2030 Comprehensive Plan Update, April 2024

Land Use

“Missing Middle” Housing This concept refers to building types such as duplexes and small, three- or four-unit apartments that provide greater housing variety while maintaining the same scale as detached houses. While common in older neighborhoods in many cities, including areas such as Boylan Heights and Cameron Park in Raleigh, many are being lost as owners convert them to single-unit homes. In recent years, interest has grown again in these housing types, which can provide more affordable housing for smaller households or those looking to downsize. They can also help provide the density needed to support walkable neighborhood-serving retail while retaining neighborhood scale. However, typical zoning codes, including Raleigh’s, prohibit or discourage these housing types. Residential zones include limitations on building types or density that effectively prohibit them. Conversely, in mixed-use zoning categories that do permit apartments, typical new projects are on a larger scale than the “missing middle.”

Policy LU 8.10 Infill Development

Encourage infill development on vacant land within the city, particularly in areas where there are vacant lots that create “gaps” in the urban fabric and detract from the character of a commercial or residential street. Such development should complement the established character of the area and should not create sharp changes in the physical development pattern.

Policy LU 8.11 Development of Vacant Sites

Facilitate the development of vacant lots that have historically been difficult to develop due to infrastructure or access problems, inadequate lot dimensions, fragmented or absentee ownership, or other constraints. Explore lot consolidation, acquisition, and other measures that would address these.

Policy LU 8.12 Infill Compatibility

Vacant lots and infill sites within existing neighborhoods should be developed consistently with the design elements of adjacent structures, including height, setbacks, and massing through the use of zoning tools including Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Districts.

Policy LU 8.13 Traditional Neighborhood Development

Encourage Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) and planning for large undeveloped sites within the city’s municipal boundaries to improve neighborhood and street connectivity. Traditional Neighborhood Development is an urban form characterized by compact, pedestrian-oriented design, which provides a variety of uses and diverse housing types within easy walking distance, and is anchored by a central public space and civic activity (school, library, church, or similar institution).

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