Update: Raleigh's City Council has unanimously approved a Unified Development Ordinance to update zoning for one third of the city. This remapping could bring taller buildings and dense construction to the city.
Monday, November 17, 2015:
Raleigh City Council's is considering allowing 40-story skyscrapers to be built along Fayetteville Street as part of the city's ongoing zoning district re-mapping efforts. But the council is also considering height restrictions for iconic old buildings there.
Senior Planner Bynum Walter says several historic buildings there already have limitations on what kinds of re-development would be appropriate on site. She says the height cap adds another layer of red tape which would require a building to be rezoned before it could be torn down to build something taller.
"Basically, by putting that lower-height zoning designation in place, in addition to the administrative process of the certificate of appropriateness that applies to some of these properties, the Council has put another round of review that requires Council approval for redevelopment of those sites."