Raleigh Council Appointments Bode Well for the Environment

The people chosen to take the seats of two former Raleigh City Council members who have moved on to the N.C. Senate have a good track record when it comes to protecting the environment.

Tommy Craven, a principal with the Raleigh land-use consulting firm Priest, Craven & Associates, will replace fellow Republican Neal Hunt. Joyce Kekas, a former member of the Raleigh Planning Commission, will replace Democratic Party mate Janet Cowell.

Hunt and Cowell were among the most outspoken advocates for environmental concerns on the current council – and their replacements also have reputations for taking action to protect the environment.

Craven served on the task force that crafted the tree protection ordinance recently adopted by the council. Serving with him was Neuse Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks.

“I think he’s a great fit,” Naujoks says of Craven. “I don’t think we could have a better replacement for Neal Hunt.”

When the draft tree ordinance was under fire from real-estate developers who complained that it was too burdensome, Naujoks visited a development off Tryon Road where a friend of his lives. The development has storm buffers that surpass the 50-foot requirements and, unlike most of the new developments Naujoks sees, is having virtually no impact on a nearby stream.

He took photos to show skeptics what was possible – only to find out later that the development was designed by Craven.

“I was really impressed by that,” Naujoks says.

Kekas also has a reputation for being a careful environmental steward. As a member of the planning commission, she was cautious about granting zoning waivers and opposed development in the Falls Lake watershed.

For example, when a landowner sought to rezone a North Raleigh property that crossed into the watershed back in 1999, Kekas was part of a planning commission minority that opposed the request.

“I don't believe in toying with the watershed,” Kekas told the Raleigh News & Observer at the time. “There’s too much at stake. It could leave the door open for others behind it.”