance on preferred zoning classifications for particular properties, which will assist in the preparation of rezoning petitions. Many policies describe desired development outcomes, and consistency with these policies will be a factor in the review of discretionary development applications such as rezoning petitions¹. The Plan will help the private sector anticipate future public investment priorities. It will also bring more predictability to the zoning and development review and approval process for developers, property owners, and concerned citizens alike.

Finally, the Comprehensive Plan is also a resource for those who seek general information on how Raleigh may change over the next 20 years, as well as those who want or need to understand how the city plans to respond to particular issues and problems.

The Comprehensive Plan’s Future Land Use Map is incorporated as part of the document and provides the foundation for decisions regarding land use and zoning. It is supplemented by the Growth Framework Map, which provides a vision for the city’s future growth, and by numerous smaller maps that appear throughout the text of the Plan.

Vision, Policy, Action

At the heart of the Comprehensive Plan are six Vision Themes, described in greater detail in the Framework chapter, which were identified through the Civic Engagement process. These six themes constitute the goals of the plan and are referenced in all Plan sections and every policy statement.

Advancing the six themes are the Plan’s Policies. All policies respond to and fulfill one or more of the Vision Themes. Policies provide general guidance for decision-makers and help direct the city towards achieving the guiding themes. Policies are generally open-ended as to time frame, as they provide ongoing direction. The policies in this document are organized by topics that indicate the subject being addressed.

Actions are specific measures that the city will undertake to implement the policies. All actions link back to one or more policies in the same section in which they appear, although not every policy has a corresponding action. While some actions are ongoing, most have an identifiable end state after which the action is considered complete. All actions are prioritized and assigned to different city agencies in the Action Plan and Matrix.

When an action is deemed complete by a responsible agency, it is placed in the table of Completed Action Items in the Implementation Section, which provides a record of all completed actions.

The policies and actions contained within the Comprehensive Plan have implications for the capital and operating budgets of the various departments of city government, and therefore are subject to the same budgetary constraints as any other long range plan. The number and type of actions implemented in any given year will be determined by budget considerations in addition to the priorities set forth in the Implementation Section.

Interpretation of Policies

Policies provide direction for decision-makers regarding particular courses of action to pursue. They are also intended to guide decisions regarding the review and approval of development proposals, and the consistency of petitions to amend the city’s official zoning map.

Based on the specifics on a particular policy, it may apply exclusively to city actions, or it may set forth an expectation regarding private sector activities. The former policies are typically worded as an ongoing aspiration or intent, using active words such as “encourage,” “promote,” and “provide.” The latter such policies are typically worded as a statement expressing a desired state or outcome, utilizing the word “should” to distinguish the policy statements in the Plan from the legal requirements found in the city’s codes, where the word “shall” is the norm. In any specific case where the application of a Comprehensive Plan policy conflicts with a use, height, or density standard in the zoning and development code, the code standard will control.

Rezoning petitions, as well as certain development applications, are subject to review for consistency with the Comprehensive Plan. Policies which set forth private sector expectations and which are relevant to rezoning and development matters are called “key policies” and are highlighted throughout the Plan with an orange dot. Consistency is relative and not absolute. It is not anticipated that every proposal and project will implement every Plan policy. Projects and proposals that implement one or more Plan policies, help achieve the overall goals of the Plan, and are not in conflict with key policies as highlighted above will be judged to be consistent. Projects and proposals that are in conflict with the overall goals of the Plan and contradict key policies will be judged to be inconsistent. More guidance on consistency determinations can be found in Section 1 ‘Future Land Uses.’

The Plan has been written to be free of internal conflicts, meaning that as a general rule, implementing one policy should not preclude the implementation of another. However, situations that are site- and/or project-specific may arise where specific policies present competing objectives. Judgment will be required to balance the relative benefits and detriments of emphasizing one policy over another. When weighing competing objectives, greater weight should be given to achieving overall policy objectives on an area- and citywide scale rather than a site-specific scale, and decision-makers should consider the cumulative impacts of making a number of similar decisions over time.

1.3 Organization of the Plan

The 2030 Comprehensive Plan is organized into sections that follow this introductory chapter and contain citywide guidance. The Plan begins with the Framework, which sets the stage for the Plan by summarizing the key citywide issues driving the need for the Plan. It provides an overview of growth forecasts, defines the Vision and Themes that serve as the overarching goals for this Plan, and describes the role of the Growth Framework and the Future Land Use Map (the two policy maps that provide the basis for many of the Comprehensive Plan’s narrative recommendations).

The subsequent sections each contain a summary overview to provide context and key issues, followed by citywide policies and actions to address these issues. Tables, images, text boxes, and maps supplement the narrative content. Following the Framework, the Plan’s topical citywide sections are:

• Land Use: Provides a framework for all development-related decisions. It is the critical foundation upon which all other sections are based, and includes the Future Land Use Map and related policies and actions to guide growth in a more compact and efficient pattern over the next 20 years.
• Transportation: Guides future development of the city’s roads and highways, public transit systems, and bike and pedestrian networks to support the city’s desired land uses and urban form; slows the growth of vehicle miles traveled; diversifies away from the use of single occupancy vehicles; and reduces air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The aim is to achieve a balanced and efficient transportation system for Raleigh’s expanding population and their corresponding needs.

• Environmental Protection: Contains the policies and actions required for Raleigh to preserve our natural resources and address challenges related to global climate change and the need to become more sustainable.

• Economic Development: Includes recommendations to enhance Raleigh’s competitive advantages and build on its culture of innovation. It addresses ways to revitalize aging neighborhood and commercial corridors; assist local entrepreneurs; provide job training and education; and harness the benefits of tourism, visitation, and the creative industries.

• Housing: Includes recommendations on housing needs and encouraging homeownership, preserving existing affordable housing, creating new affordable housing, aging in place and universal access, and encouraging mixed-use development that includes affordable and workforce housing.

• Parks, Recreation, and Open Space: Addresses park planning and acquisition, greenway and trail planning and connectivity, open space conservation, capital improvement planning, and the preservation of special landscapes, among other issues.

• Public Utilities: Includes recommendations to ensure the long-term adequacy and safety of the drinking water supply, distribution system, and the wastewater system. It also addresses stormwater, energy, telecommunications, and utility extension policies.

• Community Services and Facilities: Provides direction for government buildings, solid waste services, emergency services, schools, and libraries. A key focus for this section is managing limited resources, encouraging co-location, and supporting infill development.

• Urban Design: Provides recommendations to address place-making and reinforcement of the design of Raleigh’s neighborhoods, business districts, and commercial corridors; preserve important views; and provide the framework to guide the design of future development.

• Historic Preservation: Includes guidance to preserve and promote the historic identity of Raleigh and sustain great historic communities in which to live and work. The section includes recommendations to enhance regulatory tools and incentives, promote preservation, and improve coordination among role players with a stake in, and impact upon, preservation.

• Arts and Culture: Provides a consolidated framework to support the arts in Raleigh, and makes recommendations to address funding to support public art, arts districts and other incentives to encourage artists, and cultural facilities expansion to serve the city’s growing needs.

• Regional and Inter-Jurisdictional Coordination: Provides guidance for intergovernmental cooperation in planning and providing essential public services that impact the region as a whole, including transportation, land use and growth management, economic development, education, protection of natural resources, and public services.

• Downtown Raleigh: Contains policies and actions that are specific to the urban core of the city, addressing growth and development in Raleigh’s traditional downtown and its growth as a mixed-use center.

The Plan also includes 27 Area Specific Guidance documents brought forward in revised form from the 1989 Plan or adopted since 2009. These plans were created through focused, community-based planning efforts. They include policies too detailed and area-specific to be included in a citywide Plan section. The decision of which plans, and which plan policies, to bring forward was based on an exhaustive policy audit of every adopted geographically-focused plan. All the Area Specific Guidance has been streamlined and rewritten to conform to the conventions used throughout the remainder of this Plan. Land Use recommendations from adopted Area Plans are reflected on the citywide Future Land Use Map.

The Plan’s Implementation section organizes the priorities, responsible agencies, and necessary partnerships to implement the Plan’s policies and actions. It highlights the Capital Improvement Program and other priorities required to implement the Plan’s recommendations. Most significantly, the Implementation section includes a guide for keeping the Plan current and reporting progress toward reaching the Plan’s Vision for 2030.

The Plan is supplemented by the detailed background studies in the City of Raleigh Community Inventory Report. The reader seeking more background information and data analysis is encouraged to refer to this valuable resource material. The Community Inventory Report is supplemented annually by a condensed set of community data and statistics called the Data Book.

1.4 Civic Engagement Process

Civic Engagement is a central component of the comprehensive planning process. The Department of City Planning has been the lead agency for the update of Raleigh’s Comprehensive Plan, providing a wide variety of civic engagement opportunities and forums throughout the city. These have included public workshops, smaller-scale community meetings, stakeholder roundtables, and online consultation. The centerpiece of the public outreach effort has been a series of nine citywide public workshops held in three rounds of three.

The first round of workshops was held in November 2007 to allow public participation in developing the vision and themes to guide the overall planning effort. These workshops were publicized widely in the local news media, including print, radio, and television, as well as the city’s website. Close to 400 members of the community participated in the workshops, responding and reacting to an overview of existing conditions and an assessment of the “State of the City” in small group sessions. More than 150 people participated online in this round.

The second round of workshops was held in March 2008, as the effort moved from analysis to policy development. Approximately 250 people attended and participated in these workshops, responding to questionnaires regarding their values related to economic development and equity, growth management, housing, land use, transportation, neighborhood and community development, and sustainability. Another 30 completed the surveys online.

The final round of workshops was held in January 2009 to present a Public Review Draft of the Plan to the community. These workshops were conducted in an “open house” format, with opportunities to interact with city staff at booths addressing clusters of specific Plan sections and topics. Approximately 230 members of the public attended these workshops.

The entire Plan was made available for review and comment at the city’s interactive website from December 1, 2008 through January 31, 2009. As part of this process, over 1,200 comments were received on the Public Review Draft of this document, with hundreds of substantive changes to the Plan being made in response. A substantial majority of comments were constructive and indicated support for the Plan.

These citywide forums have been supplemented by a number of other civic engagement opportunities:

• Big Ideas Week was held in April 2008 in venues ranging from a tavern at Moore Square to Marbles Kid’s Museum. Approximately 125 people were involved, and came up with creative and transformative ideas at brainstorming sessions about topics such as a World-Class Welcome, City Places for People, Transit for All, Capital Boulevard Redesigned for Living, and Downtown 24/7.

• Kids City was held in May 2008. Approximately 600 people (children 10 and under with supervising adults) participated in constructing a city. The children used recycled boxes, construction paper, string, tape, crayons, markers, and other creative tools to construct their ideal city on a grid that spread out over the museum’s first floor. The grid included streets and other transit corridors, greenways, downtown, suburbs, small town, and farm land. Over the course of the day, Raleigh grew from a small 18th century ‘planned’ capital city to a 21[^st] century metro area.

• Two public workshops were held at the Urban Design Center in June 2008 to discuss Raleigh’s downtown. They attracted more than 100 participants who identified issues and concerns at the first workshop and potential policies, programs, and projects at the second workshop.

• In addition, roundtable discussions for topic- and issue-focused stakeholders were also held throughout the process to address specific issues and opportunities facing the city. Fourteen such forums were conducted, addressing the Arts Commission, Appearance Commission, Environmental Advisory Board, Affordable Housing, Environmental Sustainability, Developers, Homebuilders, the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, Cooperating Raleigh Colleges, Raleigh Historic Districts Commission, the Hillsborough Street Partnership, and Complete Streets advocates, among others.

• The city held community meetings and input sessions with Citizens Advisory Councils at their invitation. A total of six such sessions were held, the largest being a joint meeting involving the partnership of the five CACs comprising the Southeast quadrant of Raleigh, which drew about 150 participants.

• Following the release of the Public Review Draft of the Comprehensive Plan, a total of 14 public briefings, consisting of a presentation followed by questions and answers, were held to present the Draft. Three of these were evening sessions, while the remainder also served as briefings to appointed boards and commissions. All were open to the general public.

Introduction

• In addition, the city developed an interactive website for the Plan update including a comment function allowing participants to enter comments on draft documents online and view others’ comments. Among the documents that were opened for online review and comment were the summary reports for the November and March workshops, the City of Raleigh Community Inventory Report, and the Public Review Draft of the Comprehensive Plan.

Many residents, governmental agencies, businesses, institutions, and leaders helped shape this Plan.

2019 Update

An update to the Plan was initiated in 2014 and completed in 2019. The update was the product of a rigorous process involving all city departments, numerous public meetings, and review by the Planning Commission and City Council. The steps in the update are listed below.

• Due Diligence: City staff reviewed the data, statistics, trends, and assumptions used as the basis of the original Plan. Where appropriate, more up-to-date facts and analysis were introduced and irrelevant information was removed.

• Outreach and In-reach: Staff solicited input from appointed boards and commissions as well as various city departments to inform the update process about changes to real world conditions and professional standards. The public was engaged through workshops that highlighted emerging conditions, challenges, and desires of the community.

• White Paper: A White Paper was drafted in 2015 and adopted by the City Council in 2016. The White Paper built on the previous steps to make concrete recommendations about new content for the Comprehensive Plan. The public was again engaged through workshops to gather community input and comment.

• Plan Drafting: The City Council authorized city staff in Spring of 2017 to draft revisions to the Comprehensive Plan. Preliminary draft documents were circulated among relevant departments for review and comment. Subsequently, a public review draft was released in installments through the Summer of 2017. The public comment period included five public meetings, each focused on a key topic of change to the Plan derived from the White Paper, to share draft content and receive community feedback. Comments collected in-person and online were used to refine the public review draft before City Council review.

The updated Comprehensive Plan more accurately depicts and addresses the current state and future aspirations of Raleigh in the 21ˢᵗ century.

section 2

Framework

2.1 Planning Context and Key Issues.............................................. 2-2 2.2 Growth Forecasts ..................................................................... 2-9 2.3 Vision and Themes ................................................................. 2-11 2.4 Framing Maps......................................................................... 2-13 2.5 The Power of Planning ........................................................... 2-17

The Framework chapter provides the context for the rest of the Comprehensive Plan by describing the key trends and issues that undergird the Plan’s recommendations. These issues include: addressing the city’s expansive growth; the need to better coordinate land use and transportation decision-making; expanding housing choices and the affordable housing supply; ensuring sufficient water resources to support a growing city and region; expanding economic opportunity for all of Raleigh; investing in transit; and preserving and improving the city’s natural resources.

The Framework chapter also includes a description of Raleigh’s growth forecasts. The forecasts are expressed in terms of projected jobs and households for the city to the year 2030. It also provides the city’s Vision Statement and six vision themes that provide the frame for the Comprehensive Plan and serve as its overarching goals. Finally, the Framework chapter describes the Growth Framework Map and the Future Land Use Map.

2.1 Planning Context and Key Issues

A critical part of the Comprehensive Plan Update process has been an analysis of the current and future state of the city. To accomplish this, a Community Inventory Report was compiled at the start of the planning process to provide the factual and analytical foundation for the Comprehensive Plan. The Community Inventory Report focuses on the issues facing the city today and through the year 2030. Each topical chapter presents an analysis of existing conditions and trends, identifies key issues and challenges, and highlights potential strategies to address the issues. The reader seeking more background information and data analysis is encouraged to refer to this valuable resource material. The Community Inventory Report is supplemented annually by a condensed set of community data and statistics called the Data Book. This chapter includes data selected from the 2016 Data Book.

Demographic and Household Trends

From its founding as the State Capital in 1792, the City of Raleigh has been on a growth path for more than 200 years. From 1900 to 2010, the City of Raleigh grew from a small town of fewer than 14,000 people to a city of more than 400,000. The city added population in every census year, with an annualized growth rate ranging from 2.0 to 4.3 percent. The annualized growth rate was 3.5 percent in the 1980s, 2.7 percent in the 1990s, and 3.9 percent in the 2000s. The 2010s have seen growth rates closer to 2 percent. As of summer 2015, the city’s population was about 451,000, up 175,000 from 2000. The number of Hispanic residents increased by 26 percent between 2009 and 2014, making them one of the largest components of new residents.

Population Growth 1900-2015

Although population has increased, population density decreased from about 8,000 persons per square mile in 1900 to about 2,800 persons per square mile by 1960 and remained at that general level through the turn of the 21st century. This was largely due to post-war suburbanization, annexation, and expanding city limits. Density increased after 2000 and now exceeds 3,000 persons per square mile.

The most prevalent type of housing within Raleigh is single-family detached housing, accounting for 47 percent of the total housing stock. Less than six percent of the city’s housing stock was built prior to 1950, and about 30 percent of the units in existence in 2014 were developed since the turn of the 21st century. A key part of the overall image of the city is defined by the neighborhoods where the pre-1950s era housing is located, and maintaining the viability of this older stock is important to maintaining the city’s character.

New housing is being driven by demographic trends, especially the entrance of Millennials into the workforce and the growing number of Baby Boomers living without children in the home. In a growing number of cases, young professionals and “empty-nesters” prefer to live in multi-family housing in denser urban areas. From 2010 to 2015, multi-family housing construction consistently outpaced single-family permits. These trends also explain the rise in Raleigh’s population density. In the past, the city gained new residents and new land area at rates that maintained a lower population density. Now, population is growing faster than the city limits.

⬚ figure

Homeownership growth in the city has mirrored national trends, having risen from 47 percent in 1990 to nearly 55 percent as of 2014. However, this is below the national average of 66 percent, likely due to the large amount of multi-family rental housing in the city, and its large student and younger population. Raleigh’s population is projected by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) to grow from a 2015 total of 450,000 to about 580,000 in 2030, and more than 600,000 by 2035, an increase of about 30 percent. Greater growth is possible: an analysis of the land capacity within the city’s current jurisdiction, and under current zoning, found the potential for a population of 670,000 within the jurisdictional boundary.

Land Use and Zoning

The land use pattern established inside the I-440 Beltline before the 1960s is largely single-family in character with small neighborhood commercial centers outside of downtown. Interconnected curvilinear grids are a common street pattern in many of these areas. Duplex and small multi-family dwellings are often found mixed into otherwise single-family neighborhoods. Cameron Village, which opened in 1949 as one of the first shopping centers in the nation outside of a downtown central business district (CBD), remains the largest of the inside-the-Beltline retail centers. Medium to high density residential and office land uses concentrate around this retail center.

The land use pattern outside the Beltline is characterized by residential neighborhoods on loosely connected and cul-de-sac streets. Land uses tend to be separated by buffer yards rather than intentionally designed to transition in scale and use. Multi-family developments are plentiful but tend to be organized as self-contained pods with internal, private circulation systems intermingled with parking areas.

Both the single-family and multi-family areas lack the street connectivity that helps facilitate walking, which in turn funnels all car trips to major streets, even for local trips such as grocery shopping, and presents challenges to first responders in emergencies.

The market for new development patterns is expanding, and the city has responded by adopting a new Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The UDO and the guidance afforded by this Plan are intended to support a high quality, resilient, and sustainable lifestyle while enabling development that helps slow the growth of congestion and the emission of air pollutants.

Economic Development and Employment Trends

The economic development analysis provides valuable insight into the city’s employment base and economic strengths and weaknesses. It notes that within the region as a whole, Raleigh’s economy has shifted to one that is more technology-based and less reliant on government and manufacturing. The agricultural and mining industries are two other sectors that have registered losses in Raleigh. The region as a whole, however, is recognized as an economic powerhouse for biotech innovations, medical breakthroughs, technological advancements, state-of-the-art educational institutions, and advanced research—all pivotal factors in its economic performance, with Raleigh partaking significantly in these successes.

Housing and Neighborhoods

There is a need for Raleigh to increase housing opportunities for existing and future residents and to create diverse neighborhoods of choice that attract new investment without excluding residents due to housing costs or discriminatory practices. Increasing demand for multi-family housing has put development pressure on established urban neighborhoods. The percentage of Raleigh households burdened by housing costs increased somewhat between 2009 and 2015, with much of that increase affecting renter occupied households with incomes above the poverty line. While the total number of households in Raleigh grew by 16 percent in the period 2009-2015, the number of housing-burdened, renter occupied households with annual incomes greater than $20,000 increased by 62 percent. Nearly two in five households of this type are burdened.

In response to the growing demand for housing, the city has created a special tax allocation reserved for affordable housing programs. The “penny for affordable housing” is a one cent per $100 increase in the property tax rate that was first adopted as part of the FY2017 Budget. This dedicated funding stream will increase the city’s capacity to finance new affordable housing developments. Housing is a complex issue requiring appropriate planning and coordination to ensure a diverse and affordable housing stock going forward.

Transportation

The city faces a number of challenges related to planning for and investing in a multi-modal transportation system. As of 2014, the proportion of transit riders in Raleigh was well below the average for peer cities, including Atlanta and Charlotte. Expanding transit will be key to the future viability, sustainability, and livability of the city and region. Additional investments in the greenway system specifically, and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure generally, are also important. Roadway capacity and connectivity, providing mobility for automobiles and direct routes for pedestrians, is also important as growth continues and traffic demands increase.

The Wake County Transit Plan offers many tools to address Raleigh’s growing transportation needs locally and as part of the Triangle region. Higher frequency bus service, a longer span of service seven days a week, bus rapid transit, and regional commuter rail are the primary components of this plan. Additional transit capacity will enable residents to more easily and affordably access work, shopping, healthcare, and educational resources across Wake, Durham, and Orange Counties.

In addition to improving air quality and encouraging physical activity, expanded public transportation will also increase mobility for aging residents. Raleigh has taken the lead by breaking ground on a state-of-the-art rail hub in downtown, called Raleigh Union Station. The success of additional transit improvements will depend on the availability of sufficient funding and effective regional coordination.

Water

The city’s public utilities are regional in nature. Utilities services have merged for all the municipalities in eastern Wake County. Further, the Towns of Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs periodically rely on the city for potable water supply. The city also has or is planning water interconnects with the Town of Cary, the City of Durham, and Johnston County. From a wastewater standpoint, during extreme low flow events, the city’s Neuse River Resource Recovery Facility (NRRRF) discharge can be up to 40 percent of the river flow at the downstream water supply intake for Johnston County.

Planning the infrastructure of the water system must be done with the perspective of the entire region in mind. There is a need to avail all of the opportunities to make additional water system connections with neighboring systems for assistance during drought and other emergency situations. Currently, state inter-basin transfer regulations constrain the ability to pursue new water supplies outside the immediate area, and reuse regulations also make it difficult to access reuse water as a resource to the fullest extent, as reuse water is regulated as wastewater (although the regulatory environment is evolving).

Framework

Environmental Resources

The city needs to move ahead in promoting methods of development and conservation that improve the long-term health of human and ecological systems. This includes sustainability efforts such as water conservation, energy conservation, recycling and solid waste management, and environmentally sensitive building and development practices, e.g., green building, low-impact development, and increased protection of natural resources. With air and water quality already impaired, both existing areas and new developments must find ways to lessen their impact if growth is to be accommodated without significant increases in environmental degradation.

One approach being investigated by the city is Green Stormwater Infrastructure. Green Stormwater Infrastructure reduces demand for traditional or “gray” infrastructure by restoring and enhancing the functionality of natural systems. The impacts of development can be mitigated when infrastructure services are considered as part of a larger set of environmental processes. Investments in Green Stormwater Infrastructure pay off in both quality of life and financial metrics. The city has initiated a Green Stormwater Infrastructure Task Force to identify opportunities for these techniques.

Also important to the long term success of the city is its resilience. Natural hazards can disrupt many of the city’s functions and services. The city should improve its ability to maintain its normal levels of service or adapt effectively to reduced service capabilities in the face of hazards. Resilience may become increasingly important as changes in the Earth’s climate create more extreme and unpredictable weather patterns. The benefits of improved resilience extend beyond preparation for natural hazards. By increasing readiness and planning for contingencies, Raleigh can respond to other events like industrial disasters or terrorist attacks.

Parks, Recreation, and Greenways

The City of Raleigh has an extensive parks, recreation, and greenway system that encompasses approximately 8,800 acres of land (of 90,000 acres in Raleigh’s municipal boundaries). This inventory was expanded in 2015 by the city’s purchase of the Dorothea Dix Park. The city is in the early phases of converting this 308 acre site into a destination park. The addition of the Dorothea Dix Campus is one way the city is continuing to offer the open spaces and active living facilities it needs to maintain desired levels of service.

Acquisition priorities like the Dorothea Dix Campus and the programming for it and other park facilities will have to strike a balance. The city must allocate limited resources between recreation and leisure needs and efforts to promote the preservation of non-programmed open space and green infrastructure essential to addressing the environmental impacts of growth and development. Ideally, both goals can work in concert.

Framework

⬚ figure

Community Facilities

A community facility is established primarily for the benefit and service of the population of the community in which it is located. Uses include but are not limited to schools, community centers, aquatic facilities, libraries, police stations, fire stations, and government buildings. The demand for new schools, based on the rapid growth in school-aged population, is stressing the County’s ability to plan for and build schools. Other community facilities also must be addressed to keep pace with development.

Historic Resources

In its built environment, Raleigh visually documents the architectural, social, and cultural legacies of virtually every era of development as well as the diverse communities that form Raleigh’s heritage. Its growth and history can be traced through Joel Lane’s 1767 residence, the 1792 William Christmas plan, its early infrastructure-building period between 1875 and 1900, its growth from a town to a city between 1900 and 1920, its boom years in the 1920s, the depression years that followed and the post WW-II recovery years until 1965. Raleigh was a small town for much of its history; its tremendous growth occurred since 1950, and predominantly during the last 25 years. As a result, Raleigh’s historic fabric is a scarce resource requiring special effort to ensure its preservation.

Framework

Map F-1: Residential Growth

⬚ figure

Housing Units Added per Acre Since 2010, by Census Block Group (through 2018)

Map created 7/19/2019 by the Raleigh Department of City Planning

2.2 Growth Forecasts

Past Growth Trends

The 20th century saw Raleigh grow from a small town of fewer than 14,000 people to a city of more than 270,000. The city added population in every census year, with an annualized growth rate ranging from 2.0 to 4.3 percent. Growth is nothing new to Raleigh; however, the long-term exponential growth trend of the city means that the magnitude of growth in terms of total new population added has gotten larger each decade. Historical growth trends are shown in Table F-1.

While nearly every part of Raleigh has experienced some growth, much of the city’s recent residential growth has been concentrated in three areas with the greatest amount of vacant land. These are the northwestern and northeastern fringe areas, which include large-scale developments such as Brier Creek and Wakefield, and to a lesser extent southeast Raleigh. These trends are illustrated on Map F-1.

Figure F-1 Population Projections, Raleigh Corporate Limits, 2010 – 2040

⬚ figure

Source: Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization

Table F-1 Population Growth, Land Area, and Density, City of Raleigh, 1900 - 2015

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Raleigh Department of City Planning (*Annualized Percent Growth Rate)

Future Growth

Population and Households

Raleigh’s population is projected by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) to grow from a 2015 total of 450,000 to about 580,000 in 2030, and almost 650,000 by 2040, an increase of more than 40 percent. The entire county is expected to more than double in population over the same time period. These growth projects are illustrated in Figure F-1.

The household projections for Raleigh and Wake County mirror the population projections. Raleigh’s total number of households is projected to grow from a 2014 total of 180,000 to about 240,000 by 2035, an increase of over 30 percent.

These growth forecasts, if realized, would correspond to a significant decrease in the rate of Raleigh’s growth, although the absolute growth of about 100,000 per decade is comparable to the past two decades. Analysis of the city’s land capacity has found no physical impediment to reaching a population of 670,000 by 2030 within the city’s current jurisdiction, based on current zoning and assuming development takes place mostly on vacant land (note that the CAMPO forecast includes land outside of the city’s jurisdiction in the future annexation areas, or Urban Service Areas). Further, if Raleigh were to continue to grow at its historic 100-year average of 3.2 percent per year, its population would reach 800,000 by 2030. For these reasons, the CAMPO forecasts are considered by the city to be conservative.

Jobs

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) has issued employment projections through 2035 for the broader Triangle Region. Employment in Raleigh is expected to increase from about 314,000 jobs in 2010 to 423,000 by 2040, an increase of 35 percent (or 1 percent annually). Over the same time period, Wake County employment is projected to grow by 56 percent, from 498,000 to 778,000 jobs. These figures are consistent with population and household growth for the same time period. Raleigh provides the majority of the Raleigh/Cary metropolitan area’s employment, though growth will continue to spread into Cary, smaller towns, and unincorporated areas of Wake County as well as neighboring counties.

Future Growth and Development Capacity

According to state law, Raleigh can exercise “extra-territorial jurisdiction” over development and zoning decisions for land areas up to three miles beyond its current boundaries, subject to County approval. As of 2014, within the city’s current limits and its extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ), approximately 16,700 acres are available as undeveloped land—defined as vacant or under-developed land zoned for residential, commercial, and open space uses.

Based on recent development trends and assumptions that future densities will replicate maximum zoning allowances, Raleigh’s developable land area could potentially yield 86,000 dwelling units and 52 million square feet of non-residential development. Based on a straight line projection of recent absorption rates, it may take about 15 years for this amount of development capacity to be absorbed. However, this 15-year development capacity within the city’s ETJ does not take into account potential infill and redevelopment within older portions of Raleigh or zoning changes that could increase densities.

For more information on population, household, and employment growth and development capacity, please refer to the City of Raleigh Data Book, available at www.RaleighNC.gov.

Framework

2.3 Vision and Themes

The issues identified above and public feedback from workshops helped develop a vision for Raleigh’s future that provides the framework for the development of the Comprehensive Plan. The Vision Statement is supplemented by six themes that serve as the Plan’s goals.

Raleigh’s Vision Statement for 2030

Raleigh will be a city that values and fosters development that provides economic prosperity, housing opportunity, and equity for all Raleigh residents. Raleigh will embody environmental conservation, energy efficiency, and sustainable development. Raleigh will be a great place to live with distinctive and attractive neighborhoods, plentiful parks and green spaces, quality schools and educational opportunities, and a vibrant downtown.

Vision Themes

Six key themes reinforce Raleigh’s Vision for 2030 and serve as this Plan’s overall goals: Economic Prosperity and Equity; Expanding Housing Choices; Managing Our Growth; Coordinating Land Use and Transportation; Greenprint Raleigh—Sustainable Development; and Growing Successful Neighborhoods and Communities. They express and reinforce the major concerns the Plan seeks to address and the issues raised by the public.

⬚ figure

Economic Prosperity and Equity Raleigh will embrace and value diversity, innovation, and equity so that there is a high level of opportunity and quality of life for all residents. All areas of the city and its residents will prosper from Raleigh’s economic expansion. Raleigh will be nationally known for its cluster of high-tech, clean-tech, and green-tech research and development firms based on cooperative relationships among local universities, government, and private firms. Raleigh’s skilled labor force will attract businesses that take advantage of the highly educated and technically oriented residents, which in turn will continue to fuel the development of quality residential and employment opportunities. Expanded educational and training programs will provide the opportunity for all of Raleigh’s population to participate in the expanding economy. We will also embrace creative economic sectors, and our city will be enlivened with nationally-regarded arts groups, performance spaces, and residents employed in creative occupations that will enhance our economy, community, and the quality of our lives.

⬚ figure

Expanding Housing Choices Raleigh will have an expanded supply of affordable and workforce housing options that provide housing opportunities for all segments of our population in all areas of the city. This expanded supply of decent affordable housing will provide stability for families, improve opportunities for education and career advancement, and reduce homelessness for low and moderate income households. A range of housing types will be available in residential zoning districts to meet the needs of diverse households and remove barriers created by exclusionary housing practices.

⬚ figure

Managing Our Growth Raleigh will foster quality growth through more integrated land uses, alternative transportation modes, green building technologies and development practices, open space acquisition, and resource conservation. We will manage growth and provide desirable spaces and places to live, work, and play while also cooperating with other jurisdictions in the region. Adequate infrastructure will be planned and in place as development comes on line.

Framework

Coordinating Land Use and Transportation

⬚ figure Raleigh will coordinate its transportation investments with desired land use patterns to plan more effectively for housing, employment and retail uses, and for public services. Higher density residential and mixed-use development, with housing options at all levels of affordability, will provide the land use pattern and the diverse customer base needed to support successful new local and regional public transit services. We will also have additional bicycle and pedestrian facilities and roadways that better serve us all.

Greenprint Raleigh — Sustainable Development

⬚ figure Raleigh will be nationally recognized as a model green city. Environmental sustainability and stewardship—the protection and wise use of resources for existing residents and future generations—will be institutionalized. Individuals, institutions, businesses, and government will work together and enhance the natural environment through policies, decisions, and investments. The city will significantly improve its environmental policy framework and land management practices; protect sensitive lands; and preserve water, air, and land resources. Land use policy and regulation will prioritize strategies that reduce carbon emissions and improve community health, such as allowing more density in walkable places near transit and allowing more energy-efficient housing types across the city.

Growing Successful Neighborhoods and Communities

⬚ figure Growth and development will be accommodated within Raleigh through creative solutions that conserve our unique neighborhoods while improving access for families and individuals with varying levels of income by diversifying permitted building types. Allowing existing neighborhoods in high opportunity areas with convenient access to employment and commercial amenities, like the inner beltline suburbs, to develop with a variety of housing types will improve access to families with broader ranges of incomes. This will also help to expand our local businesses by providing them with more potential customers and employees. The city's older neighborhoods will be conserved and enhanced through careful infill development that allows a range of housing types while complementing existing built character and responding to natural features. Places of historic and architectural significance will be protected through the application of character protection zoning overlay districts. Newly developed areas, including infill development and redevelopment projects of all sizes, will create more diverse, walkable neighborhoods with a variety of housing types and convenient access to open space, community services, retail, and employment. Allowing neighborhoods to change to provide housing for families at all income levels is strongly encouraged.

2.4 Framing Maps

Taken together, the context and key issues, growth forecasts, and vision and themes provide a foundation for planning the future of Raleigh. The Plan sections following the Framework chapter examine these conditions in much more detail and provide the roadmap to addressing Raleigh’s growth and development. The text of these elements is supplemented by two maps providing essential land use and development guidance.

The Growth Framework Map shows where the city will encourage infill and mixed-use development, and defines priority corridors based on transportation function and relationship to adjacent land uses. This map is fully described in this section. It sets forth a vision for how Raleigh should grow and also has implications for the management of transportation corridors and their relationship to adjacent land uses.

The Future Land Use Map shows the general character and distribution of recommended and planned uses across the city. This map carries the same legal weight as the text of the Comprehensive Plan. It is introduced in this Framework chapter and its use and application are described in Section 1: ‘Land Use.’

Growth Framework Map

The Growth Framework Map represents a vision for accommodating the next 120,000 households and 170,000 jobs anticipated for Raleigh by 2030. Under current zoning and assuming largely greenfield development, this amount of growth could be entirely accommodated within the city’s jurisdiction, but would result in a centerless and undifferentiated pattern of sprawling development. The Growth Framework Map seeks to direct a full 60 percent of this future growth into downtown and a series of 7 city growth centers, 4 Bus Rapid Transit corridors, and over 40 mixed-use community centers, connected via a network of parkways, frequent bus service routes, and urban streets. Of this 60 percent allocation of the city’s projected growth, half should be accommodated within the four Bus Rapid Transit corridors.

Growth Framework Elements: Centers

The Growth Framework proposes a hierarchy of four types of centers.

Downtown Regional Center: Encompassing the existing and future limits of Raleigh’s urban core, stretching south towards I-40 and north along Capital Boulevard, the Downtown Regional Center is where the most intense growth and highest levels of transit, bicycle, and pedestrian access are contemplated. Consistent with the eastward shift of regional growth patterns, the Downtown Regional Center emerges as a true hub for a rapidly growing region, served by highways, rail transit, high-speed intercity rail, and local and express bus.

City Growth Centers: Located throughout the city and along major urban and transit corridors, these centers provide significant opportunities for new residential and economic development and redevelopment. City Growth Centers are generally in locations with combined highway and targeted transit access, such as key interchanges along the I-440 Beltline and the I-540 Outer Loop. These centers include New Bern/Wake Med; Crabtree Valley; an expanded “Midtown” linking North Hills with the Highwoods office park and stretching south of the Beltline to embrace significant redevelopment opportunities at the terminus of Six Forks Road; Triangle Town Center; and Brier Creek. The Cameron Village area is also designated as a City Growth Center.

Bus Rapid Transit Areas: Defined as the areas within one-quarter mile of streets where Bus Rapid Transit service is proposed, these elongated centers are programmed for increased density and special design standards promoting enhanced pedestrian mobility and reduced parking requirements. There is some overlap with City Growth Centers and the Downtown Regional Center.

Mixed-use Community Centers: Located generally at places where transit and urban corridors intersect, and where there is an existing base of mixed-uses, these centers are targeted for infill development and improvements to urban design and connectivity intended to retrofit them over time as more integrated, walkable centers. Examples include the Six Forks Station area, the intersections where Millbrook crosses major north-south corridors, and various aging shopping areas in Southwest and Southeast Raleigh along New Bern Avenue and Western Boulevard corridors.

Growth Framework Element: Corridors

A simple hierarchy of corridors is proposed.

Highway corridors correspond to limited-access, grade-separated roadways designed to accommodate high-volume and higher-speed regional traffic flows. These include highways such as Interstates 40, 87, 440, and 540; upgraded federal and state highways; and roadways programmed for such improvements in the future, such as U.S. 1 north of I-540. Long-standing policies, continued under this Plan and implemented through the use of Special Highway Overlay Districts (or SHODs), call for these corridors to be separated from adjacent uses by wide, forested evergreen buffers, and for off-premises signs such as billboards to be prohibited. Transit services along highways would generally consist of express bus service and, in the future, incentives for car pooling.

Urban corridors are characterized by denser residential and commercial development, with buildings brought forward to meet the street and sidewalk, and parking areas located to the side and/or rear of buildings. More than a single bay of parking between streets and buildings is strongly discouraged. Architecture is used to frame the public realm, and urban design rather than landscaped buffers is preferred as a means of integrating adjacent development which differs in use or scale. Urban corridors also generally host at least local bus service. An example of such a corridor is Peace Street.

Frequent Bus Network corridors are similar to urban corridors in terms of development pattern and landscape approach, but are targeted for a higher level of transit service as part of the Wake County Transit Plan. In addition, many of these corridors have been highlighted for bicycle improvements in the city’s Bicycle Master Plan. Based on the level of transit service provided, development intensities are expected to be higher, and parking requirements to be lower, with a greater emphasis on shared parking. Pedestrian amenities within developments along Frequent Bus Network corridors should be built to a higher level than other corridors. An example of such a corridor is Blue Ridge Road.

Parkway corridors are suburban roadways characterized by thick tree canopies and abundant landscaping. Buildings are generally set back further from the street, and pedestrian and transit access are not as prominent as on other corridors, although bus service may be present along parkways. Adjoining land uses are primarily residential with locally-serving commercial. An example of such a corridor is Lynn Road.

Commuter Rail corridor is an existing portion of freight rail track that is proposed by the Wake County Transit Plan to carry heavy rail service with schedules aligned with peak commuting hours. Initial service will connect the Downtown Regional Center with Cary. Additional service is envisioned to carry riders between the Downtown Regional Center and destinations in Johnston County.

Framework

Map F-2:

Growth Framework

⬚ figure

Map created 2/28/2024 by the Raleigh Department of City Planning

⬚ figure

Urban Corridor on Capital Boulevard

Growth Framework Map: Usage and Applicability

The elements of the Growth Framework Map described above do not carry specific policy implications and only acquire the force of policy via references to the map in the policy statements of the Plan sections. The intent is to implement the vision for growth and connectivity illustrated on the Map through more specific policy tools, such as the Future Land Use Map and the Urban Form Map; and through amendments to the city’s ordinances, such as the adoption of special overlay districts to implement the preferred development pattern along particular segments of designated Frequent Bus Network, Urban, and Parkway corridors. The center designations do not carry with them any recommendations for specific uses, heights, or densities for particular parcels, and will not be used by the city as part of the review of any zoning map amendment or development plan. Likewise, the corridor designations correspond to the general character and usage of corridors, but the implementation of the corridor vision will include a more detailed specific examination of the unique character of specific corridor segments.

⬚ figure

⬚ figure

⬚ figure

From top to bottom: Parkway, Frequent Bus Network, and Bus Rapid Transit corridors

⬚ figure

Interstate 440 with a SHOD forested buffer.

Future Land Use Map

The Future Land Use Map is the centerpiece of the Land Use Section of the Comprehensive Plan and the primary means to shape Raleigh’s future growth. It sets forth the planned development pattern of the city from now until 2030.

The Future Land Use Map is a policy tool designed to guide future decision-making. It provides the geographic framework for the city’s land use and zoning policies. The Future Land Use Map is used alongside the Plan’s written policies to determine whether specific petitions for rezoning are consistent with the Plan. It is also used to develop geographically-detailed projections for the future growth of the city, which in turn will be used to plan for roads, transit, parks, utilities, and community facilities such as police stations and libraries.

A total of 19 land use categories are designated on the Future Land Use Map, including: five residential categories, five mixed use categories, three employment categories, two public and institutional categories, two park and open space categories, and two special categories. These categories and the application and use of the Future Land Use Map are explained in the Land Use Section.

2.5 The Power of Planning

Given the extensive engagement of the citizenry in the update of this Comprehensive Plan and widespread support of its key goals, the impact of the Plan and the plan-making process will have far-reaching effects on everyone who lives or works in Raleigh. It will affect where and how development occurs; where green space, recreation facilities, and parks are improved; how enhanced transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities are implemented; and how neighborhoods are conserved and enhanced as desirable places to live. It is also hoped that it will serve as a model for future plans, both large and small, undertaken by the City of Raleigh.

(blank page)

section 3

Land Use

3.1 Future Land Uses........................................................................... 3-9 3.2 Citywide Growth ........................................................................... 3-19 3.3 Annexation, Extra-territorial Jurisdiction and Urban Service Area ............................................................. 3-21 3.4 Equitable Development Around Transit .................................... 3-24 3.5 Land Use Compatibility................................................................ 3-33 3.6 Mixed-use Development.............................................................. 3-35 3.7 Commercial Districts and Corridors........................................... 3-36 3.8 Neighborhood Conservation and Development ...................... 3-38 3.9 Research and Development/Institutional Land Uses ..... 3-42 3.10 Retail Land Uses .......................................................................... 3-43 3.11 Industrial Land Uses.................................................................... 3-45 3.12 Large Site Development.............................................................. 3-46

Land use defines a community’s physical form and function and provides a framework for all infrastructure related decisions, including transportation, economic development, public utilities, community facilities, parks, and environmental protection. The Land Use Section of the Comprehensive Plan provides the critical foundation upon which all other elements are based. It includes a Future Land Use Map and related policies and actions to guide growth and development in a more compact and efficient pattern during the coming decades. This element also includes a summary of existing land uses and zoning, future growth projections and development capacity, and annexation and jurisdictional boundaries.

Raleigh’s predominant pattern of land use since 1950 has been one of low-density development with residential uses separated from non-residential uses. This suburban development pattern occurred beyond the inner-ring suburbs surrounding downtown Raleigh in tandem with highway expansion and infrastructure extension, and attracted investment away from downtown Raleigh and older neighborhoods.

Since 1980, Raleigh’s auto-dependent suburban growth has become more prevalent and continued further beyond the Beltline (I-440), the first interstate highway spur around the city. From 1980 to 2014, the city’s population nearly tripled from about 150,000 to 440,000. During the same period the city’s land area also almost tripled in size from about 55 to 140 square miles. From 1980 to 2000 the city’s land areas grew faster than its population, but recent growth and development patterns show that the city’s density is increasing.

Existing Land Use and Zoning

Raleigh’s existing land use patterns are illustrated on Map LU-1: Existing Land Use. Low-density single-family development is the dominant land use in Raleigh, representing 34,000 acres, or 34 percent of the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction as of 2015, excluding public right of way. This use, more than any other, drives land consumption patterns in Raleigh and requires continued investment in road capacity and water and sewer infrastructure. The second largest land use category is vacant land, which accounts for 20,000 acres, or 20 percent of the city’s total land area. One of Raleigh’s major land use challenges will be to shape the development and conservation of this significant available land resource. The third-largest land use is parks and open space, at 12.5 percent of the city’s land area; however, nearly half of this amount is located within William B. Umstead State Park. The next largest land uses include institutional uses – state, county, and city government, universities, and hospitals – and multifamily residential. The prevalence of institutional uses highlights the need to carefully coordinate the growth of these large employment sectors. Another substantial land use is commercial, including retail, office, and other uses, which makes up ten percent of Raleigh. The majority of the city’s commercial uses are located within mixed-use activity centers – downtown Raleigh, North Hills, and Crabtree Valley – and along commercial corridors. Other land uses in the city include industrial and infrastructure.

Raleigh’s Unified Development Ordinance, which replaced the former development code, divides the entirety of the city’s planning jurisdiction into zoning districts, each with their own standards for use, bulk, form, and other site development regulations. Map LU-2 shows Raleigh’s existing zoning. As of 2014, nearly two-thirds of Raleigh’s

jurisdictional land area is residentially zoned, and approximately 55 percent of this area is zoned for single-family development only. Approximately 25 percent of the city is zoned for a mix of uses, and nearly all the mixed-use zones permit residential development. Of the city’s mixed-use zoning districts, only Office Park, which accounts for just 0.5 percent of the mixed-use districts total, does not permit residential use. Approximately 11 percent of the city is zoned for industrial uses but only four percent contains industrial development, as office and retail uses are also permitted as-of-

right within industrially-zoned land. Conditional use zoning, a special tool that allows landowners seeking a rezoning to add conditions over and above the underlying zoning standards, applies to 16 percent of the city’s land area. These additional standards are part of the zoning ordinance, and are also kept as individual case files associated with particular rezonings. Overall, the city’s Unified Development Ordinance provides the public with greater clarity and simplicity than what was offered with the previous development code.

Table LU-1 Land Use Allocation, City of Raleigh Planning Jurisdiction

City of Raleigh, Department of City Planning, 2016

Map LU-1: Existing Land Use

⬚ figure

Map created 8/12/2025 by the Raleigh Department of Planning and Development

Map LU-2: Existing Zoning

⬚ figure

Base Districts

Overlay Districts

*Raleigh's Mixed Use Zoning Districts include components for Height and Frontage requirements (not displayed). See Raleigh's Unified Development Ordinance for additional information.

Map created 4/12/2024 by the Raleigh Department of Planning and Development

Annexation and Jurisdictional Boundaries

The City of Raleigh incorporated in 1792 with 400 acres of land, and has expanded its jurisdictional boundaries through annexation. From 1950 to 2000, Raleigh increased its physical size from 6,974 acres to 75,972 acres. In the subsequent 15 years, more than 17,000 acres have been added to the city’s limits. Today, Raleigh contains over 93,000 acres of land. This is similar in size to the cities of Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Portland, Oregon. However, Raleigh has the potential to annex an additional 22,305 acres (35 square miles) within its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), an area outside of the incorporated limits where the city has been granted land use authority by Wake County for the purposes of providing for the orderly development of areas programmed for future annexation in the short term.

The city’s annexation expansion has been accompanied by major water and sewer extensions and completion of the southern Beltline (I-40) and portions of the Northern Wake Expressway (I-540). Based on Wake County’s approval to extend water and sewer infrastructure and create a future Urban Service Area (USA), Raleigh also has the potential to annex an additional 18,649 acres beyond its current ETJ. No additional land area is available beyond these limits due to annexation agreements with neighboring jurisdictions that have essentially assigned all of Wake County outside of existing and planned water supply watersheds into urbanizing areas. Therefore, Raleigh has the ability to annex over 41,000 acres (64 square miles), for an ultimate size of approximately 134,700 acres or 210 square miles. Similarly-sized cities include Columbus, Ohio and Tucson, Arizona.

Between 1990 and 2010, Raleigh averaged an annexation rate of approximately 1,900 acres per year. At that rate, it would take approximately 22 years to absorb the remaining 41,000 acres of land area with annexation potential. This timeframe generally corresponds to the time horizon of this Comprehensive Plan. However, the rate of annexation slowed significantly following changes in 2012 to state law regarding annexation. Moreover, since this Comprehensive Plan is based on the desire for a more compact and walkable development pattern with residential, retail, services, and jobs located more closely together, the land available for development should last much longer than 22 years. Please refer to ‘3.3 Annexation, ETJ and USA’ in this Land Use Section for related recommendations related to annexation. For policies related to regional and inter-jurisdiction cooperation, please refer to Section 14: ‘Regional and Inter-Jurisdictional Coordination.’

Future Land Use Map

Raleigh’s desired future land use patterns are shown on the Future Land Use Map, which provides the land use foundation for this Comprehensive Plan. The Future Land Use Map indicates the intended distribution and intensity of land uses over the next 20 years to achieve the following objectives:

• Provide greater land use predictability and transparency.
• Incorporate recommended land uses from area plans.
• Use a nomenclature that is reasonably compatible with the Wake County Comprehensive Plan and the plans for adjacent jurisdictions.
• Advance Raleigh’s Vision and Themes, as described in the Framework Section.
• Create a logical framework for future zoning and development.

The Future Land Use Map is part of the adopted Comprehensive Plan and carries the same legal weight as the Plan document itself. The Future Land Use Map uses color-coded categories to express public policy on future land uses across the city. Its land use designations have been drawn

based on existing and desired development patterns, streets, parcel lines, environmental features, and other logical boundaries. For guidance on how to use the Future Land Use Map and policies related to its interpretation and relation to zoning evaluations, please refer to ‘3.1 Future Land Uses’ of this Land Use Section.

Primary Land Use Issues

The land use element provides guidance to enhance existing neighborhoods throughout the city, which requires an emphasis on conservation in some neighborhoods and revitalization in others. It also provides guidance to create vibrant, new walkable neighborhoods; reduce auto- dependency; increase the viability of transit, walking, and biking through design and management of land uses; accommodate density while respecting desired neighborhood character and providing usable open space; increase mixed- use development; focus development close to already developed areas rather than in greenfield locations further out; focus development within designated centers and transit corridors; coordinate development so that it fits-in with existing patterns; and provide for ways to ensure compatibility of land uses while still accommodating the uses that make Raleigh a thriving residential and employment center within the Triangle region.

By 2030, Raleigh is projected to grow by approximately 150,000 people. It has a remaining growth area of 64 square miles based on current annexation agreements. The city is poised to continue a high level of population growth because of its positive quality-of-life factors: a location for high-tech jobs; a highly-educated population; excellent universities and quality public school system; the diversity of its housing; relatively mild winters; and a revitalizing downtown. However, the last 50 years of suburban growth and new global issues—energy insecurity and climate change—have created a cumulative challenge of interrelated land use issues that Raleigh will need to address over the coming years.

The following are the main land use issues addressed in this Land Use Section:

• Key corridors in gateway locations have become over-developed for commercial use, becoming lined with under-performing strip retail and services, creating the need and opportunity for mixed-use redevelopment.
• Annexation and utility extensions have led to sprawling and leapfrog development patterns, even as lands inside the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) provide for ample development capacity.
• Lack of coordination between land use and transportation planning and investment has led to increased congestion and an underperforming transit system.
• Though recent development patterns have improved bikeability and walkability in the city, most Raleigh residents live in neighborhoods where jobs, goods, services, and recreation are not walkable or bikeable, even if these resources are close by, due to the lack of integration between uses.
• Proposed regional rail and local bus rapid transit stations need appropriate planning and zoning in place to ensure transit-supportive development patterns.
• Growth, changing demographics, and an evolving economy require a greater diversity of housing choices in both infill locations and in new neighborhoods.
• Demand for denser and more intense development in infill locations and near established neighborhoods raises issues of land use compatibility.
• A shift to more environmentally sustainable building practices is necessary to reduce the city’s air and water pollution and its demand for energy and water.
• The city’s economic future requires additional development opportunities for research and development firms, institutions, and hospitals.

As described in the Framework chapter, Raleigh’s Vision for 2030 is structured to address these land use issues through six vision themes or citywide goals. By concentrating growth into mixed-use centers and creating more accessible communities citywide, Raleigh will help meet its goal for Economic Prosperity and Equity. Through a broader range of housing-related land use policies and programs, Raleigh plans to meet its goal for Expanding Housing Choices. Through more compact forms of development and new rural and open space policies, Raleigh will meet its overarching goal of Managing Our Growth. By implementing a citywide and regional transit system that is connected with pedestrian and bike-friendly communities, Raleigh will be closer to its goal of effectively Coordinating Land Use and Transportation. Through citywide policies and programs for green building, green infrastructure, and resource conservation and preservation, Raleigh will become a national leader with its Greenprint Raleigh paradigm. Lastly, through a series of ordinance and subdivision changes to accommodate a smart growth model of planning and development, Raleigh will reach its goal of Growing Successful Neighborhoods and Communities.

To track the efficiency of the city’s policies, any of the Comprehensive Plan’s vision themes that may be relevant to a particular policy are indicated by one of six icons. The vision themes are:

⬚ figure Economic Prosperity and Equity ⬚ figure Expanding Housing Choices ⬚ figure Managing Our Growth ⬚ figure Coordinating Land Use and Transportation ⬚ figure Greenprint Raleigh ⬚ figure Growing Successful Neighborhoods and Communities

In this Section and throughout the Plan, Key Policies used to evaluate zoning consistency are noted as such with an orange dot (●).

3.1 Future Land Uses

Raleigh is a growing city both in terms of the number of residents and jobs and its physical growth and land area. Raleigh’s Future Land Use Map (Map LU-3) builds upon the city’s existing land use patterns and provides a generalized guide for development and conservation decisions. The Future Land Use Map is further defined below. For guidance on the application and use of the Future Land Use Map as it relates to zoning applications, see the text box entitled “Evaluating Zoning Proposals and Consistency with the Comprehensive Plan” later in this section.

• The Future Land Use Map is a generalized depiction of intended uses in the horizon year of the Comprehensive Plan, roughly 15 years in the future. It is not an “existing land use map,” although in many cases future uses in an area may be the same as those that exist today.
• The Future Land Use Map is not a zoning map. Whereas zoning maps are parcel-specific, and establish detailed requirements for setbacks, height, use, parking, and other attributes, the land use categories of the Future Land Use Map recommend a range of potentially appropriate land uses and intensities. By definition, the Future Land Use Map is a guide to future zoning decisions. Related, the Future Land Use Map is not intended to be referenced as part of the site plan review process, since the zoning regulations set forth the permitted uses for particular parcels.
• Streets and public rights-of-way are not an explicit land use category on the Future Land Use Map. Within any given area, the streets that pass through are assigned the same designation as the adjacent uses.

Definition of Future Land Use Categories

Raleigh’s Future Land Use Map contains 19 color-coded categories that express public policy on future land uses throughout the city as described below:

Residential Categories

Rural Residential (1 unit per acre and under)

This category is generally mapped over areas zoned “R-1” (or areas in the ETJ/USA with rural residential land use designations and rural county zoning) where intensification to more urban uses is not expected due to watershed constraints and existing fragmented parcel patterns. Rural Residential areas are generally developed with “ranchettes,” hobby farms, estates, large-lot subdivisions, or conservation subdivisions with large common open space areas. Civic uses such as churches and police or fire stations are also consistent with this category. The intent of this designation is to preserve the rural character of these areas and achieve compatible resource conservation objectives such as watershed conservation and tree protection. Gross densities in these areas would be one unit per acre or less, although clustered housing on large tracts could result in pockets of more densely developed land.

Low Scale Residential

This category encompasses most of the city’s neighborhoods that are primarily made up of detached houses on lots of roughly one-sixth of an acre or larger, although duplexes or small apartments may also exist. This category envisions a range of housing types, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and other small apartment buildings, and townhouses, but at a scale that generally follows the precedent set by existing detached houses, missing middle types, or townhouses in these areas. It includes the R-2, R-4, and R-6 zoning districts. It also identifies vacant or agricultural lands—in the city and in the

county—where residential use at a similar scale is planned over the next 20 years. As defined in the zoning regulations, manufactured home parks could also be appropriate in this land use category. In areas within the Core Transit Area on the Urban Form Map, RX-3 is appropriate. Portions of a development may be developed more intensively in exchange for an open space set aside, as with a Conservation Development.

Moderate Scale Residential

This category applies to many of the city’s older residential neighborhoods, plus newer master-planned communities which typically contain a mix of housing types, including small-lot detached houses and many traditional examples of “missing middle” housing types. It also applies to suburban townhouse and garden apartment communities that would benefit from enhanced walkability. As with Low Scale Residential, this category envisions a range of housing types, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and other small apartment buildings, and townhouses. Scale would follow existing precedents of detached and missing middle housing in the area. Corresponding zoning districts are R-6 and R-10. RX-3 is also appropriate when controls or conditions that address building mass are included, such as a Detached frontage or limiting the number of units in a single building to no more than 24. In areas served by high levels of transit, RX-3 or RX-4 may be appropriate. In some instances, small-scale commercial uses allowed in RX districts are appropriate. Comprehensive Plan Land Use Section policies, including Table LU-2, should be consulted for additional guidance.

Medium Scale Residential

This category applies to garden apartments, townhomes, condominiums, and suburban style apartment complexes. It would also apply to older neighborhoods with a mix of single-family and multifamily housing. RX zoning with a three- or four-story height limit is appropriate for these areas. In some instances, small-scale commercial uses allowed in RX districts may be appropriate. Comprehensive Plan Land Use Section policies should be consulted for additional guidance.

Higher Scale Residential

This category would apply to apartment buildings and condominiums. Conforming zoning would consist of the RX district with a height limit of five to 12 stories, depending on location and context. Other zoning districts which permit multifamily housing, appropriately conditioned, could be conforming as well. Although this is a residential zone, ground floor retail uses (with upper story housing) may be appropriate under certain circumstances. Comprehensive Plan Land Use Section policies should be consulted for additional guidance.

Mixed Use Categories

Office & Residential Mixed Use

This category is applied primarily to frontage lots along major streets where low-density residential uses are no longer appropriate, as well as office parks and developments suitable for a more mixed-use development pattern. This category encourages a mix of residential and office use. Retail not ancillary to employment and/or residential uses is discouraged so that retail can be more appropriately clustered and concentrated in retail and mixed-use centers at major intersections and planned transit stations. OX is the closest corresponding zoning district. Heights would generally be limited to four stories when near neighborhoods, with additional height allowed for larger sites and locations along major corridors where adjacent uses would not be adversely impacted. Higher-impact uses such as hotels and hospitals are not contemplated or recommended in this land use category except as limited uses in appropriate locations.

Neighborhood Mixed Use

This category applies to neighborhood shopping centers and pedestrian-oriented retail districts. The service area of these districts is generally about a one mile radius or less. Typical uses would include corner stores or convenience stores, restaurants, bakeries, supermarkets (other than superstores/centers), drug stores, dry cleaners, small professional offices, retail banking, and similar uses that serve the immediately surrounding neighborhood. Residential and mixed-use projects with upper-story housing are also supported by this designation. Where residential development complements commercial uses, it would generally be in the Medium density range.

NX is the most appropriate zoning district for these areas. Heights would generally be limited to three stories, but four or five stories could be appropriate in walkable areas with pedestrian-oriented businesses. Buildings at those heights should include appropriate transitions to any lower-density adjacent areas and be accompanied by a pedestrian-friendly relationship to the public realm.

Community Mixed Use

This category applies to medium-sized shopping centers and larger pedestrian-oriented retail districts such as Cameron Village. Typical commercial uses include large-format supermarkets, larger drug stores, department stores and variety stores, clothing stores, banks, offices, restaurants, movie theaters, hotels, and similar uses that draw from multiple neighborhoods. Development intensities could be higher than in Neighborhood Mixed Use areas, with mid-rise buildings as well as low-rise buildings. Where residential development occurs, ground floor retail would be encouraged and minimum building heights might be applied in transit-rich areas. Heights would generally be in the three-to-five-story range, although additional height up to 12 stories would be appropriate in TOD areas and at the core of mixed-use centers.

CX is the primary corresponding zoning district for these areas. Appropriate urban form standards for frontage should be applied, recognizing that some of the designated areas are established neighborhood “main streets” and others are suburban auto-oriented shopping plazas or strip centers fronting on high-volume arterial roadways. For both this category and Neighborhood Mixed Use, greater height should include appropriate transitions and be accompanied by a pedestrian-friendly relationship to the public realm.

Regional Mixed Use

This category applies to the Triangle Town Center area, the Brier Creek area, and the North Hills/ Midtown and Crabtree Centers. The intent is to identify the major retail and service hubs that draw customers from across the city. These areas may include high-density housing, office development, hotels, and region-serving retail uses such as department stores and specialty stores. These areas would typically be zoned CX. Heights could be as tall as 12 to 20 stories in core locations, but should taper down to meet the context of surrounding development. As in other mixed-use areas, taller buildings should be accompanied by enhanced pedestrian amenities.

Central Business District

This category applies to the Raleigh Central Business District, and is intended to enhance Downtown Raleigh as a vibrant mixed-use urban center. The category recognizes the area’s role as the heart of the city, supporting a mix of high-intensity office, retail, housing, government, institutional, visitor-serving, cultural, and entertainment uses. Multiple zoning districts might apply within the CBD, corresponding to the different character and vision for its various neighborhoods, with DX being the primary district for the mixed-use core of downtown. Heights in the downtown could reach as high as 40 stories in the core, but would taper down to meet the adjacent neighborhoods at a height of three to four stories.

Employment Categories

Office/ Research and Development

This category identifies major employment centers where housing is not considered an appropriate future land use. Principal uses are office parks, free-standing office buildings or corporate headquarters, banks, research and development uses, hotels, and ancillary service businesses and retail uses that support the office economy. This category can also apply in appropriate locations to office-industrial hybrids such as light fabrication and assembly ancillary to an R&D use, flex parks, and office/distribution combinations. OP is the most appropriate zoning district for this category, although OX or IX could be used if conditioned to restrict housing development.

Business and Commercial Services

This category is for higher-impact or “heavy” commercial activities that would not be compatible with residential uses, or that have locational needs (such as frontage along freeways, expressways, or other major streets) that are not conducive to mixed-use development. Examples would include auto dealerships, auto repair and service businesses, lumberyards, nurseries, contractor suppliers, warehousing, printers, truck stops, distribution centers, and other uses that are quasi-industrial or highway-oriented in character. These areas would generally be zoned IX. Housing would be limited, but live-work units or housing combined with an employment-generating ground floor could be permitted in certain locations.

General Industrial

This category designates areas programmed for industrial land uses, including manufacturing, concrete plants and other extractive industries, junkyards/scrap yards, and outdoor storage uses. These uses tend to have greater impacts than the business and commercial service uses, and may require additional buffering or separation from nearby uses. Some of these uses are dependent on rail for freight movement, and others require convenient access to freeways or other major streets for truck deliveries and shipments. Railyards, power plants, and similar uses are also included in this designation. Most of these areas should be zoned IH to prevent use conflicts with housing or retail.

Public and Institutional Categories

Public Facilities

This category identifies large publicly owned non-park properties, including public schools, city facilities (such as libraries, fire stations, public works yards, etc.), stadiums, state government facilities, the fairgrounds, and federal government facilities (postal distribution centers, etc.). Such sites are identified on the Future Land Use Map if they cover more than about two acres.

Institutional

This category identifies land and facilities occupied by colleges and universities, large private schools, hospitals and medical complexes, religious organizations, and similar institutions. Smaller institutional uses such as churches are generally not mapped unless they are sites that are more than 2 acres in size. Institutional properties may be public or private. While institutional uses are permitted in a variety of zoning districts, large institutions in a campus setting such as universities and major hospitals are appropriately zoned CMP.

Parks, Open Space, and Resource Conservation Categories

Public Parks and Open Space

This category applies to permanent open space intended for recreational or resource conservation uses. Included are neighborhood, community, and regional parks and greenways. Greenways include both existing greenway property as well as potential greenway corridors designated in the Comprehensive Plan and subject to regulation under the city code. Also included are publicly-owned lands that are managed for watershed protection, resource conservation, hazard prevention, and the protection of important visual resources. Land with this designation is intended to remain as open space in perpetuity. Where potential greenway corridors are mapped (typically as buffers to streams identified in the city’s Greenway Master Plan), greenway dedication will be subject to the city’s code requirements during the subdivision and site planning process.

Private Open Space

This category includes open space that is privately owned and maintained, including private golf courses and country clubs, cemeteries, open space easements, land zoned Conservation Management, and land that should be retained in its natural state to protect public health and safety (such as floodways and steep slopes), preserve sensitive or important ecological resources (such as important tree stands), or provide a public benefit (such as watershed protection). Land with this designation may have a limited amount of development potential, and may be used for agriculture, forestry, pasture, etc. but the overall intent is to protect its open and undeveloped character through the horizon year of the Plan.

Critical Areas

Critical Areas

The Critical Areas overlay is mapped over lands that are environmentally sensitive and merit preservation and protection from development. The Critical Areas overlay encompasses publicly and privately owned land mostly encumbered by the 100-year floodplain. Some of this area is currently zoned Conservation Management; other portions are zoned for a wider range of use. The use of an overlay on top of another designation recognizes that while preservation is the long term goal, private landowners are entitled to a productive use of the property as allowed by the underlying zone district until such time as the appropriate steps can be taken to protect these resources.

Special Study Areas

Special Study Area

The Future Land Use Map includes another category to identify areas where the future land use pattern has yet to be determined. These areas are outlined with a dashed line, labeled, and in some cases left “blank” (white) on the map, indicating the precise land use pattern was still under study at the time of Plan adoption. The text of the plan provides further detail.

This designation is used on large sites where land use planning studies incorporating focused community outreach are necessary to determine a preferred land use pattern. Examples include areas such as active rock quarries, landfills, large tracts outside of the city’s current jurisdiction but in its future urban services area, and publicly-owned sites of particular importance. These areas should be the subject of Area Planning Studies as described under ‘17.4 Small Area Studies’ in Section 17: ‘Implementation.’