The Raleigh City Council recently got an earful about the city’s development services when land-use attorney Tom Worth told them about the impediments imposed by  the development bureaucracy. I point this out not to simply jump on the city, but to illustrate that bureaucracy and regulations have very real and very costly impacts. City Manager Russell Allen says things have improved.

In his 15-minute appearance, Worth focused largely on his work representing developers of the 401 Oberlin project across from Cameron Village.

The apartment-and-retail building won approval following lengthy negotiations. To placate wary neighbors, the developers reduced the number of apartments from 280 to 250.

Worth called the 401 Oberlin negotiation an “odyssey in agony” because of the maze of rules and regulations.

Worth said the developers had to wade through bureaucracy to get a demolition permit before they could begin submitting development plans for review. The process has since been streamlined to allow developers to simultaneously move forward on both tracks.