{"id":21245,"date":"2014-04-01T13:02:40","date_gmt":"2014-04-01T17:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/raleighpublicrecord.org\/?p=21245"},"modified":"2014-04-12T10:52:02","modified_gmt":"2014-04-12T14:52:02","slug":"raleighs-planning-director-reflects-on-whats-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/news\/2014\/04\/01\/raleighs-planning-director-reflects-on-whats-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"Raleigh\u2019s Planning Director Reflects on What\u2019s Ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mitchell Silver served as Raleigh\u2019s planning director for nine years. Later this month, he will head north to take over the parks department for New York City. Silver sat down with Record editor Charles Duncan last week to talk about the challenges and successes of shaping Raleigh\u2019s future, and what\u2019s ahead for the city.<\/p>\n

Listen to the interview.<\/em>
\n\n

Look at when you got to Raleigh. What are the differences you see now?<\/strong>
\nWhen I got here in 2005, Livable Streets had just been adopted, which included a convention center, a hotel, so my role was really to help implement since the plan had already been completed. When I got here, downtown, it really didn\u2019t have a strong identity. Fayetteville Street was still trees and benches. It was just closed, it was an actual mall, and there was a civic center where the city plaza sat. The city was really, I think, very close to its suburban identity.<\/p>\n

So it was a city that I kind of joked about and said that it was kind of Mayberry ready to go Metro but it was more Mayberry to Metro and I think it was very comfortable that way at the time. I can\u2019t remember the population; it was somewhere in the low 300,000. But it was a great place. Warm place. People wouldn\u2019t give you an address; they would give a place where to meet. I\u2019m from New York so they\u2019ll give you an address: \u201cGo to 652 First Avenue.\u201d Here it\u2019s: \u201cI\u2019ll meet you at Pam\u2019s Kitchen. I\u2019ll meet you at McKimmon Center.\u201d It was a different culture, a different place when I got here.<\/p>\n

As I drove around, every place almost looked the same. It took me a while to know Falls of Neuse, Six Forks. I just knew that these were just kind of thoroughfares. Capital Boulevard I knew right away because it was very different than some of the others.<\/p>\n

It really had a very nice green canopy; the trees really fit the city in the park. And I felt that I really enjoyed that and found it beautiful. So that was then.<\/p>\n

\"Mitchell_Silver\"<\/a>

Charles Duncan \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/p>

<\/p><\/div>\n

While we had a strong tradition of planning, I knew going forward we had to do things a little bit differently. I\u2019m always into finding emerging trends and demographic trends and knew with the change coming, the transplants that were moving here, that I knew something had to happen to prepare us for the next wave of newcomers and the next wave of growth.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I took the job. I was reluctant. I was short-listed for three cities and Raleigh kept floating to the top of the list only because I felt that it was a city on the rise. My deciding factors when I looked at these three cities: I said, \u201cWhich one do I want? What is their potential 10 years from now and which ones do I want to be part of that growth?\u201d And Raleigh just won hands down. It just seemed like it was a city that was ready to be great. And I felt that it was a good chemistry with Raleigh and [City Manager] Russell Allen at the time. I did as much research at the time about Raleigh as Raleigh did researching about me. I think we both were interviewing each other. And I felt it was the right fit.<\/p>\n

When I got here that I was worried when I walked across downtown in 10 minutes and I was calling my wife and saying, \u201cI don\u2019t know about this.\u201d You aren\u2019t supposed to walk across downtown in 10 minutes. And I walked from one end to the other. And I said, \u201cno.\u201d I don\u2019t know if I can take this job. There\u2019s just not enough \u201cdowntown\u201d downtown. But then I felt that I could play a role in shaping that. At least, a hand in shaping it going forward.<\/p>\n

\"Downtown<\/a>

kakissell\/Flickr Creative Commons<\/p>

Downtown Raleigh<\/p><\/div>\n

I knew that the era of sprawl was coming to a close and I knew that we could no longer, with demographic change, live on a diet of single-family homes. Demographics were changing. People were looking for more urban lifestyles. When I was looking for a home, I had two choices: I could either live in a suburban home or I could live in a suburban home. I didn\u2019t have choices. And so I knew that with the population changes both empty nesters and the younger population want a different lifestyle choice.<\/p>\n

So we first did a land-capacity analysis and we found out how much land we had left. Roughly at that time, it was 2006, we had 20,000 acres. Then we projected how much growth we would get by 2030. I basically said, Raleigh, if we keep building single-family, we\u2019re going to run out of land in about 20 years. We have to do something differently. That was the beginning of the conversation for the comprehensive plan. At the same time, believe it or not, back in 2005, I could find no other city except, I think, one in Texas that was using the term \u201c21st century city.\u201d Nobody. This was 2005 and I couldn\u2019t believe it. So, we launched a lecture series called the \u201c21st Century Lecture Series\u201d because nobody was having a conversation about 21st century cities.<\/p>\n

There was a strong constituency for planning and so, I felt, let\u2019s have that conversation, see who\u2019s interested. It was the same time we were launching the comprehensive plan and it shocked me. Four hundred people filled Memorial Auditorium, and that\u2019s when I knew that there was pent-up demand for this conversation. That\u2019s when we started transitioning from this suburban footprint to, if we\u2019re going to grow, we have to start coming up with some dense urban locations for our city growth centers. We could start to build a city of the future.<\/p>\n

Some cities come of age in twentieth century; New York, Boston, even before that. Raleigh was one of those cities that was coming of age in the 21st century. I wanted Raleigh to be the leading city in that regard. We didn\u2019t want to be like a Portland. I wanted us to be a leader and want other cities to be like us. A turning point happened a little bit after when I got here. The difference between the two is I think I was ready and I think I came to this place at the right time to help Raleigh move in that direction. More urban so that it wasn\u2019t all suburban; people have choices for the first time. You can know live in a Cameron Village, you can live on Hillsborough Street, you can live downtown, or you can live in a suburban location. We just did not have a lot of those choices before.
\n
\nWhat do you see as your biggest accomplishments?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019d say there are two. One, I\u2019d have to say building a culture for good and smart planning. Everything else stemmed from that: the desire to have the best Comprehensive Plan and blueprint for growth possible. The desire to have a good Unified Development Ordinance. The desire to understand placemaking and experience a place very differently. You know, all those things fit in but we first had to have an appreciation and a culture for planning. To me, that is something that will live on, if we continue it, for generations because now, to walk the street and see a younger generation interested in Walk Raleigh and parklets and biking and walking; those voices weren\u2019t talking when I was here. They were silenced.<\/p>\n

Somehow the culture for planning and for innovation and for placemaking unleashed that pent-up demand to have a conversation. Now I just sit back and I\u2019m in awe about the energy that\u2019s happening. I don\u2019t have to be that cheerleader and push as hard as I used to because now the younger generation has embraced it. The older generation tends to do public meetings and often say \u201cno\u201d to things because they are concerned about change, where the younger generation \u2014 over 70 percent of our population is 47 and younger \u2014 now have a voice and the Council is listening.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

<\/p>

A man walks his dog down Chavis Street with a view of downtown Raleigh behind him.<\/p><\/div>\n

Now there\u2019s this richness of innovation and creativity, all this stuff is happening to our downtown. It is refreshing that young people now feel that they can buy in and have ownership of their city. And Council is embracing it. That to me is a legacy that you hope for and will last with this community. We\u2019re being looked at nationally as a role model for innovative and sound and good planning practices. To me, that is something that is the best legacy that I could leave for city and that I hope continues as I hope to come back here and retire. So, y\u2019all better get this right and keep it going. But that allowed for all the stuff that we do.<\/p>\n

Without that support and foundation coming from Council as well. There\u2019s now a new expectation about planning in this city. There is a high expectation about quality of excellence. I\u2019m not saying that our predecessors didn\u2019t do it. They were in an era of more of these nodes and having these centers that was more of an urban format based on a suburban footprint. My job was to have a conversation to shift that to more of an urban footprint of centers and quarters, preparing ourselves for light rail, preparing ourselves for the next 50 years of the city.<\/p>\n

The other one is the Comprehensive Plan. I think they go hand-in-hand. To me, that one was very important. Clearly I think the culture of planning, the Comprehensive Plan and the (Unified Development Ordinance), because they kind of go in tandem, are things that I\u2019m most proud of because those will live on for the next twenty years and the code could be the next 50 years.<\/p>\n

What are some big things on your to-do list that you were hoping to do in the coming years?<\/strong>
\nNumber one was our revitalization strategy for Southeast Raleigh. We\u2019re started conversations about how to have a strategic development strategy to start releasing some of those parcels and start working with some of the [Citizen Advisory Councils]. That\u2019s on the books, we\u2019ve been trying to do that for two years and we\u2019re getting close. That\u2019s something that I wanted to see. Stone\u2019s Warehouse is going forward but there are some other strategic projects that we wanted to see implemented.<\/p>\n

\"aerial_view_union_station\"<\/a>

Rendering provided by City of Raleigh.<\/p>

An aerial view of Union Station.<\/p><\/div>\n

One of ones is Union Station. There were two attempts to get what we called a multi-modal facility. I\u2019m very proud that we were able to move Raleigh Union Station forward and it\u2019s going to a reality by 2017. I will hopefully come back for the ribbon cutting but that is one I will love to see when that project gets off the ground and watch its construction and evolution. That gets me quite excited.<\/p>\n

Light rail. I really wanted to be here to help guide that forward. Not just the light rail but that whole conversation about if there\u2019s a referendum passed how are we going to shape light rail and bus rapid transit and bus. Our plan, our footprint, our growth framework plan was built for that. So, that\u2019s the stuff that excites me because we created these transit villages along the quarter. So I would have loved to start going into each one of those nodes and to start to plan that experience of each one of those along the light rail.<\/p>\n

And then the downtown plan. This is one I\u2019ve been fantasizing about for years. We wanted to make sure we did planning outside of the downtown core because people would accuse us that \u201cOh, everything is about downtown. Why are you spending downtown?\u201d So, I\u2019ve waited five years and we\u2019re launching it April 2. Now all I can do is get all of my ideas, most of them, on the table and I will not be able to see the end of that product. And then downtown south, which is below MLK, we\u2019re going to wrap it into the South Saunders plan so that\u2019s another one that I had a vision for when we did the Big Ideas publication. I will not be able to finish that one either.
\nUnion Station, Light Rail, Downtown Plan, and Downtown South, those are the ones that it kind of hurts that I will not be here to be part of those planning processes.<\/p>\n

What are the differences you see between planning for someplace like Hillsborough Street and a place like Southeast Raleigh?<\/strong>
\nIn Southeast Raleigh it was interesting because there was a lot of concern about what to do. With community development and planning, very often, it was a go-slow approach. Not a lot happened. If nothing happened we were accused of neglect. If we tried to do something, we were accused of gentrification. It was situation where no matter what we would do, we were guilty of something.<\/p>\n

It was very difficult to figure out what was the right thing to do because of that dilemma. Do nothing, you\u2019re neglecting us; do something, you\u2019re gentrifying us. So, we\u2019ve met for the last two years in this re-development strategy to figure out what is the right way to go forward.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve worked with St. Augustine\u2019s University on one approach. We\u2019re now working on another plan in College Park-Idlewild. That has been, I think, our challenge going forward. I think Council was at a point after we came up with our new re-development strategy to proceed. So, we are doing that strategically with our partners but it is still one of those delicate things because there\u2019s a concern that if we invest too much, it could gentrify the neighborhood and then we\u2019ve been here all these years, we get pushed out.<\/p>\n

\"cemetery\"<\/a>

Hide Terada \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/p>

The view from City Cemetery.<\/p><\/div>\n

That\u2019s what\u2019s different in Southeast Raleigh, very close to downtown and people just feel threatened. I had a session years ago when I first got here about how gentrification can be addressed but there\u2019s still concern and skepticism and that really has been our challenge in Southeast Raleigh.<\/p>\n

How do you embark on an effort to work on an area and give it the same attention you give Hillsborough Street without gentrifying it?
\n<\/strong>One is density. You strategically figure out where you could put density. Because those that own property they are in the best bartering position because they can sell if they want to or if they stay potentially might see a slight increase in taxes and see changes in the tone, flavor, and composition of the neighborhood. But those that rent, those are the ones that are the most vulnerable and so by increasing the density, you now have more room, more inventory to keep them in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

The problem is, some in the neighborhood don\u2019t want density because they equate rental to something that\u2019s not good, it\u2019s not home ownership. This is a delicate balance you have to walk but most models will tell you having mixed income, more density is a way of preventing those renters from being displaced and staying in the community. That\u2019s the delicate balance we\u2019ve tried to walk in Southeast Raleigh but that has been the remedy in most places: increase density, provide more units for the people that are there. If you do a one-to-one replacement that\u2019s more likely that people get displaced.<\/p>\n

Saying \u201cI just want single family homes\u201d puts people in the worst position of being pushed out and displaced. More density means just more room for more people to stay. But the neighbors were kind of opposed to rental, opposed to density. So that\u2019s why I\u2019m saying it has been somewhat of a challenge. So that\u2019s the remedy usually, that density, mixed-income density is a way that you can address some of those displacement issues.<\/p>\n

Planners are often in the worst position in every public meeting. How do you balance that and how do you figure out how to work through those issues?<\/strong>
\nUsually, planning is dealing with people\u2019s property and there\u2019s nothing more sacred than someone\u2019s investment so that is where, I think, the concern gets heightened. As planners, we\u2019re not decision makers, although some people think we are. We\u2019re not. So, we know we\u2019re going to a situation where we\u2019re dealing with someone\u2019s probably the biggest investment of their lives. You have to go in there with a level of respect but at the same time, we protect the public interest. We have to have uncomfortable conversations because we are planning for a city of today but also planning for a city of tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Our job is to understand the long-term consequences of present action, so you\u2019re planning for both present and future generations and the average citizens saying \u201cI\u2019m here. I\u2019m the taxpayer. It\u2019s about me.\u201d But we have a great city because someone 20 years ago cared about us. That\u2019s why our city is so great. That\u2019s a delicate balance we walk.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

Jennifer Wig \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/p>

Walk Raleigh signs on Hargett Street.<\/p><\/div>\n

Also, we have to have a sense of purpose of what we\u2019re doing and we protect public health, safety, and welfare and look at the economic vitality of this city. So, when we go in to these places, staff has to understand to keep a calm and cool demeanor because we have to respect that this is people\u2019s property. Going forward, we have to create an economy of a vibrant city that will live on for generations. So, we just have to smile, develop some tough skin. The planning process allows all voices to be heard. Sometimes you won\u2019t like what people have to say but we have to allow people to communicate their concerns so we can figure out best approach going forward.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s something that you learn in planning school. You\u2019re quickly tested once you get your first job. I\u2019ve had t28, 29 years of this so it doesn\u2019t bother as me because I know people are going to say what\u2019s on their heart and on their mind, so just don\u2019t take it personally.<\/p>\n

So, what are some of the key lessons that you would hope to pass on to your successor?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019m a planner so we have a code of ethics. I would encourage you to read because there are some very strong aspirational principles in our code of what it is to be a planner. To remember a sense of purpose and why we do what we do. That\u2019s to protect public safety and welfare, to plan for present and future generations, to think about uncertainty about the future but at the same time understand that planning is a collaborative process. We have to listen to all voices. You sometimes have to say what you believe is in the best interest of the city knowing it\u2019s not popular or if you have a vision for the future, you do have to have to stand your ground and articulate your point.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re not making the decision but have the courage to say the things that need to be said so that when the Council or planning commission need to make a decision it\u2019s on the table. I always believe that if I\u2019m in the court of law, there\u2019s always two points of view being argued, there\u2019s the plaintiff and there\u2019s the defendant. I\u2019m not comfortable when only one point is being advocated. You need to have both points of view advocated so that the decision maker can make a decision; I believe planners have to play that role.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not making a decision but if there is a self-interest being represented, I\u2019m advocating for the public interest and that point has to get across. Sometimes, my comments aren\u2019t popular. I\u2019m not here to be popular. I\u2019m here to serve my role as a planner. I\u2019m certified, I have a code of ethics, and so I have an ethical responsibility to represent the public interest. That\u2019s what I pass on to my planners: to understand your role, understand your sense of purpose, and why you\u2019re doing this profession and why you\u2019re doing this for this city. That\u2019s more of the kind of the framework.<\/p>\n

The rest, of course, is listening to all parties, recognize you\u2019re not a decision maker but that you should be able to also look at emerging trends. I believe planners should look at trends like a stockbroker looks at the market: as looking at what\u2019s ahead so you can prepare the city. What are the trends that are going to affect us? What are the housing trends? The demographic trends? The population trends? The trends in ethnicity and culture?<\/p>\n

Those trends affect how we plan for place and to ignore the fact that we\u2019re moving toward more single households means that our housing types need to reflect that. The fact that we\u2019re getting older and aging in this community means that our mobility choices and how we design our units have to reflect that. These are the things that make us better as a city and prepare us for emerging trends. I hope that the planners that I\u2019m with, because I talk about this all the time, whether it\u2019s water or air quality, constantly watch the trends. Because if we don\u2019t do it in this city, nobody else will. That is our primary responsibility: to address the uncertainty about the future by those trends and figuring out how it will affect Raleigh.<\/p>\n

So, what do you think some of the major trends are going to be for the next while?<\/strong>
\nChanging demographics. By 2020, Raleigh will be a minority-majority city. Now, we handle it well because we are 53 percent white, 43 percent non-white so nobody even knows that\u2019s happening. So far, we\u2019re doing well. We will hit the tipping point, I guess, sometime in the 2020s. That\u2019s what we have to watch out for. What does that mean? Schools will get more diverse, neighborhoods will get more diverse. That\u2019s something we have to adapt to. Aging population, this is going to be a national phenomenon. Some people can\u2019t drive once they hit a certain age. Are we going to build senior housing units on the outskirts of town or can we integrate them so people can age in place and have more mobility options?<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Karen Tam \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/p>

A bicyclist has all of Person Street to himself for an evening ride.<\/p><\/div>\n

We will see changes in families, in household sizes so the service we provide for parks and rec, services we provide in our city are going to change. That\u2019s just a sample, but certainly what type of housing we build and we\u2019re already seeing that change occur. This community and this country are going to have to understand that being a renter does not mean you\u2019re un-American. That people have got to adapt to the new lifestyle choice for many, many people which is to rent rather than own. In many communities being a renter is not a good thing. It means a reduction in property values, it means potentially crime and that is not the case.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re the face of the new renter. I\u2019m going to New York. I\u2019m the face of the new renter. People have got to get this image out of their head that renting is something bad. It is now a legitimate lifestyle choice and with the change in demographics of a rising single-person household by the 2020s. We\u2019re going to see smaller units and more rental units coming online. That is something that is going to have implications for Raleigh.<\/p>\n

And, finally, mobility choices. We\u2019re seeing a shift where less people want to drive, they want to either bike, walk, or have different transportation choices. There\u2019s a push back and a debate going on about what our future transportation system will look like. That has implications of changing demographics. These are just a couple of examples of where we are going.<\/p>\n

I have a saying that it is better to be prepared than be in denial, and smart places know their sense of urgency 10 years before it\u2019s urgent. Austin is too late. They\u2019re calling us and saying, \u201cRaleigh, listen. We didn\u2019t do it like we were supposed to.\u201d So we\u2019re at a fork in the road. All these trends are telling us where we are headed. We have these debates now about whether light rail will or will not work. We\u2019re building a light rail system. If we start today, who\u2019s going to be here 10, 12, 15 years now? Not the people saying \u201cno.\u201d Who\u2019s going to be here when the light rail comes online because it takes that long to pay for and build the system?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at Raleigh 2025 and 2027 and then tell me, they\u2019re going to say: \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you plan ahead? Why didn\u2019t you do it? Why do we look like Austin? I\u2019m not sure if I want to stay in this region. I want to go somewhere where I have more mobility choices like New York or Washington\u201d or maybe by then Austin will have a transit system and I\u2019ll move to Austin. That\u2019s kind of the implications of those demographic changes.<\/p>\n

Lastly, I know a lot of people are curious about what you\u2019re going to be doing in New York. Generally, what\u2019s the new job?<\/strong>
\nWell, it\u2019s one of the largest departments in New York City: 7,000 employees, 29,000 acres of parkland, 1,900 parks, rec centers and other facilities. It basically covers 14 percent of the City of New York\u2019s footprint. The mayor is looking to provide a 21st century park system. He wanted a visionary planner to be part of that role.<\/p>\n

\"Mitchell<\/a>

Joe Szurzewski<\/p>

Mitchell Silver<\/p><\/div>\n

He\u2019s very committed to healthy, safe, accessible, and equitable parks throughout the entire city of New York. That is basically my charge by coming on board. Certainly the mayor is looking for using the park system as a catalyst for neighborhood development. It\u2019s a refreshing approach. As a planner I found it to be a very exciting challenge and knowing that it\u2019s not just park system planning but planning in general. Parks do not sit in isolation. I look at the anatomy of city. An anatomy has systems that make it up \u2014 road systems, park systems, and sewer systems \u2014 it\u2019s connected to other things. It\u2019s just not a system on itself.<\/p>\n

The mayor recognizes that and understands to build a great park system means you have to understand the anatomy of the entire city. With that, I was quite excited. This is probably the most difficult decision I\u2019ve ever made. What I\u2019ve been telling people is that I love Raleigh mind, body, and soul. It\u2019s been my identity for nine years. I\u2019ve never left a job in a community that I loved more than Raleigh. This was probably the most difficult career decision that I\u2019ve ever made. But with the opportunity was not something I could turn down: hometown and the vision of this mayor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Raleigh Planning Director Mitchell Silver recently took a job as the head of the parks systems for New York City. Before he heads north later this month, we thought we should ask him about the nine years he worked shaping Raleigh\u2019s future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24002,"featured_media":21248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1123,15],"tags":[347,1603,31],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21245"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24002"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}