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Council annexes 2608 Forestville Road and approves rezoning for Habitat for Humanity townhomes with affordability condition
Summary
Raleigh annexed a Wake County parcel and rezoned it to allow up to 30 townhome units, with at least half committed as affordable to households at or below 80% AMI for 15 years; access and fire-service response issues were discussed but no NCDOT driveway decision was reported.
Raleigh City Council voted to annex a 4.5-acre parcel at 2608 Forestville Road (AX-2024) and approved a conditional rezoning (Z-2824) to allow a townhome development with specific affordability and design conditions.
Hannah Rekow, planning and development staff, said the parcel is contiguous with the city limits but currently outside Raleigh's extraterritorial jurisdiction and carries Wake County R-30 zoning. She told the council the rezoning request is to Residential-10 Conditional Use and summarized seven proposed conditions: "commit at least 50% of the units on the site to be, made affordable" to households earning no more than 80% of area median income for at least 15 years; cap the total units at "no more than 30 units on the site"; require a landscaped buffer along Forestville Road; require common and private landscaping to be maintained by an HOA; cap building height to two stories; prohibit apartment building types normally permitted in R-10; and regulate front façade building materials.
Rekow also noted that the parcel is in an area with a known service consideration related to fire response times and that the Planning Commission recommended approval 7 to 1. During discussion, Councilor Patton and others asked about transportation and whether NCDOT would permit an additional driveway on Forestville Road. Carter Robertson of Transportation said staff had "no new information specifically from DOT" and noted that another driveway close to the existing Longleaf Estates Drive could increase turning conflicts. Patricia Birch, CEO of Habitat for Humanity and the applicant, said the organization "has not received any information from NCDOT." Chief Griffin said the fire master plan is in phase five and "projected to be finished in April of this year."
The council opened and closed the hearings for annexation and rezoning (no members of the public spoke other than the applicant representative). A council member moved to adopt annexation AX-2024 with an effective date of the meeting; the motion passed by voice vote. The council then voted to adopt the proposed consistency statement dated January 7, 2025 and approve Z-2824 with the conditions described in the agenda; that motion also passed by voice vote. The transcript does not record a roll-call vote or a numerical tally.
Patricia Birch said Habitat for Humanity estimates the eventual appraisal-based sales price at roughly "$3.50, $3.75" (transcript phrasing) and that the organization will make units affordable through financing. Rekow and staff noted there is access to water and sewer in adjacent rights-of-way and no floodplain on the site. Transportation staff discussed several nearby and planned traffic improvements (including a reduced-conflict intersection and signals at Hearth and Park Boulevard and Malmesbury Lane) and said a signal warrant analysis is underway for Forestville Road at Longleaf Estates Drive.
Councilors asked staff to continue coordination with NCDOT on access and to monitor intersections as surrounding development progresses. The approvals commit the applicant to the stated conditions; final engineering, NCDOT approvals for any access, and Building and Fire Department reviews remain separate, follow-up steps.
