Raleigh neighbors could have to pay $28K for developers' legal fees, judge rules

However, a judge ordered they must pay the developers’ $28,000 in legal fees. The judge said the developers had no role in creating the city’s missing middle policies.

The missing middle policies allow denser development, like the townhomes planned for the Williamson Drive property, without going through a rezoning or requiring notice to neighbors.

“We are dealing with a very small, but very affluent wealthy group of neighbors who live in this neighborhood,” developer Johnny Chappell said. “They want to control what you can build here and who can live here.”

Since the city approved missing middle housing policies 2021, Raleigh has seen applications for 48 subdivisions of land, 194 accessory dwelling units and 87 townhomes.

“This fight is just getting started,” said attorney Frank Gordon, who represents the Williamson Drive neighbors in the lawsuit.

The house along Williamson Drive has been boarded up and unchanged since 2022. Crews stripped the property of its fixtures to sell to a developer for demolition.

“The city could fix this,” Gordon said. “They don’t have to spend money on legal fees, high-priced lawyers to fight about all this.

“They could do this over and do it the proper way and have input from all corners of the city, and hopefully, enact some different types of rules for development in the city.”

WRAL News reached out to the city of Raleigh with a request for comment. The city will not comment on pending litigation.

Chappell said the developers expect to start work on the project in a few months now that they're dismissed from the lawsuit.

However, the neighbors plan to file an appeal.