Council leaves Compassionate Drive rezoning open after neighbors raise stormwater, traffic and safety concerns

The City Council on March 4 left the public hearing on rezoning case Z4024 (10 acres off Rock Quarry Road at Compassionate Drive) open and directed staff and the applicant to continue community outreach and technical reviews. The council agreed to reconvene comment and potential action at the March 18 meeting after neighbors raised longstanding stormwater and traffic concerns.

The rezoning would change the parcel from R6 (with a highway overlay) to Residential‑Mixed Use (up to four stories conditional use) to allow a primarily affordable rental development on land owned by Compassionate Tabernacle of Faith and proposed for purchase by Standard Communities. Amy Kraut, attorney for the applicant, described the proposal as a workforce‑housing project that would provide units averaged at about 60% area median income (AMI) with a 30‑year affordability term and a planned set‑aside for Wake Tech students. The zoning conditions filed with the council would prohibit commercial uses, require dedication of at least 25% of net site area as open space, cap residential units at 225, and require a signal warrant analysis at the Compassionate Drive–Rock Quarry Road intersection before the first certificate of occupancy.

Neighbors and longtime residents opposed the rezoning at the hearing, citing a “50‑year” history of drainage problems they say have not been fully addressed and saying the private access road, Compassionate Drive, is narrow and not built to serve large‑scale residential development. Keisha Lovelace and other speakers described repeated flooding and previously documented drainage complaints and asked the council to ensure the stormwater issues are resolved before approving rezoning. Several speakers also raised traffic and school‑crossing safety concerns for Southeast Raleigh High School and the Rock Quarry corridor during concert and event nights at the nearby amphitheater.

City stormwater staff told the council that because there is a recorded structural flooding/drainage complaint in the area, a future development will be required to meet the Unified Development Ordinance’s higher standard for runoff control — detention and treatment to manage the 100‑year storm — at development review. Ben Brown of Stormwater said that requirement applies whether a property develops by‑right or following rezoning, and that holding runoff to the 100‑year standard should reduce downstream erosion and peak velocities.

Transportation staff and the applicant said they are already in discussions with NCDOT and city transportation staff about access and intersection improvements. The applicant has committed, as a condition, to perform a signal warrant analysis for Compassionate Drive and to construct a signal if the warrant is met. The applicant also described studying design alternatives for Compassionate Drive and proposing a limited two‑lane configuration with pedestrian improvements; they said those design choices must be negotiated with NCDOT and city staff and will be finalized during site‑plan review.

Council members heard the applicants’ offers to reduce building height and unit counts if needed and the applicant’s request to preserve the rezoning timeline because the project is competing for affordable‑housing funding with deadlines in April. Several council members urged applicant and staff to meet with neighbors immediately and return on March 18 with refined, written conditions addressing height limits, unit caps and a clearer schedule for traffic and stormwater work. The council voted to keep the hearing open and asked transportation and stormwater staff to continue coordination with NCDOT and the community.

The public‑record neighborhood concerns the council flagged include: persistent channel erosion and a structural flooding complaint in nearby yards; a private, 50‑foot right‑of‑way (Compassionate Drive) that the applicant proposes to improve; the need for a signal and safer pedestrian access to serve students and residents; and potential impacts from concert traffic on Rock Quarry Road. The applicant said it would treat runoff to the 100‑year storm standard, will study and fund feasible intersection improvements if warranted, and is open to a lower height limit and a lower unit cap as part of additional conditions to be filed before the next hearing.