5 Points CAC

Last night I went to my first meeting of my area's Citizen's Advisory Council. There were no surprises...everything went just as I had expected. It was relatively well organized, and followed the agenda that had previously been posted on their website. The items on the agenda were all of interest to me, especially the renovation of North Side Shopping Center and the rezoning requests for the Josephus Daniels house/Masonic lodge.

Regarding that rezoning request, I knew going into the meeting that I am in a very small minority of folks who wouldn't mind seeing the lot split up and redeveloped. That section of Glenwood already includes a mix of large old homes, bungalows, and condominiums; all of which blend well enough. The Daniels home will be preserved, so I don't see the harm in adding a few more homes to the neighborhood. I wasn't sure if this subject was open for discussion (it wasn't) or if the majority would shoot down any dissenters (they would-you'll see how I know that in a sec).

The Northside renovation looks promising...considering that the north end of Whitaker Mill is no longer "North Raleigh" the name will be changed to High Park. It's going to be a much needed facelift, and I really appreciate York for sprucing up the area. During the presentation, it was quite amusing to watch the ladies representing the senior community on Whitaker Mill absolutely grill George York about the laundromat, and then proceed to "whisper" about him during the rest of the Q&A period.

An interesting exchange took place during the discussion of the proposed rezoning of Whitaker Centre. This small shopping center (if you can even call it that, with a nail salon and office space) moved into the neighborhood a few years ago, promising by covenant to never have an eating establishment. Now, they have changed their mind, and have requested a rezoning to allow such a place. The neighbors are adamantly opposed to this, because they do not want cars parking on their side streets or food preparation smell.

I personally don't see the B.F.D., but as a first-timer, I didn't really want to speak out without testing the water first. Luckily, I was not alone. A young man in the back questioned the speaker for going back and forth between "restaurant" and "coffee shop" when referring to the proposed project. She admitted that the proposal was for a coffee shop. Her 'hood's fear is that the coffee shop will progress to a restaurant (not out of the question) like EVOO, and she knows for a fact that the neighbors there absolutely hate the traffic, etc.

Gotta beg to differ on that one...I am the neighbors of EVOO (not that I will ever spend a dime there...but that's a different blog). The immediate neighbors of EVOO are a dry cleaner, a church office, my office, and one of my apartment buildings...no complaints. Traffic is not a problem on Fairview, where drivers don't exceed 20 mph when they're in a hurry. Patrons of the restaurant don't even abuse my office parking lot! EVOO smells pretty darn good when they fire up the grill, too...but that's just my opinion.

In the speaker's defense, the young man really did start to get a little pushy with his questions, long after he made his opinion clear. I mean, the item has already been voted on, and the neighbors of that area do have a right to try to stop the rezoning. But man, she sure let him know that his difference of opinion was not welcome.

As anti-"rules of order" as that was, I still have to say that I respect her (and everyone there) for caring about what's going on around them enough to get organized and make her voice heard. Not everyone will agree 100% of the time.

I'm looking foward to the next meeting (April perhaps?) and to getting more involved.