I believe there is a BIG opportunity for the RCAC to take a leadership role in the housing issue.
Philip W Poe
919.832.6777 voice
919.522.1078 mobile
919.832.6775 fax
From: rcac-bounces@eastraleigh.org [mailto:rcac-bounces@eastraleigh.org] On Behalf Of Ana Duncan Pardo
Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2010 1:32 PM
To: RCAC
Subject: [RCAC] Final Tally and Update on the RCAC resolution re: UDO
Hi folks,
Just a quick note to let everyone know the final tally of the email vote. As of lunch time today we had 16 CACs in favor, none opposed. I think this might just be a record in recent years!
I sent the resolution to Council and appropriate city staff yesterday, and delivered it to each individual councilor (as well as Mitchell Silver from Planning) last night and gave each a quick summary of what we were asking for. All seemed more or less agreeable, including Mr. Silver. From what I could tell during last night's council discussion, councilors were on board with the idea of having more forums for the public to get a better grasp of the concepts being discussed. What was apparent to me was that it's up to us as CAC leaders to follow through on that with Planning staff to A) make sure our requests are realized and B) make sure that people in our neighborhoods are able to take full advantage of the additional learning opportunities and resources.
There was also a strong discussion around having a "deep breath" moment sometime in August, a couple months into the code re-write. This would be an opportunity for Council, the UDO workgroup, CAC folks and members of the other boards and commissions to check in, see how the new code compares to the old code and make sure it's going in a direction that's good for the city. Based on what I heard from council last night, and from Mr. Silver, that meeting would be similar to the joint session held last night.
Thanks to everyone who responded...I think we're making progress!
Ana
On Tue, May 4, 2010 at 3:13 PM, Ana Duncan Pardo <acpardo@gmail.com> wrote:
Make that 14 in favor, none against. Thanks Danny!
Ana
On Tue, May 4, 2010 at 3:06 PM, Ana Duncan Pardo <acpardo@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi again folks,
Just a reminder to please respond regarding the resolution below. This resolution came out of the April RCAC meeting. So far we've had 13 CACs respond in favor; none against. The CACs who have responded so far are: Wade, West, Hillsborough, Five Points, South, Glenwood, Six Forks, Northwest/Umstead, North, Northeast, East, Falls of Neuse and Central. Thanks so much for the quick response--this now means that we can submit our resolution in time for Council to consider it this evening.
I plan to send the resolution to Council this afternoon, and present it at the UDO Joint Meeting taking place this evening from 4-6 p.m. at the Urban Design Center. Light refreshments will be served. Hope others can make it in support of increased education and input on our city's future zoning code!
Ana
(919) 818-5933
On Mon, May 3, 2010 at 11:47 AM, Ana Duncan Pardo <acpardo@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi folks,
At April's meeting we heard a report back from Phil Poe, the liaison on behalf of the CAC leaders to the UDO workgroup. Phil indicated that folks on the UDO workgroup didn't feel they had the information they needed to make the kinds of recommendations they're being asked to make on a variety of issues, including form-based planning and inclusionary zoning. The CAC leaders agreed to put forth a resolution asking for an extension of the comment period on the consultants' approach to rewriting the Unified Development Ordinance (the city's zoning code) as well as more opportunities for the public to learn about the elements being discussed and more concrete examples of these elements from the Planning Dept. and the consultants.
The group agreed that a resolution should be drafted after the meeting and approved by electronic vote, and folks volunteered to draft the resolution (thanks Bill and Phil!) which is pasted below.
Please respond via email with your yea or nay vote by noon on Wednesday, May 5th. Thanks!
Ana Duncan Pardo
Chair, Hillsborough CAC
Chair, RCAC
(919) 818-5933
RCAC suggestion to City Council on the UDO
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Where As the UDO is a complex process of great importance to Raleigh that touches on every aspect of the future of our city and communities;
Where As the Complexity of the project requires significant commitment of time from the pubic to comprehend the concepts, informatively discuss and provide input;
Where As the Importance to clearly define requirements for Code Studio is critical;
Where As similar Projects in other cities have taken 2 to 3 times longer to complete than Raleigh’s time table;
Therefore Let It Be Resolved that the Diagnostic and Approach phase be extended at least 2 months;
And Further Resolved that Good Examples – both visual and written – be provided to help the public better understand the UDO concepts and processes;
And Further Resolved that More workshops be conducted to deal with the more challenging issues like affordable housing and context and district mapping;
And Further Resolved that Test / Pilot cases be developed to help the public understand what the final code will look like and be interpreted;
And Further Resolved that City Council re-examine the timeline and deliverables to ensure Code Studio is able to deliver a complete and quality product at the end of 18 months.