'Mistrust' abounds between Raleigh and nightlife venues, per new report
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Significant tensions exist between the city of Raleigh and downtown bar and nightlife venue owners, according to a new report presented to the city council Tuesday.
Why it matters: Raleigh — one of the nation's fastest-growing cities — is exploding. It's been named one of the best places to live on the East Coast, driven in part by the region's affordability, booming tech industry and proximity to top-tier universities.
- All that growth has forced the city's leaders to reckon with inevitable growing pains, and they're seeking ways to revive downtown's Fayetteville Street, improve the Glenwood South district's accessibility and keep both areas safe.
Driving the news: There's a deep level of "mistrust" between venues and the city, according to a report from the Responsible Hospitality Institute.
- Business owners don't feel heard, the report said, and the city's enforcement of COVID restrictions "set the tone for that mistrust," Whitney Schoenfeld, of the city's office of events, said Tuesday.
- "Regularly changing policy direction at City Council" has also contributed to that mistrust, according to the report.
- Among the biggest points of contention at the moment: the city's noise ordinance, which was repeatedly mentioned in the 48-page report and during the organization's presentation Tuesday.
How it works: The city commissioned the Responsible Hospitality Institute report, using $100,000 of American Rescue Act funding, according to Indy Week.
- The organization spent some six months conducting on-site visits, listening sessions, interviews, a women's focus group and other meetings.
The good news: "There's a tremendous amount of strength in Raleigh's social economy," Responsible Hospitality Institute senior consultant Jocelyn Kane told city council, pointing to the city's events and festivals, public art, and "Sip and Stroll" initiative.
- "We do this a lot in other places, and this is one of the most fun places we've been."
Yes, but: Between January and September last year, the city saw 158 noise complaints, 12 civil violations and 18 criminal citations, per the News & Observer.
- Despite the city's recent revision of its noise ordinance after a two-year community engagement process, "its effectiveness is now in question," the report said, as the penalties "are insufficient to deter repeat offenses."
- The report recommends that the city again revise its noise ordinance, restart its community engagement process and hire a mediator to "help facilitate productive engagement between the City and business community, between which lies a chasm of mistrust."
- The city could also create a map of noise complaints.
What they're saying: "I felt just a tangible sense of relief listening to this conversation, because I've struggled so much just in my four months," Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell said of the noise ordinance recommendations, per ABC11. "I just don't understand. I see no path in the current system."
What's next: City staff will recommend changes based on the report's recommendations that can be implemented in the short and long terms, per the N&O.