Raleigh neighborhoods seeing impacts of missing middle housing policies

All along the street of one Raleigh neighborhood, you see a bright yellow sign that reads "No Barksdale Townhomes."

These neighbors want city council to change the missing middle housing policies that will allow a developer to put seven homes where one home is now.

They can do that without having to go through a rezoning or notify neighbors of what's coming.

Ranch homes line both sides of Barksdale Drive, where Ann Sun has lived for 11 years.

"We’re a 1950s neighborhood," said Sun. "There’s basically four floor plans."

One of those homes is now surrounded by construction fencing and flags, set to be torn down and replaced with seven three-story townhomes.

Neighbors created these renderings to see what it will look like.

"You can see from this rendering how close it is to the street and how tall it is with 35 feet up," Sun said.

Sun has collected signatures from more than 60 neighbors pushing back against the city's missing middle housing policies.

"The original scope of the missing middle was for higher density that was supposed to look and feel very similar to the existing neighborhood," Sun said. "We feel like that’s not happening."

City council approved the first missing middle policies in 2021 to allow denser development - like duplexes, townhomes, and small apartment buildings - in neighborhoods across the city.

"The purpose of missing middle housing is to actually help increase the supply but also offer people choices so they can afford to live here," Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said.

A demolition crew ripped down two homes across the street from Olivia Cisneros to make way for 10 luxury townhomes.

“Density has to happen as growing up is much better than continued sprawl or growing out," said Steve Sypher, Barksdale Townhomes Developer. "We are in interesting times from the growth perspective.”

"These are starting at $850,000," said Olivia Cisneros, who lives on Brookside Drive. "I hope it’s not pricing people out of our great neighborhood."

And the wrecking ball is coming for two more homes on her block of Brookside Drive to make way for new development.

"We are excited about the opportunity to provide affordable and accessible housing options in a desirable downtown neighborhood where all new builds are all for sale over $1 million,” said developer Matt Tomasulo.

Tomasulo's projects include properties at 1113 and 1201 Brookside Drive. They're both slated to be apartment buildings.

"I grew up in Raleigh," Cisneros said. "I want to see it grow and thrive. I think that’s wonderful. What I don’t think is okay is bulldozing homes, especially in neighborhoods like ours."

Elsewhere in Raleigh, neighbors in Hayes Barton are suing the city over the missing middle because of a development there.

The city is reviewing options to modify the missing middle policies. One change they're talking about is to require developers meet with neighbors before getting plans approved.