Citizens Brief: HDR's West to Saunders Connection

With the December 2nd meeting coming up, I put together a Citizens Brief and the email below, which will be sent to the City Council Members:


On December 2nd 2008, the Raleigh City Council will be asked to consider a citizen's petition requesting that a key provision of both the Western Gateway Plan and Saunders Street Small Area Plan be enacted. Specifically, the petition asks for the deletion from the Comp Plan of the outdated Glenwood thoroughfare extension and the preservation of the current width and direction of Old South Saunders St.

The petition was filed to allow a privately funded and community supported redevelopment project along Old South Saunders St. This project was developed to the specifications of the Downtown Western Gateway and Saunders North Small Area plans, and depends on the execution their recommendations.

Key Issues:
1. Ready to Build, but City Plans are in Conflict: We have builders who are ready to start construction in Rosengarten Park, which is an exact fulfillment of the goals set out in Saunders North Plan Small Area plan. However, we cannot begin construction because the critical recommendations of this plan have not been enacted.
2. Time is of the essence: The Minimum Housing Code Department has forced virtually all of the houses in this neighborhood to be demolished or vacated. Without the execution of the Saunders St Plan these houses cannot be rebuilt. As a result, we are currently being fined for not demolishing houses that we are not able to rebuild. We cannot reoccupy, we cannot rebuild, we cannot sell because of this conflict in city plans.
3. HDR’s Preliminary Suggestions regarding the West St. Extension are in Conflict with both the Saunders North Small Area Plan and the Downtown Western Gateway Plans of 2004. HDR has put forth a preliminary idea proposing a 45 degree connection between West St through the PSNC site, connecting to our project centered on Old South Saunders Street. This is only a preliminary recommendation, but it is in conflict with the approved plans above. These vetted and approved plans are some of the most current, well thought out, and widely supported plans in the city.
4. Vetting the HDR Plan will take many months: The planning department previously suggested that we delay our petition until the HDR plan is complete. Discussions with Planning Department Officials and the HDR project manager revealed that completion of the plan, the subsequently required transportation studies, and the final approvals would likely take more then 6 months. Therefore they have agreed to try and provide adequate information for the City Council to make a decision at the December 2nd meeting.

Attached Documents
1. Citizens Petition Requesting the enactment of recommendations from the Saunders Street North Area Plan.
2. Citizens Brief regarding West Street extension plans
3. Variance request, asking for setbacks to be set to match those recommended by the

Saunders Street North Area Plan
We acquired these properties and developed this plan in close cooperation with the Boylan Heights Neighborhood Association and other community groups. Since HDR’s suggestion has not been approved or made public by the planning department Mr. Silver requested that we not publically share this information at this time. We have had the benefit of studying this area for thoroughly for years, and as such have attached an informational brief which attempts to simplify the issues involved.

Thank you for taking the time to consider our petition. We would greatly appreciate your support on the 2nd. Please call or email me if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Richard Johnson
271-1021

MTC Call for Ideas Response

Multi-modal Transit Center

Call for Ideas Response
In mid 2008 HDR, a large consultant company who has been hired by the City of Raleigh to create a plan for the new Multimodal Transit Center (MTC), sent out a call for ideas. Our group responded with an eight page brief which requested that the following items should be considered:

1. Rework the PSNC site by imposing a streetscape plan that would cause mixed used buildings to be built close to the street, providing a good walking environment and shielding any industrial uses from public view.
2. Limit egress and views of the Railroad tracks
3. Create a pedestrian bridge over the tracks connecting the MTC to the Rosengarten Greenway
4. Create a “shared-space” urban walkway along Dupont
5. Re-envision the Rosengarten Greenway as a Pedestrian Green Street
6. Create a pedestrian bridge connecting Dorothea Dix to the Rosengarten Greenway

See the full MTC proposal by clicking here

PSNC Sale
Since the brief was filed, the PSNC site has come up for sale. We had assumed this would never happen due to the existing gas infrastructure on the land. Instead, PSNC is selling 4.7 acres of the 5.5 acre site, keeping the gas lines in place. This opens up a number of opportunities that didn’t exist prior to our first response. We submitted a revised concept with the sale in mind and it can be viewed by clicking here.

Evolution of Development Plans
Our plans for the developments we have under our control have evolved through several design iterations and in response to changes in the marketplace. See http://www.rosengartenpark.com/ for the most recent information.

The Initial Concept

Early in 2008 we came up with the Green City concept and put together a presentation. Our plans have evolved somewhat since then, but the presentation can still serve as a primer on the initiatives we are working on. Click below to view a PDF of the presentation.

Initial Green City Presentation

New Green City Blog

Hi everybody:

New Blog:
We’ve got enough going on now that I thought it would be helpful to create blog to post updates to and give us a clearing house of ideas and comments. This blog is private, only our members should be able to post or read comments. We area also creating a distribution list for items that we would like to send to the public regarding our activites.

Notes on the Rosengarten Design Standards

Rosengarten Park Design Standards Goals


Key Concepts
One of the key concepts behind the project is to reconstruct the neighborhood fabric by defining the built environment through a series of architectural design codes. These standards will apply to all the houses built in the neighborhood and all future renovations and additions. They are similar to those used in other subdivisions, except some of our goals are different. Specific goals include:

Historic and Modern Designated Areas
The vast majority of the lots are designated as Historic but a few are set aside for modern houses. This designed to build on the historic charm of the nearby Historic Boylan Heights, but also acknowledge that this is a new neighborhood being built in the 21st century. Good design is crucial whether historically oriented or modern.

Historic Standards:
The inherent charm of historic buildings is the result of a synergy of important details which have evolved over years of and years of regionally specific innovations. Most of us look at a historic building and while recognizing its charm, fail to recognize the individual components that create the charm. From the overall proportions of the building, to the detailing of the eaves, every detail no matter how simple adds to the effect of the whole. We are fortunate to have the input of a number of local architects who are helping us craft standards that will ensure the necessary details are there, while also providing enough flexibility for creativity.

Modern Standards:
The opportunities provided by modern design and modern materials make designing standards for this architecture more challenging. The standards for these homes will focus on ensuring the scale and materials for these homes is in keeping with the surrounding homes. Each design will be reviewed by the architectural design committee to ensure the designs complement the neighborhood. This section is still in development.

Architectural Design Committee:
An architectural review committee consisting of at least 3 owners in the neighborhood will be established. The committee will interpret the standards and make approvals for designs.

Adaptive Reuse:
The standards and committees are designed to allow for changes in the future, changes that will be controlled by the citizens in the neighborhood. Our goal is to create an urban neighborhood that pays respect to the past, but provides for the future. We hope the unique character of the area will evolve in interesting ways that we cannot foresee at this time. Perhaps one of two of the homes will become live/work home offices. Perhaps the neighborhood will gain a small coffee shop. We have tried to provide for managed flexibility by putting control in the neighborhood’s hands.


Please Give us Your Input
Click here to see Rosengarten Park Design Standards and let us know if you have any comments. or suggestions.