City of Raleigh | Planning Department

ARENA SMALL AREA PLAN

INFORMATIONAL WORKSHOP SUMMARY

WORKSHOP 1: REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES

June 15, 2000

(Back to Arena Small Area Plan Page)

The purpose of the meeting was to present the plan area within its regional context.

James Brantley, the project manager from the Raleigh Planning Department, called the meeting to order and introduced several Planning Commissioners, former city councilors and former commissioners in attendance.

He then gave a brief presentation about how it came about that the City is preparing this small area plan. This project is part of the Planning Commission’s Strategic Planning initiative which was endorsed by the City Council in January 2000.

He then presented how the project will be accomplished. There will be four phases to the project:

Phase 1 will be a series of informational workshops on a variety of topics related to the Arena area. The emphasis of the workshops will be educational. The workshops will be held bi-weekly through the beginning of October

Phase 2 will occur in October and November, with the Planning Commission conducting interviews with various groups with interests in the area.

Phase 3 will be a two day workshop on December 7th and 8th. Participants will use the information gathered in Phases 1 and 2 to produce ideas of how the area should develop.

Phase 4 will constitute the public review of the outcome of Phase 3. The City Council and Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the topic at the beginning of 2001.

George Chapman, Director of the Raleigh Planning Department, then discussed the regional context of the Arena. He noted that the population of the Research Triangle Region is now about 1.1 million people, with more than half of those residing in Wake County. Within a 12 mile radius of the Arena, the population is currently around 450,000 and by 2025 will be around 837,000, which is almost doubling in 25 years. He described how the location of the study area is close to the center of the region, being near Research Triangle Park and Raleigh Durham Airport. The area has excellent access because it is adjacent to I-40 and the I-440 Beltline, and also includes two proposed regional rail transit stops.

Scott Ramage, Senior Planner for the Town of Cary, then presented various aspects of growth and development in the portion of Cary that is adjacent to the study area. I-40 is the boundary between the Raleigh and Cary jurisdictions. He described how large tracts of land just to the northwest of the study area are owned by the computer software company SAS. The current SAS campus occupies a relatively small portion of the company’s land holdings, thus allowing for significant expansion of the complex. To the southwest of the study area, plans are underway to construct a regional soccer complex. Funding is now in place to build a stadium and associated facilities.

Cara Crisler, representing the Triangle Smart Growth Coalition, presented the recent work of that group. The Coalition includes representatives with a wide range of interests in the type and quality of development in the region. She said that the group is stressing affordable housing, preserving open space and promoting a pedestrian-friendly environment.

The floor was opened to questions and comments. Several comments were made about the need for an adequate road network to support development in the area. There was concern expressed about the preservation and stability of single family neighborhoods while development is occurring throughout the area. Questions arose about the timing of this project, to which the response was offered that development happens in a continuum and, although the effects of planning may take a while to be felt, the planning process has to begin at some point to have any effectiveness. Stress was placed on good stewardship of the land, that good care should be taken of the land.

The attendees were encouraged to think about what they would like to see in the area, what kind of development they would want there. The next meeting, to be held on June 28th with the subject of land use and zoning, was announced.