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Written by Stephanie Currier

Category: Development Services

Created: 26 May 2015

Welcome back! I hope that you were able to enjoy the gorgeous weather we had over the Memorial Day holiday. It will be heating up soon!

This week’s post will be short, but provides some important updates including changes to some of our forms and an introduction to the Planning Communication office's summer intern.

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Written by Stephanie Currier

Category: Planning

Created: 19 May 2015

How many times have you walked through Market or Exchange Plaza in downtown Raleigh? Did you even know these pedestrian plazas existed? My hunch is that most visitors are not aware of the plazas unless they frequent One Exchange Plaza (the building that houses the City’s Planning and Development offices, amongst others). Personally, I have made the journey well over a thousand times and have noticed that each plaza is in a certain stage of disrepair. That is all about to change!

City Council recently approved plans for a complete makeover of both pedestrian plazas. The plans call for the creation of more flexible and modern spaces, including new concrete paving, benches and seat walls, updated planters, improved site lighting, shade structures, and screen enclosures.

And if you're a history buff, you'll appreciate this...

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Written by Stephanie Currier

Category: Planning

Created: 12 May 2015

Raleigh Union Station (RUS) has been in the works for years. In fact, it has been contemplated since the 1990’s and is a significant component in the City of Raleigh’s draft Downtown master plan.

Last Friday, a groundbreaking ceremony took place which officially kicked off the construction phase of the project. Improvements to some of the rail infrastructure are already underway, but I am told that  the work in downtown Raleigh will not begin in earnest until later this summer.

The ceremony was conducted at the location of the former Dillon Supply Co. warehouse and was very well attended. The crowd enjoyed short speeches from Gov. Pat McCrory; Mayor Nancy McFarlane; Congressman David Price; NCDOT Secretary Tony Tata; Carlos Monje, assistant secretary for transportation policy for the U.S. Department of Transportation; and Jay McArthur, senior manager of State Corridors for Amtrak.

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Written by Stephanie Currier

Category: Development Services

Created: 05 May 2015

Whew, April was a busy month in DS! This blog has really helped us get the word out about all the things that are happening. Thanks for reading!

You may recall that last week I blogged about the importance of obtaining permits for home improvement projects. Well this post is a great follow-up…

If you follow City of Raleigh news, you may already know that Curt Willis, Deputy Inspections Director, has retired and that Hamid Dolikhani has assumed that role in an interim capacity. You may have also heard about a new program that launched last week. The Permit Notification Program is intended to improve customer service and further ensure that construction in Raleigh is permitted and completed in accordance with the law.

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Written by Stephanie Currier

Category: Development Services

Created: 28 April 2015

During the past few months, I have been searching the real estate listings for the perfect home for my family. I think we finally found it! While I was searching, I was surprised at how many homes were described as having possible unpermitted square footage.

Having worked alongside building inspectors for many years, I know that there are some major safety concerns associated with this. With no one inspecting the work, there is no way to ensure that it is code compliant and properly constructed. Not to mention that it could seriously affect one’s ability to sell their house in the future as banks are typically not willing to lend money for homes with unpermitted work. This usually results in permits and inspections being requested before closing the sale. Permits issued after the work has been done are double the normal fee. And what many people don’t realize is that the finished product will have to be torn out to reveal rough-in and framing work, which will have to meet the current code to be approved. This can be a very costly mistake.

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Written by Stephanie Currier

Category: Development Services

Created: 22 April 2015

We in Raleigh love our trees! In fact, the City of Oaks has been a "Tree City USA" for 25 years or so. The City has adopted regulations to help preserve and conserve its trees. The tree conservation requirements, in general, concern existing stands of trees and individual trees required to be preserved based on their size, stand density, and location on the property. The regulations apply to many residential and commercial development projects in Raleigh's planning jurisdiction.

Some of the City's tree conservation regulations, found in Article 9.1 (Tree Conservation) of the UDO, were affected when the UDO was adopted. In an effort to simplify the process and be consistent with the UDO, staff updated the list of standardized  names for tree conservation areas. The names are now less-wordy and easier to use on development plans and plats.  The required Tree Conservation Data Sheet was also revised to reflect the name changes.

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