Shaping Raleigh’s future look was the topic of conversation at the Urban Design Center on Tuesday, October 20 as the Downtown Living Advocates joined several CAC’s (Citizen’s Advisory Councils) from around the city and the code underwriters to consider zoning and legal issues. The code review and zoning process is an 18 month project with preliminary results expected to be announced by next January, and followed by a second round of meetings.
The purpose of the study is to update the code and the zoning maps to meet the comprehensive plan recently adopted by the City. Issues discussed included architectural character, zoning and land use, as well as the critical need for more timely neighborhood input on new development. The DLA also raised the need for a character study that can help guide the new code underwriting and the new zoning maps, underlining to the code review team that a study of the impact of growth on neighborhoods is critical in creating a sensible zoning map and code. 
The DLA was pleased to receive many requests from the various CAC’s to visit them and provide a presentation on the DLA mission and collaborative efforts. The DLA sees itself as an advocate for neighborhoods, providing early expert input to developers and builders on major projects under consideration.
In order to support the neighborhoods as a whole, the DLA plans to collect input from the various CAC’s involved and to compile them in a comprehensive report to be submitted to the city and to the code and the zoning consultants.