Planning Commission

I was nominated Tuesday for a seat on Raleigh’s Planning Commission. For those of you who don’t know, the Planning Commission is a volunteer board that makes major decisions on the city’s growth, including rezoning changes and development code. It’s a very important board. Our city councilors consider these appointments very, very carefully as the Commission works very closely with city leaders, city staff, developers, and community leaders. It may not quite be the major leagues in the realm of city politics, but it’s definitely triple-A ball.

Getting a seat on the Planning Commission has been my goal for quite some time. Lately, though, I’ve been totally focused on my work with the East CAC and the Parks Board. I wasn’t aware of this recent vacancy until I was encouraged to apply. It’s a huge responsibility and one that I do not take lightly. After some serious thought I put my hat in the ring.

Yet being nominated is far from being appointed. The Council has to decide who gets in and there are (to date) three other fine candidates in the running. Several Councilors have offered support for a candidate so I’m just one of a handful being considered.

Should I be selected, I’m ready to tackle the challenge. I enjoy the minutia of planning and zoning – it’s been ten years since I first dove into it as a member of Garner’s Land Use Ordinance Rewrite Committee – so while I won’t know everything I will have a good foundation to build upon. I’ve seen how the process works from my spot in the East CAC. I’m also a very quick study!

On the other hand, should another candidate be tapped I will still have my CAC and Parks work to keep me busy. This work brings me enormous pride and is obviously doing my community a lot of good. I’ll stay focused on what I’ve been doing and when the next Planning Commission opening comes around I’ll give it another try.

If there’s one thing that my community work has taught me it’s the value of being persistent!