Residents in Raleigh express concerns about a new city policy for housing re-development

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A new City of Raleigh policy is causing concerns in many neighborhoods. Some single-family homes can now be re-developed into bigger projects without going through a zoning change request.

Groups of people from the Hayes Barton Community on Williamson Drive in Raleigh spoke with ABC11 about the area. A developer is planning to add 17 townhomes to the plot that currently spans more than 2 acres.

Starting Monday, any developer that would normally have to go to a public meeting at the planning commission and city council will no longer be required to. The issue, however, is not only in the Hayes Barton and Five Points communities.

The City of Raleigh told ABC11 that over the past several years, the council has made changes to land development rules that allow more housing types in more places.

Prior to the changes only single-family homes were allowed in the majority of the city.

Residents in the Five Points community say they are okay with the plots being re-developed but not with the amount planned.

"I think the city council has taken a machete to the issue of neighborhood whereas a scalpel or paring knife was more in order," Frank Hielema.

"These changes that the city has enacted, and there are several of them, will affect huge swaths of the city and people probably don't realize what's coming to their neighborhood" Frank Gordon.

The City of Raleigh says the newly allowed housing types are called 'Missing Middle Types'. The housing types are important because they are more accessible and affordable than a single-family home.

"What we're trying to do is really now defined as a national best practice to allow for different types of housing and housing choices," Mayor Mary Ann Baldwin said. "This is not something that just happened...it was a public process."

Baldwin said there were multiple public hearings on the changes, and says she spoke with the developers, who say they are still mapping every out. Developers also said they plan to meet with the community soon to hear their concerns.