Missing Middle Housing, Parking Reform Under Consideration in Raleigh

"Raleigh leaders took the first step toward changing the rules that developers have to follow to address housing affordability," reports Anna Johnson.

The rules—still in the early stages on the way to approval as several new City Council members push for reform of land use and development regulations in the city—focus on several key ideas to ease development and reduce costs for all kinds of development, not just housing.

Downtown Parking Requirements

"If a developer wants to build a commercial project in downtown Raleigh, the city has required a parking space for every 500 square feet. City leaders have taken the first step to remove that requirement," reports Johnson.

Missing Middle Housing

Following in the footsteps of Minneapolis, the Raleigh City Council decided to explore the idea of adding "cottage courts" in areas zoned R-2 and R-4. Councilmember David Cox was the lone vote against the study, writing a blog post after the vote that lamented the city's move "toward ending single family zoning." Cox also expressed negative feelings about the new makeup of the City Council after the election in October.

Building Heights

"The council also voted to remove the height cap for buildings seven stories and above," reports Johnson. "The city’s code had limits for height and stories for buildings, and removing the height cap will result in better buildings being built throughout Raleigh..."