Writer: Joshua Andino
2 min read March 2023 — Almost two years after passing landmark zoning reforms, some Raleigh residents now call the move illegal.
Residents are suing a developer who plans to demolish a mansion in order to build 17 townhomes, reports WRAL. While the plans were made public in August, three Hayes Bartow families are now moving forward with legal action, with the lawsuit claiming the zoning changes the city passed in 2021 and 2022 are illegal.
“They have changed the zoning for many, many people in this town, and a lot of people don’t even realize it, which is what’s really sinister about the way they proceeded,” said attorney Frank Gordon.
As a result of the changes passed by the city, the developer is allowed to demolish one home in exchange for 17 on the same plot of land, part of the city’s efforts to add “missing middle” housing inventory.
City officials, including Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin, were upfront at what the changes would allow across the city, and made it public in separate interviews multiple times what the plans the city was pursuing would entail prior to any litigation. In her interview for Invest: Raleigh-Durham 2021 she explained that zoning restrictions were constricting the supply of housing, driving up housing costs and driving out residents. “We want to make it easier to build townhomes, duplexes, triplexes and quads as well as single family homes. That’s the way housing was built before the 1950s and it allows for more affordability and housing choice,” she said in 2021. She also added that, “You cannot build a townhome in 80 percent of our city and townhomes are usually somebody’s entry into homeownership.”
As it stands, the Raleigh housing market has become increasingly expensive due to a lack of inventory, even as developers work overtime across the Triangle region building thousands of units, including both single- and multifamily properties.
According to the St. Louis Fed’s FRED, the Raleigh MSA saw record low inventory with only 659 active listings in Feb. 2022. Since then inventory experienced an October high of 3,925 listings. According to the most recent data available, Feb. 2023 saw the region’s available listings once again drop to 2,831, further signaling the continued demand, driven in part by new residents moving to the area from other parts of the country and higher costs, driven by a mix of supply chain issues and higher interest rates.
In a separate conversation regarding Wake County, manager David Ellis told Invest:, “With housing, costs have risen tremendously here in Wake County, so some people are really struggling to save up enough money to purchase a home.” The average sale price for a home today is $478,662 according to the Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors, while Charlotte-based Lending Tree ranked Raleigh as the 3rd most competitive housing market back in mid-2021.
While the results of the ongoing lawsuit remain to be seen and the city refusing to comment on pending litigation according to WRAL, the development is the latest front opened in a national battle between pro-housing development groups and those who would rather the construction happen somewhere else.
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