Battle of Old vs. New Brewing in Some Raleigh Neighborhoods

Battle of Old vs. New Brewing in Some Raleigh Neighborhoods

In Raleigh's Five Points neighborhood, you'll find tree-lined streets that give the area a lot of charm.

Neighborhood residents, like Carol Majors, say they want it to stay that way, but say population growth is taking over and pushing out the character that defines the neighborhoods.

Majors, who has lived in the Five Points area for 30 years, is part of a group called Community Scale, which wants the city to establish building limits for developers.

As more people move to Raleigh, developers are building newer, taller and bigger dwellings in older neighborhoods.

Community Scale members say their neighborhoods are losing the charm that originally attracted buyers in the first place.

"It's not a matter of personal preference but a matter of heritage," Majors said. "Do we want to do so much rebuilding and so much redevelopment that we don't even have the charm that the people were attracted to in the first place?"

But builders say it is unrealistic to think that a family of four, for example, would want to move into a small house built decades ago. With the development, they say they are also adding value to the neighborhoods.

Raleigh City Councilman Russell Stephenson says the City Council is working to find a balance between developers and the longtime community.

One thing the Council is considering is putting limits on how high developers can build relative to the houses already on a street.

The city's zoning code essentially allows all residences to be the same size, despite the number of people living in a home. That would mean most single-family homes would be 40 feet high.

Stephenson says for some neighborhoods, a 40-foot building makes a lot of sense. But for other neighborhoods, it is out of place.

"The one that really seems to get people most concerned is when buildings get very tall they tower over their neighborhoods, they cut off their light, they cut off their views," he said.

Stephenson says this issue of residential infill is happening not just in the Five Points area but in several Raleigh neighborhoods.

Council members will discuss the ordinance at an upcoming special committee meeting.



112 Comments


Golo

Welcome to GOLO, where WRAL.com visitors can comment on stories and create profile pages, blogs and photo galleries.

You must be a registered WRAL.com user to use these tools. Click here to register or log in.

View Comments View Comments

Report It
Send us your news photos, videos, tips and story ideas.
Submit Videos Submit Photos Submit Reports
  1. Durham cityscape_03
    Cityscapes of the Triangle

    Take a tour through the urban landscapes of the Triangle's cities and towns.

  2. APTOPIX_People_Michael_Jackson
    Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

    The life and death of Michael Jackson in video and photos.

  3. Drought Map
    A year of N.C. Drought Maps

    View a time lapse animation of drought conditions during the last year.

  4. Antiques Roadshow
    'Antiques Roadshow' in Raleigh

    The "Antiques Roadshow" taped Saturday, June 27, 2009, at the Raleigh Convention Center, where over 5,000 ticket holders lined up to learn what…

  5. Film_Review_Ice_Age
    The week in entertainment

    A look at the top entertainment stories this week through the lenses of Associated Press photographers.